21st Century 7th grade Learners

Global Citizenship: Lesson (3-5)

While this lesson plan is tagged 3-5, the resources and content would also be appropriate for the middle school. This lesson plan actually comes from TeachUnicef and has four complete lessons on global citizenship. You could complete the first lesson: What is Global Citizenship? as an overview of this 21st Century Learning Skill, or plan a whole unit on Global Citizenship. The lesson include essential questions and enduring understandings, pre and post assessments, graphics and information, key vocabulary, website links for extensions, and handouts/worksheets for students.

Classrooms can use this lesson plan and its companion website resources to explore the nature of leadership. This plan is designed to be used with the film, The Principal Story, which follows the activities of both a veteran and a novice school principal during the course of a school year. (A Note From PBS)

This lesson is interesting, as it focuses on leadership specifically in the school setting. Students will take what they learn about leadership from The Principal Story and discuss which leadership skills would also transfer to jobs outside of education. In addition to the film, there are short clips included that can be used if you are more constrained for time. The lesson plan includes a student hand out as well as discussion questions that could be used in a socratic seminar, whole group discussion, small group discussion, or individual writing prompts.

In this problem solving lesson plan for grades 6-12, students use a free online game called Quandary to practice ethics, critical thinking and problem solving skills. (A Note From BrainPop)

Problem Solving:

This resource from BrainPop Educators is aligned to Common Core State Standards in ELA. The lesson plan includes printable handouts for students, interactive problem solving games, and discussion prompts. The first Quandary would be especially appropriate for 7th grade, as it aligns with the 7th grade life science standards as well. The lesson plan has a step by step list of materials and procedures for carrying out the lesson with your students, making it very user friendly.

This is an extra resource I found from Google and iKeepSafe. It is a 48 page resource with multiple lesson plans/activities for teachers to lay the foundations for internet safety.

In today’s society, with the abundance of electronic devices that keep students and adults ever so occupied and isolated, communication skills have never been more important and necessary. This lesson and activities strive to teach students the characteristics necessary for effective communication skills in various aspects of their lives in a fun and interactive way, using a variety of techniques. (A Note From FamilyConsumerSciences.Com)

Communication:

This lesson plan includes a PPT detailing the various types of verbal and nonverbal communications. It includes several video clips, including The Big Bang Theory, for students to analyze effective and ineffective communication. The videos could be watched whole group or in small groups and can lead to great discussion over how to communicate effectively. The lesson also includes a link to a Kahoot review game, an activity that helps them restate phrases to communicate ideas more clearly, and an emotional intelligence quiz designed to help students recognize others' feelings. Overall, this is an interactive and engaging lesson plan to teach effective communication.

Emotional Intelligence:

This lesson plan is a part of a mentorship training for students. However, the resources provided would be beneficial to any student learning about emotional intelligence. The lesson plan includes an emotional intelligence quiz, as well as videos, and many opportunities for discussion. The Google Site this lesson plan is found on has many other lessons that may be incorporated into 21st Century Skills lessons.

Entrepreneurship:

This lesson plan provides background information for teachers that they can use for personal preparations and share with students. It is aimed for grades 7-12 and includes discussion prompts, the characteristics of an entrepreneur, visual resources, scenarios, and an entrepreneurial self-assessment.

Team Work:

This resource from the U.S. Department of Labor is extremely comprehensive. It includes teacher background and instructions, journaling activities for students, personal skills inventory, and opportunities for group work and small group discussion.

The U.S. Department of Labor actually has an entire page dedicated to soft skills lesson plans for young people. Three of the eight "must have" 21st Century skills (team work, communication, and problem solving) are represented in the lesson plans.

https://www.dol.gov/odep/topics/youth/softskills/

Digital Literacy:

This lesson plan is from Common Sense Media, and it gets students thinking about the different ways we use digital media. It also have them view digital media from different perspectives, such as student, teacher, and parent. It is aligned to the Common Core State Standards for ELA and includes discussion, videos, concept mapping, and an assessment.