A New Year's Resolution for a middle school teacher might be to actually do an IDU this year. Check it off the "To Do" list now with this IDU on New Year's Resolutions.
Have you ever incorporated an IDU into your classroom? Has it been a while since you did? Maybe your New Year's Resolution can be to try an IDU once again? An interdisciplinary unit (IDU) might be the perfect way to start off the new year for you and your students. And why not keep the idea of a new year as the key? An IDU focused on New Year's Resolutions can be integrated into an entire middle school team, just a few classes, or simply by one teacher. The following is a list of simple ideas that could be used by teachers in various subject areas:
- Language Arts/Reading - Students can brainstorm different topics under which New Year's Resolutions might fall and why people make them. Then, they can write their own resolutions, as many or as few as directed. They might be shared or kept private. Students should then decide when they are going to go back to the resolutions and check on their status.
- Math - Students can discuss and review different types of graphs and why they're used. Then, students can graph the different topics/resolutions from their LA/Reading class. Students should use a variety of graphs to see how the information can actually look very different depending upon the graph used. Students can also compare and contrast data within each graph itself. They might also graph the data according to age, gender, birth order, etc.
- Social Studies - Students can work in small groups and read/research when the new year begins for different countries/continents around the world. Students should find out as much as possible about the culture, traditions, and customs that surround the new year and/or its celebrations. After they have gathered their information, they can share their findings with the rest of the class through a formal or informal presentation.
- Science - Since many people often pop open a bottle of champagne when the clock strikes midnight on New Year's Eve, students can conduct a simulation and/or experiment in regards to this tradition. Of course, champagne would need to be substituted with other liquids. But students would get a real bang out of learning how and why some liquids pop and some just fizzle out.
- Physical Education/Health - Students could complete a series of exercises/activities. Those might include push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups, 100-yd. dash or mile run, etc. Students should record their results. Then, as a class, students can discuss how they can improve their performance in each area. Students can possbily come up with an incentive plan to make some improvements. Progress can be monitored monthly. At the end of the school year, the students who made improvements could all be rewarded.
Depending on schedules, curriculum, time constraints, and all other factors that affect the middle school day, some of the lessons and activities might need to be carried out over several days. Other lessons might need to be shortened by reducing some of the tasks or lengthened by adding various components. However the IDU is used, it will hopefully serve as a good start to a great year. Happy New Year!
