Teaching 21st Century Skills

I have spent some time navigating through a website called Partnerships for 21st Century Skills. I always search online for ways I can improve myself as a teacher. I am very surprised that I have never come across this website. This site made me think deeply about why teachers teach.

I am surprised that with all of the technological advances in the world that technology has not already become a part of every classroom. I do not think 21st century skills will be incorporated into every classroom until they are mixed into the state standards.  The states that have partnered with this organization have changed state standards and assessments. They have also incorporated these skills into professional development programs for the teachers.  The states are molding more effective educators and helping prepare students for the future at the same time!

I believe it is important for educators to prepare students for the real world. Schools should help prepare students to be effective citizens. In society we should all aim toward a common goal. The goal is educate children and prepare them for their future. These 21st century skills can easily be incorporated into everyday classroom instruction. The only problem is that teachers are not aware of these skills and all states have not made these skills a part of the regular curriculum.

In my classroom, I teach the material required by the state, but I also teach life skills that will prepare my students for the future. I wish I had known about this website in the past. I believe the skills they list for the students to know are essential in preparing them for the real world. In the future, I will use this website as a resource for preparing my students by teaching them 21st century skills.

Research

My students have been busy researching one of the branches of government.  They have spent time in the classroom, library, and the computer lab collecting information.  In the next few weeks they will use their information to write a script for a podcast.  I have not created a podcast with a group of students before.  I am very excited about this experience.  Here are a few pictures of the students researching.

Why Blog?

I teach 4th grade reading, writing, and social studies. 

I plan to use my blog as a place to showcase and store student work.  My students are continually going above and beyond on assignments.  I want to remember and be able to use student work as an example in future years.  Storing student work online will eliminate the need to keep hard copy sample.  I have found that I work better when I do not have a lot of paper work to keep up with.  In years past, I have kept student work to use as an example but I forget to pull it back out.  I believe by storing student work online that it will be easier for me to locate when I want to provide an example of student work.  I would also like to display student work to receive feedback from other educators. 


I would also like for my blog to be a place where educators can share ideas about the classroom from integrating technology to classroom management.  I have learned in my few years of teaching that some of the best ideas are developed when teachers work together.  I would like to continue to work with other teachers to create lessons and assessments.

I plan to also use my blog as a place for students to interact about writing assignments.  I want for my students to blog with each other by providing suggestions for improvement or positive comments.  I hope my students will be able to learn from each other by interacting online about writing.  I think my blog could be used best during the editing and revising stages of the writing process. 

Blog World

Well I am new to the blog world.  I am excited about learning more about using blogging in my classroom.