21st Century Skill Lesson Ideas

Critical Thinking and Problem Solving

Use Systems Thinking

Analyze how parts of a whole interact with each other to produce overall outcomes in complex system.

In third grade we study the skeletal system, which is one of the most complex systems we could possibly study. As an anticipatory set to the unit, each student is assigned a bone in the human body. They use the Internet and e-books to study that bone. Then we could do a jigsaw style presentation so that every student in the class has heard a little bit about every bone in the body, while only researching one specific bone. Then we discuss how all the bones work together with our muscles, tendons, and joints, to form our working and moving skeleton.  

Creativity and Innovation

Work Creatively with Others
Develop, implement and communicate new ideas to others effectively

We do a unit on early explorers. I could assign every group a specific explorer and it is their job to work together to come up with a way to present information about their explorer to the class. I am completely leaving it up to them on what kind of project they do. Some examples I could give include creating a poster, a power point, a board game, writing a song or poem, doing a skit, or even sock puppets. Then they get to present their project.

ICT Literacy

Apply Technology Effectively
Use technology as a tool to research, organize, evaluate and communicate information.

We study non-fiction text and text features in language arts. A culminating end of unit project for this is a research biography essay. Students get to select any person they want (as long as there is information published about them) and they get to research on iPads about their person. Then they write an essay (with a lot of scaffolding.) Lastly, they get to dress up like their person and I will video tape them giving clues about their person in first person. For example they could say, “I wrote the book Harry Potter and the Sorcerers’ stone.”  All the parents and students watch the videos and get to guess whom each student is portraying.

Life and Career Skills

Initiative and Self-Direction - Manage Goals and Time
Set goals with tangible and intangible success criteria

At the beginning of the school year (and throughout the year) my students and I have a lot of discussions about setting goals. We talk about personal goals like getting exercise every day, academic goals like memorizing all my math facts, and behavioral goals like not talking in the hallways. Then as a reminder of these goals we set, we do a creative project. I take pictures of all the students using my iPad and I print them. The students cut around themselves and then create an artistic expression of their goals they have set for themselves. For example, one student drew themselves holding onto a bunch of balloons with one goal written in each balloon. They explained that they were soaring through the sky towards their goals. Then I publish these projects on our website so we can all keep each other accountable for our goals.