Crossing the Lines: Science, Social Studies, & Language Arts
My students need 65 copies of "Fever, 1793" in order to allow us to teach a cross-curricular history unit in our science, social studies, and language arts classes.
This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because
it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.
As a scientist and science teacher, I struggle to connect my science curriculum with the real world my 8th graders live in. Poverty, limited resources, and limited experiences keep these students from seeing the point of a lot what we teach. For many, their limited experiences also prevent them from seeing beyond the community and the current circumstances they endure.
Our team of 8th grade language arts teachers, social studies teacher, and myself (science teacher) have discussed the possibilities of teaching a cross-curricular unit that we can all connect to our students. "Fever, 1793" is an obvious choice, as a historical fiction story that brings vividly to life the story of a girl caught in the yellow fever epidemic of 1793. The historic references and context, the nature of the epidemic, and the strong story line give each teacher a connection to the story, while providing students with a view of life in a historically significant time, long before vaccinations or germ theory.
The roadblock we encounter in trying to do a cross-curricular unit like this is simple: getting enough books to provide reading material to two language arts teachers at the same time. Moving books from class to class means that the language arts teachers can't teach at the same time, or have to take turns with the books. That sort of juggling makes it difficult for the social studies and science teachers to coordinate their teaching to all students.
A "dip-stick" lesson I taught early in the year, a student survey intended to illustrate to students the impact of science on their daily lives, instead made clear to me that my 8th grade students really did not understand how science impacts their daily lives. "Fever, 1793" provides a view of a world before science had identified the vectors and causes of yellow fever in the context of early US society. Our students will benefit from the combined teaching efforts of three subject area experts focusing on a single book. The hardest part of accomplishing this collaboration is getting the books. I am hopeful that donors will be willing to help us bring this book into our classrooms.
More than half of students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mrs. Blaettler and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
