Partnership for 21st Century Skills

The Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21) website, http://www.p21.org/index.php, has a lot of information that can be used in the classroom. It stresses all the skills that students need in the future, and discusses how to implement them in the classroom. However, I found the site to be confusing to navigate. I did find some wonderful resources and lesson ideas, but it was difficult to find them. In order to find the lesson ideas you had to read through tons of information on the P21 maps and Common Core kit. Yes, the information was useful and interesting but an area that has just lesson ideas is needed. Innovative lessons, resources, and ideas that are easily accessible would be very useful. Different ways to teach students 21st century skills is welcomed by most teachers. I realize that the purpose of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills is to create awareness, and to advocate for the skills that students will need in the future. But why does everything on their website start at 4th grade? I understand that somewhere between 4th and 12th grade U.S. students go from the top internationally to the bottom, but they should advocate for those skills to be taught to younger students as well. Starting at a younger age can only better prepare students for the future. It would seem that I am not a fan of what the Partnership for 21st Century Skills is doing. That is not true; I am thrilled that they are working to get states teaching students the skills they will need. My state, WV, was one of the first states to join the initiative in 2005. My state pushes 21st century skills, and has created areas on our state department website for teachers giving us tools to help teach these skills. My state has come a long way with the help of P21. As a teacher, and especially as a mother, I am grateful. P21. (2013). The Partnership for 21st Century Skills . Retrieved from The Partnership for 21st Century Skills : http://www.p21.org/index.php

I am an elementary school librarian and have been thinking about how I would use a blog. For preschool thru 5th grade I would use it to keep parents informed of things going on in the library. I could post links to different websites about books, reading, and learning games. It could also be used to inform parents of community library happenings, and such, For the upper grades, 4th and 5th, I think it would be wondering to tool to use to introduce them to blogging. In the book “Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms” it states that, “Posting to a Weblog can take many forms. Students can write about personal reactions to topics covered in class, post links, write reflectively, and summarize or annotate readings.”(Richardson, 2010) I have been looking at different books to use for a book discussion. I like the books by Carl Hiaasen, such as Chomp, Hoot and Flush for younger readers. They all have an environmental theme, and a lot of research ideas. I think I will use the blog like a discussing board, where I post a question and then each student has to respond to the question. They can post links, pictures, or reflections about the book as well. I will allow all of them to be author on the blog also. Once we get to the research phase, after we have read the book, they will post their research on the blog. According to Richardson, “blogs facilitate what I think is a new genre that could be called “collective writing”, a form that forces those who do it to read carefully and critically, that demands clarity and cogency in its construction, that is done for a wide audience , and that links to the sources of the ideas expressed.” (Richardson, 2010) This will require them to learn the research process, and to learn how to determine a reliable source. They will also have to respond to what their classmates write in response to their research. I think this is a wonderful way to get students excited about writing. Especially when they know that not just the teacher, but their classmates and the world can see their posts. I believe this will be a major motivator. I cannot wait to try it this year, and will post how it goes. Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.