The three main reasons for combining units from different subjects are so that:

• children can see the connection between the subjects that contain common or complementary knowledge, skills and understanding
• children can apply, consolidate and develop their skills or knowledge and understanding from one subject in the context of another
• the experiences that children have and the content they learn in one subject can motivate them to learn in another.

These reasons are not, of course, mutually exclusive. In practice, teachers may be combining units for all three reasons.

Some connections between subjects are more important than others. They make a real difference, enhancing the learning in the subjects that are combined. It is these powerful combinations of subjects that are worth planning for and developing in the curriculum.

Only two, or at the most three, subjects should be combined or the new unit is likely to become unmanageable.