New Book Idea: Less is More…a guide to building meaningful hands-on cross curricular lessons

I have taught in the classroom for ten years.

I love to learn…and I love to learn with kids.

It is for all of these reasons that I started this blog….and also why I do so many cross curricular hands-on activities in my class. I have only had this blog/website for about two months and have noticed a trend that mimics what I have noticed over the last ten years of collaboration. My hands-on cross curricular lessons/posts are the most popular. I have over 800 posts on a page that went live two weeks ago and approximately 450 on each of my Reader Requests. I have had visitors from eleven counties. I have been viewed by all provinces except Prince Edward Island and am only missing the Northwest Territories…. It is exciting and bringing me joy.

People are hungry for ways to make their classrooms hands-on and cross curricular. Educators want support to try things to increase student engagement/understanding that are tested in the classroom. These are my strengths. I can help.

I have wanted to write a book to help educators for years, but hadn’t found my voice. My teaching experience and this blog have helped me find it. So I am bravely sharing my early ideas for a book that I am starting to work on….

Less is More:

A guide to building meaningful hands-on cross curricular lessons

Goal: Create a user-friendly book to help educators feel more confident designing cross curricular hands-on lessons. A book that gives them easy changes for the next day while providing a framework to dig deeper into practice in order to shift the learning environment.

(A Few) Inspiration Books:

1. Grand Conversations by Faye Brownlie

2. Reading Power Series by Adrienne Gear

3. Building a Thinking Classroom by Peter Liljedahl

4. Inquiry Circles…LESSON SECTION by Harvey Daniels

5. The Daily Five by Gail Boushey and Joan Moser  

These were ALL books I read in ONE sitting and continue to revisit for lessons, tweaks, and ideas. They are user-friendly books that provide things you can do instantly to shift your practice, while also providing a framework to dig deeper. The ideas are classroom tested and refined.

I have a general outline!

I have four big sections with suggested chapters:

1. Setting the Stage

2. Designing for Kids

3. Assessing Student Success

4. The Final Invitation

I have started my research…

I have kept up with the latest practices through my pro-d…I have gone to workshops and read great books but, it has been a few years since I went hunting for scholarly articles. I think it is important to do some research…and so it has begun! I am trying to focus on articles about student engagement, academic success, hands-on learning, collaboration, and factors that build a strong class community. I am noticing that my practice is paralleling many of the articles I am reading…it feels good!

Brave New World…

So these are my first steps. I am starting to take notes/think about the pieces I want to include in my chapters. I am hoping to have a fairly detailed outline by the end of October so that I can start writing/working with educators to build a larger portfolio of examples (expand the grades/districts that I have samples from…explore what works in multiple places).

How can you help?

• Continue to be the awesome and supportive readers that you have been! Looking at/commenting on/sharing posts helps me to see what is popular/wanted.

• Ask me questions.

• Do you think you would want to read a book like this?

• What questions do you have about hands-on cross curricular lessons/units?

• What subjects/topics do you find the most challenging to make engaging for you kids?

• What kinds of books do you like to read to help build your practice?

I want to create a user-friendly/useful book that can be revisited for continued inspiration. I want to create a book like the books I love/that inspire me.

Thank you for your help and support!