Constructing Buildings, Bridges, and Minds: Building an Integrated Curriculum Through Social Studies

Constructing Buildings, Bridges, and Minds introduces and guides teachers through the process of using major classroom projects to facilitate integration of the curriculum. As the author describes the energy and excitement that fills her classroom during her Washington, D.C. and Latin America projects, readers will see beneath the bustle of activity on the surface to the students as they become immersed in their work, developing problem-solving and thinking skills and learning to collaborate and communicate both orally and in writing. Most important, they become motivated self learners who carry their quest for learning far beyond the classroom.

Illustrated by examples taken from actual classrooms filled with real children, Constructing Buildings, Bridges, and Minds does not offer a pre-packaged linear model to follow but rather a conceptual framework. This kind of education cannot be reduced to formula, for the integration is free flowing and flexible-often spontaneous-but with guidelines, expectations, and accountability.

Educators seeking new ways to stimulate student motivation and learning, classroom teachers, curriculum specialists, school administrators, special education teachers looking for new ideas on inclusion, and anyone interested in reforming schools will find this book intriguing and useful.

Katherine A. Young was selected as Idaho Teacher of the year in 1983 for her extraordinary career as an elementary teacher in Boise, Idaho. She was recognized for her work in developing and refining an innovative approach for integrating curriculum through project teaching. She has since joined the faculty of Boise State University where she is Professor of Education. The combination of these two worlds has provided a broad range of insights into the learning/teaching process. Kathy continues her contacts with the public schools in a variety of ways including presentations, workshops, research, and writing. For several years, she has served as consultant and contributor to Learning Magazine.