Constructing Buildings, Bridges, and Minds

About this book

"Constructing Buildings, Bridges, and Minds introduces and guides upper elementary and middle school teachers through the process of using major classroom projects to enable integration of the curriculum through social studies. As the author describes the energy and excitement that fills her classroom during the Washington, DC, and Latin America projects, readers will see beneath the bustle of activity on the surface to the students as they become immersed in their work. Not only do the students develop problem-solving and thinking skills, they also learn to collaborate and communicate both orally and in writing. Most important, they become motivated self-learners who carry their quest for learning far beyond the classroom."--BOOK JACKET. "As an elementary classroom teacher, Kathy Young spent nearly twenty years developing the process described in Constructing Buildings, Bridges, and Minds. In 1983 she was selected Idaho Teacher of the Year because of the outstanding results of her program. By describing actual classrooms filled with real children, Kathy Young does not offer a prepackaged linear model to follow, but rather a conceptual framework with unlimited potential. This kind of education cannot be reduced to formula, for the integration is free-flowing and flexible - often spontaneous - but guidelines, expectations, and accountability are also important aspects."--BOOK JACKET. "Educators seeking new ways to stimulate student motivation and learning, classroom teachers, curriculum specialists, school administrators, and anyone interested in reforming schools will find this book intriguing and useful."--BOOK JACKET.