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Learning is interconnected and therefore instruction should naturally be interdisciplinary. However, setting up instruction that interconnects disciplines is challenging.
Using universal concepts, such as Power or Change, and related generalizations:
Students in a kindergarten class learn about four topics in a day: counting to one hundred, the life cycle of a butterfly, writing their names, and defining what it means to be a good citizen. At first glance, these topics do not seem to have anything in common. The teacher decides to frame the learning under the universal concept of systems, which creates a framework for students to see connections across these areas of study. Normally, these topics are taught one after the other. Instead, the teacher introduces the idea that systems have parts that work together and challenges students to prove or explain where they can find systems within these topics throughout the day.
Within this universal concept, students will see the connections and cohesion as they recognize that the counting system is made up of numbers, the butterfly life cycle is a system that involves a series of parts where the butterfly develops, the letters of their names are a part of the alphabet system, and characteristics of a good citizen are defined by a system where people work together to function. The framing of the content under the universal concept of systems creates interdisciplinary cohesion, connections, and increased rigor for all learners.
