How thematic teaching helps all of your students

      By incorporating science and social studies standards into your language arts lessons, you are helping your students gain knowledge in both areas.  In the past, language arts had frequently been taught with a basal series.  Although the text book companies that produce these products claim that they have themes, they are very loosely based and have little depth to their topics.  They produce a very disjointed curriculum.
     When an educator opts to combine the language arts with another subject area, there is more time to focus on content and to delve deeper into the topic.  This allows students to internalize their learning.  They hear the same words and concepts.  Their vocabulary improves.  Thematic teaching is especially helpful for English language learners and for students who come from the lower socio-economic status.  These students generally have smaller vocabularies.  By spending the majority of academic time on one subject children are able to make connections, learn content, and increase their vocabulary.