Thematic Lessons Integrating Bloom's Taxonomy

When teaching the English language in a foreign country, most teachers utilize similar curriculum and strategies as American schools and our research and development teams consult American standards for testing, textbooks, and level placements. However, because of the difference in language, culture and general content of the textbooks, students can sometimes get lost very quickly. Their overall literacy is good, but some find they cannot readily understand concepts that an American child might grasp quickly, due to being raised in an American culture. An example of this is one of the stories in the textbook, Reading Street, in a piece of non-fiction text about ranch hands’ responsibilities on a cattle farm. Most of the vocabulary for them is new since they do not grow up with farming vocabulary. We, therefore, need to teach a lot of background information. This is an example that demonstrates, first-hand, that, “Reading comprehension requires not only the skills of reading… but also fundamental language proficiency." (Coleman & Goldenberg, 2011)

Many EFL kindergarten and elementary teachers are also responsible for a monthly theme lesson that occasionally correlates with our other core textbooks. This post will discuss the lessons I have made surrounding the theme of Health and Nutrition. Some of the students will have some basic knowledge of this topic, which we will enrich with more complex ideas and vocabulary. During my Master’s studies, I found a system that worked with my schedule to help me create lessons for some of the more complex and difficult subjects.

Here I will show you a lesson schematic using a modified version of Bloom’s Taxonomy (1956) to ensure that a multi-faceted approach to learning is employed.

First, I mapped the objectives and outcomes I had for the class.

Objectives/Outcomes Content 1	Objectives/Outcomes Content 2
Connect math to nutrition -          students are currently learning about graphing and surveying in Math. -          “create opportunity for elaborated talk” (Coleman&Goldenberg, 2011)	Connect science and language arts -          read a big book about how food is digested -          preview words so that students have the foundation for oral reading fluency  -          create an ‘experiment’ where students sort cups labeled with different digestive parts and different stages of a digested apple
Grade Level: Grade 1 / 2	Language level: Intermediate
Unit Theme: Health and Nutrition

Afterward, I brainstormed more in depth ideas for the unit. It was beneficial for me to think about my students' needs in particular, and to create something specialized for them. I considered their interests and abilities and tried to stay focused on enhancing their learning, and avoiding the “cute but superficial activities” that Barton and Smith (2011) cite as being counterproductive to the efficacy of interdisciplinary instruction.

Content Area 1: Math and Health	Theme: Health and Nutrition	Content Area 2: Science and Language Arts
Ideas: -          take a survey about healthy lifestyle choices -          include healthy food activities and habits (washing hands, brushing teeth, covering your mouth when sneezing, etc.) -          create bar graphs reflecting the popular choices among students -          could extend the survey to other classes or teachers?		Ideas: -          utilize big book of digestion -          supplement with anatomical science display boards of the digestive system -          prepare an activity using cups with printed labels of digestive parts -          use real food to make it interesting and engaging -          use vocabulary lesson to extend the concept to nutrient absorption in the bloodstream (next week's theme discussion)

After careful thought regarding both of these lessons, I came up with the following four questions after reflecting on the week’s readings and deducing some important factors to encourage successful thematic learning in the classroom.

Guiding Questions

1. How can I create interest in the subject matter and keep students engaged?

2. Can students use the vocabulary and concepts learned in journal or summative writing?

3. Are the students able to interact with each other and use the vocabulary when speaking to each other?

4. How can I use their existing knowledge to help guide the lesson?

Finally, after mapping my ideas and carefully considering the questions I posed, I created a chart for each of my modules. Here is a regeneration of Bloom’s Taxonomy chart, modified to fit my lessons.

Module 1: Math and Health
Remembering/Knowledge	Understanding/Comprehension	Applying/ Application	Analyzing /Analysis	Evaluating/ Evaluation	Creating/ Synthesis
Recall student’s knowledge of prior vocabulary.	Discuss and spot-check any new words for meaning and comprehension.
			Question students and take a survey about possible categories.	Appraise and choose relevant options to graph.
					Create a journal based on the results of the graphs.

Module 2: Science and Language Arts
Remembering/Knowledge	Understanding/Comprehension	Applying/ Application	Analyzing /Analysis	Evaluating/ Evaluation	Creating/ Synthesis
Reproduce vocabulary learned about nutrient pathways in previous classes.
	Paraphrase the story and digestive pathway.		Discriminate the different stages by sorting labeled cups into order.	Defend their choices to other groups by saying why their ordering is correct.
					Assemble a ‘working digestive system’ using cups and parts of the apple.

Of course, this kind of thinking and planning is usually inherent in teachers. We are constantly planning and modifying our lessons in our heads in order to meet the dynamic needs of our students. However, writing it out and having a distinct, structural strategy was very beneficial for me, especially when planning big lessons involving a diverse sampling of vocabulary and concepts. Using the structure of Bloom's Taxonomy allows you to classify which parts of your lesson will accumulate to actual comprehension and literacy, as opposed to elements that might be fun, but ultimately ineffective in guiding you towards an end goal.

Undoubtedly this is an effective tool for teachers of any discipline, and it is certainly beneficial for EFL teachers who might struggle with finding the best means of language development for our students.