“Volcano Folklore vs. Reality” Exploring the structure of the Earth through stories and science

When faced with the ever-growing pressure of meeting common core standards in literacy and math, how can teachers introduce more science in early education? The answer: integration. Using a high-interest topic, such as volcanoes, teachers can not only capture their students’ attention, but they can teach required skills across content areas to meet the needs of local, state, and national standards. This unit will look at geology from different perspectives, teaching skills of reading comprehension, making connections, and narrative writing while providing lessons and activities to encourage future volcanologists to explore the world and the changes that occur every day. This curriculum was developed after taking a course about geology, learning about the key terms, skills, and concepts. Coupled with my own research about volcanoes and folklore, and knowledge of teaching 3rd grade, I pulled together resources and lessons to help engage 3rd graders in a unit about science content while also meeting the needs of the literacy curriculum.