Prepared by Justin Ringsak, CFWEP

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An Interdisciplinary Approach to Teaching The
Clark Fork Watershed
Prepared by Justin Ringsak, CFWEP www.cfwep.org
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Why Interdisciplinary?

• The integrated curriculum is a great gift to
  experienced teachers. It's like getting a new
  pair of lenses that make teaching a lot more
  exciting and help us look forward into the next
  century. It is helping students take control of
  their own learning. - M. Markus, media
  specialist, quoted in Shoemaker, September 1991,
  p. 797
• I'm learning more in this course, and I'm doing
  better than I used to do when social studies and
  English were taught separately. - Student,
  quoted in Oster 1993, p. 28
• ...education that is organized in such a way
  that it cuts across subject-matter lines,
  bringing together various aspects of the
  curriculum into meaningful association to focus
  upon broad areas of study. It views learning and
  teaching in a holistic way and reflects the real
  world, which is interactive.
• Neurology Learning is best accomplished when
  information is presented in meaningful, connected
  patterns.
• Addresses mandates placed on teachers.
• http//www.nwrel.org/scpd/sirs/8/c016.html
  Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory

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Why the Clark Fork?

• Place-based
• Unique physical historical context
• Applicable content for all disciplines
• Of national historic and cultural importance

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Sample Clark Fork Curriculum Content by
SubjectSCIENCE

• Water Chemistry What did mining do to the water
  system?
• Geology How did Butte ore deposits develop?
• Industrial Chemistry What chemical or physical
  processes occur in the milling, reducing and
  smelting of ore?
• Biology What effects has industry had on local
  organisms?
• Human Biology What effects has industry had on
  human health?
• Chemistry Why is copper used in electrification
  and other industrial applications?
• Microbiology What organisms live in the Berkeley
  Pit, and how do they survive in such an
  environment?
• Ecology What effects has human development had
  on Montanas native ecosystems?
• Technology What technologies were and are used
  in copper extraction? In restoration? In
  research?

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Sample Clark Fork Curriculum Content by
SubjectENGLISH

• The River We Carry With Us
• Norman Maclean, A.B. Guthrie, Rick Bass, David
  James Duncan, Judy Blunt, Ivan Doig, Pete Fromm,
  Joseph Kinsey Howard, James Welch, William
  Kittredge, Dashiell Hammett, Richard Hugo
• Wallace Stegner, Louis Clark, Edward Abbey,
  Sherman Alexie
• Composition Writing about the CFR

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Sample Clark Fork Curriculum Content by
SubjectHISTORY / SOCIAL STUDIES

• Native Peoples Intercultural Conflict
• Lewis Clark Early Settlement
• Industrialization Modernization
• WWI WWII
• Electrification
• The Rise of The Corporation (Anaconda)
• 20th Century Economic Development
• The Gibralter of Unionism
• The Development of Environmental Laws
• All can serve as a basis for comparison

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Sample Clark Fork Curriculum Content by
SubjectMATH

• Data Analysis
• GIS
• Demographics
• Ecosystem Studies
• Engineering
• Economic Analysis

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Sample Clark Fork Curriculum Content by
SubjectCURRENT EVENTS

• Community Decision-Making
• Shifting Economics
• Shifting Demographics
• Ongoing Research
• Development Sprawl

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Sample Clark Fork Curriculum Content by
SubjectINDUSTRIAL ARTS

• Reclamation Projects
• Restoration Projects
• Redevelopment Projects
• Infrastructure
• Urban Revitalization

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Sample Clark Fork Curriculum Content by
SubjectFINE ARTS

• Historic
• Native Arts
• Charlie Russell
• Ansel Adams
• Folk Songs / Union Culture
• Contemporary
• Film
• Music
• Art

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Questions?