P21 ToolKit

P21-ToolKit

p. 37-38.

Where and how does creativity occur in your class?

Where and how does critical thinking and problem solving occur?

Where and how does communication, discussion, and collaboration occur?

Creativity occurs in my classroom through group projects and individual projects.  In group projects, they complete them in class using materials they’ve brought in.  One projects, students were asked to bring in a song that they thought was transcendental with a paragraph explaining why.  Students got into groups of 4 and selected one song from their pool of 4.  They then create a poster depicting the song with a brief summary, transcendental elements it represents, and a drawing the illustrates a main idea of the song.  Students also show their creativity through individual work they do.  For example, they also create their own gothic poems that then illustrate.

Critical thinking and problem solving occurs during group discussions about readings that we are doing in class.  Many of the books, poems, and articles that the students read are read to them in class.  During pauses from the reading, students are asked questions about the text to draw on their critical thinking skills and make inferences based on what we’ve read.

The majority of the discussion happens inside the classroom.  Communication is not, however, limited to the classroom.  Students also have Schoolloop which allows for teachers to post homework, notes, announcements, and details about what went on during the class for students and parents to access later.

P. 39

Where and how do you support and teach information literacy?

Where and how do you teach media literacy?

Where and how do you use technology in your class for students to research, organize, evaluate, and communicate information?

Students are taught how to access the internet to find relevant sources of information.  They are instructed how to look at a website to tell if it is a valid source.  One website they are not allowed to use is Wikipedia.  While Wikipedia is a valuable source of information and is continually updated through free-source postings of users, students are taught that there are other more accurate sources of information at their disposal that provide what is considered to be a reliable.

My students activily use Schoolloop to check their homework and other work for their classes.  This is especially helpful for days they are absent from school.

Students have a research project that they do in 10^th grade English.  Part of the project is researching a controversial topic, write an essay, and then presenting the information they gained to a panel of three.  Students use the same techniques they learned the previous year to research background information for books and poems that we read.  For example, before reading the Crucible, students researched selected topics to further their understanding of the time period, politics of the era, deeper meaning of the play, and author information.

P. 40 How do you teach students to work independently and provide opportunities for tem to be self-directed learners?

Students are given many opportunities to work independently of each other.  One such assignment is the independent reading assignment.  Each student picks a book on their own, reads it, and completes a project on their own that they then presents in front of the class.

p. 41 How do you provide students with opportunities to interact with others, work effectively in diverse teams, manage projects, and produce results?

Students are given opportunities to work in groups during group assignments and discussions.  Before students began reading The Crucible, they researched in groups background information that they then presented in front of the class.  The students that weren’t presenting took notes.  The information that the students offered was tested on during the Unit test.