Create A Book to Enhance Learning of Important Life Skills

Dr. Eric E. Schmidt, chairman of the board and CEO of Google, Inc. said, in his 2009 commencement speech to PennState, "None of us is as smart as all of us." He spoke this message to college graduates, but it is not any less true for elementary, middle, and high school pupils. Teaching the next generation to utilize the shared knowledge base that surrounds them, will not only help them practice their much-needed collaboration skills, but will also teach them how to ask questions and apply the experience of others to their own lives. In an age where information instantaneously appears after clicking a few buttons on a laptop, remembering how to actively seek out another human being for information is a life skill that will come in handy at school, in the workplace, and at home.

 

Discover the Value of Shared Knowledge

• Class Brainstorming: After discussing a current event, short story, or novel where life skills or lack of life skills is a part of the subject matter, have the class come up with a list of what they consider to be important life skills.
• The Mission: Your class will use the above list to prompt conversations with 2-3 older family members during the week in order to get their opinions.  Family members are also offered a chance to weigh-in with what they consider to be their own most important life skill.
• Research: Each individual class member will take notes on their interviews. Next they will narrow it down to the life skills they consider to be top picks. They research these skills. For example, if mom says her top life skill is her ability to think fast, then the interviewer will research ways that people can learn how to think fast.  They should describe the skill, explain how to attain the skill, and list ways the skill will be useful at home, school, and work.  They will bring their interview and research results (as well as a source page) into class to share.

NOTE: During the research phase you can guide students to evaluate their research materials as outlined in the Common Core Reading Standards for Informational Text. These Standards can direct you in guiding your pupils through the research phase of the project so they are accomplishing many tasks at the same time. I would stress the evaluation of informational text (Standards provided below) in this assignment because the class will be creating their own informational text and can use what they have learned in their evaluation of other resources to help their own final product be a more thoughtful product.

Connect to Common Core Standards

Reading: Informational Text

• RI.7.1 Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

• RI.7.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the impact of a specific word choice on meaning and tone.

• RI.7.5 Analyze the structure an author uses to organize a text, including how the major sections contribute to the whole and to the development of the ideas.

• RI.7.6 Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how the author distinguishes his or her position from that of others.

• RI.7.7 Compare and contrast a text to an audio, video, or multimedia version of the text, analyzing each medium’s portrayal of the subject (e.g., how the delivery of a speech affects the impact of the words).

• RI.7.8 Trace and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is sound and the evidence is relevant and sufficient to support the claims.

Let's Create!

Once interviews and research portions have been completed, the class can come together in a collaborative effort to create an e-book, life skills blog or other multimedia presentation to share their findings as well as provide a valuable resource to their peers. I encourage you to approach life skills with your students no matter what subject you teach.  Go ahead and browse through many of the lessons posted on Lesson Planet.  I have selected three other lesson plans that have the Life Skills theme.  But, there are many more at your disposal.

Lessons:

Lesson Learned: Creating a Life Reports Project

Along the same lines as I outlined above, this NY Times lesson encourages young people to examine the life lessons of older people/family members.  Class discussion is encouraged as well as a goal formulated to choose a family member they might see at Thanksgiving and ask for advice about life or the future. There are also links to sites that inspire the questioning of older adults for advice.  This is a perfect topic to cover before sending the class out for the long Thanksgiving weekend.

Responding to Uncertainties

If your focus is on English Language Learners, this is a wonderfully enjoyable lesson that analyzes song lyrics while also discussing what love is through the words of the artist.  Although the lyrics are provided as well as a full description of the lesson, you'll want to have the songs available ahead of time for your class to hear while reading along.  Group work and discussions about love will no doubt have your class fully engaged in the learning process.

Number and Operations:  All About Money - Does it Pay?

Life skills concerning the use of credit is the focus of this resource.  The audience is 9th-12th graders.  A full description of the lesson plan will guide you along this real-world, problem-solving activity.  The lesson scenarios revolve around credit card use.  Pre-thinking credit card debt is an important life-skill.  A Teacher's Guide and Student Worksheet .pdf are provided as well.

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Sources:

"Penn Commencement 2009."  University of Pennsylvania Almanac 55, no. 34 (2009): 14 Sept. 2012, http://www.upenn.edu/almanac/volumes/v55/n34/comm-schmidt.html.