Catholic Schools Week: Student engagement soars through cross-curricular teaching at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School

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Eighth-grade students in Our Lady of Lourdes’ Middle School Academy recently completed a cross-curricular project in which they created newspapers set in colonial times. They wrote articles about important events and issues of the era. Their newspapers included ads, obituaries, sports, weather and comics set in that time period.

Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School in Salt Lake City has embraced a dynamic approach to education through cross-curricular teaching, fostering an enriched learning environment that goes beyond traditional subject boundaries. This innovative approach aims to integrate various disciplines, providing students with a holistic understanding of the interconnectedness of knowledge.

At the heart of cross-curricular teaching is the recognition that real-world challenges and opportunities do not neatly fit into distinct subjects. Our Lady of Lourdes encourages teachers to collaborate across disciplines, creating a seamless learning experience for students. This approach enhances students’ critical thinking skills and prepares them for a future where the ability to apply knowledge across different domains is paramount.

One notable aspect of cross-curricular teaching at Our Lady of Lourdes is the emphasis on project-based learning. Students engage in hands-on assignments that require the integration of skills and knowledge from multiple subjects.

During Advent, Ms. Johnson had her fourth-grade students read the Bible story of the birth of Jesus. Through a variety of activities and projects, she incorporated English Language Arts (ELA), art and STEM into religion. Students summarized and retold the story of Jesus’ birth in their own words and drew detailed pictures that included important parts of the story. Critical thinking and engineering aspects of STEM were added as the students built a manger for a miniature baby Jesus. Finally, the students discussed the different shapes of the manger and calculated the distance that Mary and Joseph would have walked to Bethlehem, bringing in science and math.

In our upper grades, cross-curricular learning becomes more common as we prepare the students for success in high school and beyond.

Recently, our Middle School Academy students in eighth grade completed a cross-curricular history and ELA project where they created colonial newspapers. The assignment involved writing, research and artistic components. Based on what they were learning in history, the students wrote articles about important events and issues of the time. Their newspaper included ads, obituaries, sports, weather and comics, which all required extensive research to fit with the timeline. The teachers discussed the tone and writing style of different articles – a need, opinion and satire – and the difference in the way we spoke then to now.

“This was a fun project for the students with a lot of engagement,” said Mr. Hegvik, Middle School Academy history teacher. “Projects like this offer a chance to inspire students that are indifferent to one subject by harnessing their passion for another, and also makes academic subjects feel more realistic and relevant.”

Cross-curricular teaching is done at all grade levels at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School. It gives students the ability to problem solve and connect ideas with what they are learning to real-world value. These teachings better prepare students for their education and futures, by allowing them to implement what they have learned in everyday life.

Courtesy of Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School