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An integrated curriculum allows children's learning in all traditional subject areas to occur primarily through projects that the teachers plan and that reflect children's interests. This paper presents a curriculum web on Chinese festivals, specifically, the Chinese New Year, for kindergarten and first grade levels. The paper first presents a teacher brainstorm of a curriculum web on celebrating Chinese festivals, and then presents the thematic web for the subtopic Chinese New Year, which includes the origin of the festival, things people do, special activities, foods people eat, clothing, greetings, and the animal of the year from the Chinese zodiac. Next, the paper lists the curriculum subject areas and learning activities for the New Year subtopic: reading-listening-speaking; writing; math; science; art; social studies; music; and movement. Key events for the unit are then listed, including book making, field trips, dragon making, dragon parade, display center, and party. A student evaluation checklist for each of the subject areas is included. Two appendices contain a story map and a description of the origins of the Chinese New Year and its customs. (HTH)

Is the United States getting it wrong when it comes to educating tomorrow's innovators in critical fields? It has been known for years that the only way to compete globally in information technology, engineering, nanotechnology, robotics and other fields is to give students the best educational opportunities possible. But do individuals have a successful formula when it comes to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education? In this report, the authors challenge the nation's approach to STEM education and argue that reforms are urgently needed to better match the talents of students, the needs of employers, and its goals. (Contains 19 tables, 42 figures, and 623 endnotes.) [Funding for this paper was provided by the Intel Corporation. For "Refueling the U.S. Innovation Economy: Fresh Approaches to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Education. Executive Summary," see ED521736.]