A video explaining the importance of the changing face of 21st century education: "Skills like critical thinking, communication, collaboration and creativity will be essential for students to take on the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.

Created via collaboration by P21 (formerly Partnership for 21st Century Skills) and FableVision, Above & Beyond is a story about what is possible when communication, collaboration, critical thinking and creativity transform learning opportunities for all kids.

Collaboration, Communication, Content, Critical Thinking, Creativity, Confidence. A friend shared this rubric with me. I added pictures to make it more friendly to younger students. I build it with my class each year.

Students for a Creative Iowa is the completely volunteer, non-profit organization that runs the Destination Imagination® program in Iowa. They work to promote creativity, teamwork, problem-solving, and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) abilities in Iowa students. This link leads to some Instant Challenges created by them!

This video shows Common Core Demonstration Teacher Kristi Leader using the Socratic Seminar strategy in her second grade classroom.
 

"Citrus College supported the production of 'Success in the New Economy' to help a broader audience begin to understand preparation today for tomorrow’s labor market realities."

A web page for the Global Monster Project, where K-6 students from around the world collaborate to create their own unique monsters.

"At Singularity University, we believe that leveraging the convergence of exponential technologies will set us on the path to solve our global grand challenges and shift from an era of scarcity to abundance. There are twelve global grand challenges (GGCs)."

Awesome Squiggles is a global art challenge project where PreK-12 grade classrooms create original art based on four squiggly lines and then share their artwork with new friends around the world.

The global guessing game that gets kids learning about geography, culture, and the similarities and differences of how children live all over the world.

A link to the PDF of Quincy's Schoolwide Enrichment Program. 

A webpage for the Schoolwide Enrichment Model put forth by the UCONN's Renzulli Center. "The major goal of the SEM is the application of gifted education pedagogy to total school improvement.

"The Schoolwide Enrichment Model: A How-to Guide for Educational Excellence presents an inspirational model for helping students achieve in today’s schools. Based on years of research, the Schoolwide Enrichment Model (SEM) is founded on highly successful practices developed for programs for gifted students and promotes 'a rising tide lifts all ships' approach to school improvement."

A video explaining what enrichment clusters are, and how they work in a Schoolwide Enrichment Model to help teachers and students. 

An interactive PowerPoint designed to get kids to go from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset (This is a link to preview and purchase).

A link to check out CHAMPS: A Proactive and Positive Approach to Classroom Management, 2nd Edition by Randy Sprick.

An amazon.com link to check out The Tough Kid Bully Blockers Handbook. From Pacific Northwest Publishing: "The Tough Kid Bully Blockers Book shows teachers and other staff how to prevent and reduce all forms of bullying, from gossiping and exclusion to physical aggression and cyberbullying."

From amazon.com: "In this instant New York Times bestseller, pioneering psychologist Angela Duckworth shows anyone striving to succeed—be it parents, students, educators, athletes, or business people—that the secret to outstanding achievement is not talent but a special blend of passion and persistence she calls 'grit'."

"The Zones curriculum provides strategies to teach students to become more aware of, and independent in controlling their emotions and impulses, managing their sensory needs, and improving their ability to problem solve conflicts."