TI-AIE: Integrating language, literacy and subject learning

What this unit is about

Learning in school is usually divided into discrete curriculum subjects that are timetabled as a self-contained series of lessons. Language and literacy is usually treated as a distinct subject in this way, tending as it does to focus on the skills of reading and writing independent of other curriculum areas. But language and literacy are threaded through the learning and teaching of all curriculum subjects. When you teach environmental science, for instance, you are introducing your students to the concepts and vocabulary associated with that subject, and involving them in listening, speaking, reading and writing as they learn about it.

This unit aims to raise your awareness of integrated learning, and will guide you in planning activities that combine the acquisition of subject content with the development of language and literacy in the elementary classroom.