As I put together inquiry units for my fifth grade classroom, I found that I had connected social studies, writing and reading standards without much difficulty. A few adjustments were necessary to cover all standards, but all-in-all the process was more exciting than frustrating. I also found that with the abundance of content-related resources, and through careful choosing of writing lessons and prompts, it was fairly easy to connect English language arts (writing, reading and language) to math and science.
What was missing was a connection between STEAM experiences and social studies content. At first I convinced myself that I could live with that. My students would access social studies learning through a variety of activities, so it really wasn't necessary to dovetail such different learning opportunities as history and science. But as I looked at my schedule it became apparent that our STEAM time was going to be a stand-alone experience, disconnected from classroom inquiry units. That needed to change.
So, I reviewed our social studies lessons for authentic connections. Not surprisingly, once I looked through the STEM lens (the arts were already integrated), the connections jumped out at me. For example, as we cover maps and exploration we will learn about navigation tools such as the magnetic compass and the astrolabe. Students will learn how the purpose of a boat affects design and then they will design and/or create a model of a vessel to transport them and their loved ones to a new colony.
One of my best discoveries has been the book, The Ben Franklin Book of Easy & Incredible Experiments from Franklin Institute Science Museum. This book not only chronicles many of the experiments that Franklin conducted, but shares his thought process through his letters and notes. In order to conduct some of these experiments, my students will need to make some adjustments, which will provide an authentic example of implementing the scientific method.
Ben Franklin is a favorite historical figure of mine. He exemplifies the strength of daring to be different, his leadership in compromise allowed our Constitution to exist, and his scientific and technological discoveries helped propel us to a modern world. I couldn't teach American history without telling some of Ben's story and now this book will allow me to connect science to history through primary documents. All aboard! We're heading full STEAM into history!
