10 Ways to Bring Literature into Math, Science, Social Studies, and Art Classrooms

Spark conversations about reading with your students using the following interdisciplinary resources from KQED as a framework. Discover the benefits of incorporating literature into math, science, social studies, and art curriculum, and show your students how literature can be a powerful medium for exploring the world.

Math:

How Reading Novels in Math Class Can Strengthen Student Engagement
Learn how these math teachers encourage student engagement and mathematical curiosity by reading novels with their pre-algebra and calculus students. Explore their lesson plans to bring literature into your own math classroom!

10 Books to Spark a Love of Math in Kids of All Ages
Help students think creatively about math concepts with these award-winning picture books, graphic novels, biographies, and young adult novels centered on the role of math in everyday life.

Science:

Could Storytelling Be the Secret Sauce to STEM Education?
Explore how one computer science teacher uses literature to help K-12 students understand abstract numbers and equations, and even become computer programmers!

A Literacy-Based Strategy to Help Teachers Integrate Science Skills
Discover how several teachers integrate literature and scientific inquiry in their classrooms through the Novel Engineering project. Brainstorm other ways to use literature as a starting point for hands-on science projects!

Technology:

NaNoWriMo Challenge Helps Students Write and Publish in the Digital Age
Learn how this eighth-grade teacher encourages her students to write and publish novels during National Novel Writing Month. Help your students develop their writing and digital literacy skills by taking the NaNoWriMo challenge with your classroom.

Coding in English Class? Yes! And In Your Class, Too!
Explore how one teacher integrates coding and creative writing in her curriculum. Her middle school students develop video games based on characters and plots from novels written during NaNoWriMo.

Social Studies:

Why the Classics Matter in Today’s Political Landscape
Spark conversations about politics and political language with your students by examining characters and themes from popular literature, including Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar.  

How Robots in English Class Can Spark Empathy and Improve Writing
Use robots in the classroom to help students reflect on historical events while also fostering collaboration and building digital literacy skills.

Art and Design:

Interactive Maps Help Students Visualize How Frankenstein Tracked Down His Monster
Discover how this teacher uses Google Maps to help her students better understand setting and character development. Her seniors create digital maps about the books they read in class. Learn how to create interactive maps with your students using the KQED Teach course Making Interactive Maps.

Books-to-Games: Transforming Classic Novels Into Role Playing Adventures
Explore how teachers can use role-playing games, like Dungeons and Dragons, to enhance student engagement. After reading a novel in class, students design new characters and situations to weave into the fabric of the story. Use these methods to reimagine how to teach creative writing and character development to your students!