Do you know how you would answer the following teacher interview question: How do you incorporate literature into your classroom lessons?
It is important that the response you give to the job interview question is truthful, relevant to the position, and shows value to the school district. The following could be a possible answer, or it may provide some ideas for you to tailor your response:
I successfully incorporate literature into my language arts, science, and mathematics classroom lessons through utilizing the whole language and integrated curriculum approaches.
Books are advantageous because they help students explore math and science concepts in natural, familiar, and meaningful contexts. Reading a novel or narrative helps students further their reading and writing skills, language comprehension, and critical thinking skills in all subject areas.
An excellent way to incorporate literature across the curriculum is through units. For instance, if we read a novel about a tornado, the book’s themes and topics can transcend every other subject area.
I would have my students complete journal activities, writing passages, and research projects based on the characters, plot, and issues in the novel in language arts.
In science, we would study tornadoes: how they form, wind speeds, characteristics, and we would perform experiments where we could create tornadoes and funnels.
In math class, students would complete problem-solving questions regarding tornado scenarios such as: knowing x and y, how long it would take a tornado to reach z; they’d study the funnel shape and its properties.
Students would learn where tornadoes occur in social studies during what season, and they’d learn about tornado chasers. In art class, they’d create tornado pictures. And finally, in history, students could learn about famous tornadoes throughout history and the history of tornado predicting technology.
A multidisciplinary lesson incorporates literature throughout the curriculum. It puts literature at the forefront of classroom lessons, helping students develop their listening, reading, and writing skills and their critical thinking skills, and language comprehension skills across all disciplines.
