21st Century 6th Grade Learners

In this lesson plan, students will discuss what they believe makes a strong leader. Students will watch clips from the movie The Principal Story to observe and critique different leadership styles against the student generated definition of a strong leader. At the end of the lesson, the students will write a paragraph about how they can become strong leaders.

"Digital safety is the focus with sixth-graders, who are likely to be making their first tentative social steps online. They learn what personal information should be kept private, how to tell the difference between public and private communications, and how to safely "friend" and "follow" others. Students in sixth grade also learn the basics of copyright and what they can ethically use for their own creations. Perhaps most importantly, they learn to "stop, block, and tell" when a stranger is making them uncomfortable online" (Common Sense Education). The students will create a comic using Storyboard That to display positive digital literacy examples.

In this lesson plan, students will complete the "Ways to Communicate" Activity. Students will engage in telephone and charades to discuss the differences between verbal and nonverbal communication. The teacher will explain that what you try to communicate is not always understood by the audience. The students will discuss how to use clear and concise communication via the internet.

Students will engage in the activity "Things Are Not Always As They Seem". In this activity, students will reflect upon a time when they jumped to a conclusion and said or did something they regretted. They will use the "TRUTH" prompt to reflect upon the situation. For example, Trigger Event (what happened, Reference (how you incorrectly evaluated the situation), Unhealthy Response (what did you say or do that you now regret), Truth (what was really going on), Healthy Response (what can you do or say better next time). Students are encouraged to relate this to a conflict that has occurred online since communication is easily misconstrued via technology.

First, students will experience what it means to be an entrepreneur by taking on a challenge and being creative to solve a problem. Second, students will learn about qualities every entrepreneur should have. Next, the students will create a slideshow of an entrepreneur Dream Team discussing what type of people would be essential when taking on a challenging task!

Students will watch the Kid President video about how to change the world. After, students will be tasked to research what it means to be a global citizen. Next, students will use the iPads and Movie Maker to create a short film answering the following question: What is a global citizen? Videos will be shared with the class upon completion.

In this problem solving lesson plan, students use a game called Quandary to practice ethics, critical thinking and problem solving skills.

Students will be divided into teams and tasked to make a bridge out of a limited supply of materials that can hold the weight of a textbook. At the conclusion of the activity, the students will reflect upon what went well and poorly during the activity. The classroom will discuss positive teamwork and negative teamwork that attributed to the success or failure of each group. At the end, the students will reflect upon how they can improve teamwork if they were tasked to build a bridge again.