The purpose of this master’s thesis was to present how history and English are taught at an international school in Basel and create a lesson plan on The Age of Exploration that includes transdisciplinary tactics for teaching history and English. This was done through the analysis of various sources and literature, and personal teaching experience at the school. The international school in Basel in a so-called “International Baccalaureate (IB) school” that teaches according to the Primary Years Programme (PYP). Within the scope of the PYP, English is taught as its own subject, while the study of history takes place within the subject called Unit of Inquiry. However, as the PYP is transdisciplinary in nature, many historical topics and content are often covered in English classes as well. The two lesson plans, included in this master’s thesis, for fifth–year students at a primary school level, on the topic of geographical discoveries, show many transdisciplinary and cross-curricular connections between history and English. Interview answers from three teachers at the international school in Basel about their teaching of English and history showed that, despite the school not having history as its own subject, a plethora of historical content is still incorporated in all subjects at the school. Therefore, teachers teach historical events, and include topics about the past in written assignments and projects. The students’ knowledge of historical topics is assessed as well. The international school in Basel demonstrates successful historical content incorporation into various subject areas. Further research regarding teaching environments in international schools with the IB programme is suggested.
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