1 of 37

Unlocking Learning Through Interdisciplinary Days

Jimmi Hobbs: Jimmi.Hobbs@cravenk12.org

Kimberly Rispress: Kimberly.Rispress@cravenk12.org

https://bit.ly/ECN-IDS

2 of 37

Table of Contents

1	Session Objectives
2	What is an Interdisciplinary Day?
3	Rationale Behind Interdisciplinary Days
4	Benefits for Students and Teachers
5	Planning for the Day
6	Product Samples
7	Gathering Ideas
8	Exit Ticket

3 of 37

Session Objectives

Explain the rationale and instructional value of interdisciplinary themed learning days
Identify opportunities for cross-curricular alignment
Collaboratively brainstorm themed learning experiences that integrate multiple subject areas
Develop a planning framework that includes standards alignment, student outcomes, and assessment ideas

4 of 37

What is an Interdisciplinary Day?

A coordinated day of instruction centered around a shared theme

Grade‑level teachers design activities that connect across subjects

Students explore content through multiple lenses

Learning feels cohesive, purposeful, and real‑world

5 of 37

The Rationale Behind Interdisciplinary Days

Answers the age old question, “When will I ever use this?”

Powerful way to help students make sense of the world.

Increases engagement and helps students apply content knowledge to real world scenarios.

Promotes teacher collaboration and integrates many subject areas.

6 of 37

Benefits of Interdisciplinary Days

7 of 37

Benefits for Students

Boosts engagement and collaboration through hands‑on, thematic activities
Helps students analyze relationships between content areas
Supports diverse learners at multiple levels
Encourages creativity and problem‑solving
Strengthens retention through meaningful context

8 of 37

Benefits for Educators

Increased collaboration and shared ownership
Opportunities for innovation and creativity
Stronger alignment across subjects
A more unified grade‑level experience

9 of 37

Student Views

Mea-�10th Grade

Dylan-

11th Grade

Alex-

11th Grade

How do ID Days compare to a normal school day?

Which activity or session was the most engaging?

What was your favorite part of the ID Days?

10 of 37

Student Views

Ainsley-�9th Grade

Hailey-�9th Grade

Were the activities interactive enough to keep your attention?

Which activity or session was the most engaging?

11 of 37

Planning for the Day

Plan for around 3 hours of activity
Determine common theme
Identify standards and skills (planning document)
Each subject area teacher designs specific content activities within the theme, or team builds one activity that includes each discipline
Structure-focused, ensure there are smooth transitions and rigid time blocks

12 of 37

Sample Products

Craven Early College

Interdisciplinary Days

13 of 37

Grade 9

Journey to the New World	Viva La Revolution
Students utilize math to craft a cardboard boat. Students collect artifacts at each station with the goal of collecting them all. Along the way they encounter The Fountain of Youth the Aztec Empire and el Dorado to name a few.	Students travel back in time to 1789 France. As young citizens of Paris, they are immersed in the unfolding events of the French Revolution. They choose their own adventure, deciding if they will join the Women's March on Versailles or uncover secret letters that could reveal hidden truths?

16 of 37

Grade 11

The Awakening Mission	Murder Mystery
Students collaborated to find scientific properties of “elements” to cure a medical outbreak, determined the cost vs. profit of producing said medicine, and presented findings to a panel of judges.	Activities combined research, inference and presentations skills with math concepts such as proportionality, balancing equations and interpreting diagrams to solve a murder

19 of 37

Grade 10: Planning Document

Zombie Apocalypse	CSI Owl Country
Students utilize map skills, adaptation and evolution skills, and rhetoric and argument to survive an impending zombie invasion at Craven Early College.	Students utilize knowledge of civil rights, blood typing and DNA fingerprinting, and inferencing to solve and explore crime scenes.

20 of 37

November 14, 2025

21 of 37

Sharing Your Survival Kit

Select “Share”
Type in your group members’ email addresses & all 3 tenth grade teachers’ emails. Make sure all people added are “editors.”

barbara.mccurdy@cravenk12.org

christopher.perdue@cravenk12.org

kimberly.rispress@cravenk12.org

Change General Access to “Anyone with the link” can be a “viewer.”

22 of 37

Camp Member Name	Character Traits	Fitness Score

23 of 37

Arguing for Survival: Should we stay or should we go?

Our school is surrounded by zombies. We have a life or death decision to make as a colony. We must decide if we want to stay at school or flee to an alternate location. Your task as a group is the following:

Craft a persuasive speech in which you convince our colony to stay here and shelter in place or travel to an alternate location. Your speech should use rhetorical devices (see handout) and appeal with ethos, pathos and logos. Use your most convincing rhetoric to sway your colony!
Choose one member to the camp to passionately and convincingly deliver the speech in character to our colony. We will vote on a winning speech and plan.

24 of 37

Arguing for Survival: Should we stay or should we go?

Consider the following:

The pros and cons of staying or leaving
How to safely get our entire group to an alternate location
How will the traits of each colony member contribute to survival or hinder our escape?
How to get past the zombies surrounding our school
How to handle any rival colonies we may meet along the way
Our mode of transportation if we leave
How we would we protect ourselves in either scenario
How you help others face their fears

25 of 37

Arguing for Survival: Should we stay or should we go?

Argument: Does your camp think we should stay or go?
Reason 1
Reason 2
Call to Action
Rhetorical Device 1
Rhetorical Device 2
Rhetorical Device 3
Our camp has chosen this person to deliver the speech. Include reason.

27 of 37

Add text here.

28 of 37

Add text here.

29 of 37

Add text here.

30 of 37

Route of Escape

You have chosen to leave your camp and move to a safer location near New Bern. Do you have family nearby? Or feel another area or town in the state might be better suited for protection and resources?

Put the star on where you are starting. Put a heart on the location where you would like to set up a new, safer camp. Put an X on any physical, geographical obstacles between those two locations (Copy and Paste to make multiple stars). Then draw the travel route to your escape.��

31 of 37

Route of Escape

Fill in the table below with the information from your map

*pull factors, push factors, intervening obstacles, or intervening opportunities

Location	Type of Obstacle*	Description of Obstacle

33 of 37

Grade 10: CSI Owl Country

34 of 37

What do students say?

95% of students said it ranged from “engaging” to “very engaging.”
“It gave me a more personal connection to that field of knowledge by allowing to to have first-hand experience with some of the processes of crime investigation.”
“I knew very little about crime, now I know how to compare DNA.”
“Understanding the laws, rights, and requirements when being detained”
“The collaboration aspect, how everyone on your team was actually involved.”
Many students appreciated the hands-on activities and being more “relaxed” in a learning environment.

1 of 37

2 of 37

3 of 37

4 of 37

5 of 37

6 of 37

7 of 37

8 of 37

9 of 37

10 of 37

11 of 37

12 of 37

13 of 37

14 of 37

15 of 37

16 of 37

17 of 37

18 of 37

19 of 37

20 of 37

21 of 37

22 of 37

23 of 37

24 of 37

25 of 37

26 of 37

27 of 37

28 of 37

29 of 37

30 of 37

31 of 37

32 of 37

33 of 37

34 of 37

35 of 37

36 of 37

37 of 37