Meeting the standards can be done and should be done. Standardized quizzes and tests will ensure that the students have learned the relevant content. However, test questions provide only some ways in which the information is relevant or can be used.
TeachHub.com recommends working with themes to broaden out the subject and spread out the standards through various lessons or units. Here is what they suggest:
Try first to take a big topic/unit that you want to spend at least a month on. Roman Empire? Magnets and Electricity? Chemical Compounds? Shakespeare? All of these can be made into thematic unit that cover a number of subjects and even dozens of standards.
Take all the standards, sit down, and figure out how you can integrate them into that unit. Look at your English-Language Arts (ELA) and Math standards:
How can those ideas of what you want to accomplish be utilized here?
Are there ways to expand into other subjects?
What about going beyond just writing a paper, what if you integrated more grammar work, and references/resource tools?
Therefore, integrating learning does not negate or cancel standards, it simply is an approach that widens their scope and relevancy through planning. Although, practicing test questions is an important preparatory step for students before taking a standardized test, the actual process of learning can be widened and can include a more integrated approach.
TIP: Include options and choices for students as they meet the standards.
Coming up next, “I don’t understand what an integrated approach really means!” - Stay tuned...