In Integrating Science and Social Studies in the Elementary Curriculum, Ms.

Kordes explored
various methods of teaching elementary science and social studies, increased her understanding and
usage of powerful active learning strategies in the classroom, developed her skill as a reflective
practitioner, and created integrated learning experiences with an emphasis on 21st Century Skills linking
science and social studies to other content areas.
In her final performance assessment, Ms. Kordes challenged first grade students to consider
how families are alike and different, who is part of their classroom community, and how a quilt can
tell a story of the people who put it together. While using the Understanding by Design (UbD) curriculum
framework, she integrated language arts and social studies into a highly engaging, thoughtful unit. Ms.
Kordes included various active learning strategies and interactive activities such as recognizing and
appreciating differences among people through meaningful literature and using and making a quilt to
tell a story. With a strong emphasis on 21st Century Learning, Ms. Kordes understands that the
education of children includes more than just factual information.
During this course, Ms. Kordes demonstrated a positive outlook to teaching/learning, a
commitment to academic excellence through course participation/reflection, and a desire to make a
difference in the classroom. She describes herself as being the teacher who strives to teach the
students that others wont. Ms. Kordes classroom will function like a family and will always honor that
each child comes to her with a life prior to stepping into her classroom and with a backpack ready to be
unpacked. (Quite an insightful analogy!) She will use books to help explore empathy. Learning in her
classroom will not be divided by subject lines for it will be natural and unending. Each child will be
celebrated and represented in the materials used in the classroom. What an optimal environment to
learn, I say! Students will be lucky to have Ms. Kordes as their lead learner.