1. CURRICULUM INTEGRATION The MIDAS Project: Supported by the Science Education Partnership Award Program of the National Center for Research Resources, National Institutes of Health (Grant No. R25 RR018634)

2. Integrating Environmental Health Science Across Subjects Using EHS to Achieve Your Education Goals Enhance learning Motivate students Makes learning come alive Helps students develop environmental awareness and make healthy lifestyle choices for their future

3. Curriculum Integration Relates theories, content, skills and processes from science to other subject areas Provides students the opportunity to apply their knowledge in the real world Reinforces understanding and learning

4. Characteristics of an Integrated Curriculum Combines academic and technical skills from several subject areas with high standards Incorporates a variety of learning styles Eliminates barriers between subjects that fragment learning Relates new knowledge to real-life situations Helps students better understand and retain information

5. Integration Strategies Constructivism- students use hands-on activities to build on prior knowledge Cooperative Learning- students work in groups to solve problems, promote cooperation, and build relationships Collaborative Instruction- students use knowledge from several disciplines to solve problems Critical Thinking - students explore real-life issues, investigate and define problems, and identify solutions

6. Collaborative Instruction Sharing competency lists Sharing testing ideas Interdisciplinary teaching Sharing laboratory equipment and supplies Assignment of interdisciplinary problem-solving projects for students

7. Benefits for Students Encourages teamwork and cooperation Places responsibility for learning on students rather than the teacher Promotes higher-level thinking and develops problem-solving skills Improves academic achievement and student motivation Enables students to progress at a more rapid pace Prepares students for higher education and the workplace

8. Benefits for Teachers Builds teamwork among teachers Allows teachers to collaborate and share instructional strategies Provides better access to laboratory equipment and supplies Aligns curriculum Actively involves parents and community members

9. The Integration Wheel The Integration Wheel Format facilitates the integration planning process. After identifying the focus/topic, teachers from all subject areas share ideas on how they will address the topic in their classroom. The integration wheel also helps teachers to connect the learning experiences in other classrooms and communicate the connections to their students for reinforcement.

10. Holes: Can You Dig It? is a thematic unit that integrates environmental health science with literature, history, math, and technology. It is based on the award-winning novel Holes by Louis Sachar.

11. Meet the Author Louis Sachar has won the Newbery Medal, the National Book Award, and the Christopher Award for Juvenile fiction for his novel, Holes. Louis Sachar also wrote the screenplay for the movie and has written a sequel to the book entitled Small Steps.

12. Meet Stanley Yelnats Stanley is a middle school student who is accused of crime he didn’t commit. He is sent to Camp Green Lake, a juvenile detention facility, where the boys are forced to dig holes every day looking for buried treasure. Stanley learns many life lessons during his stay at Camp Green Lake.

13. Science Themes in Holes Health hazards such as skin cancer and dehydration Skin anatomy and functions The effects of regional weathering and erosion Shovels as simple machines

14. Integration Across Subjects Math- circumference and volume, word problems, interactive math game with science topics Language Arts- heroism, character analysis, the inner self, weaving science themes into creative writing History- inventions that changed history, stagecoach robberies, the study of artifacts