Middle

School
Survival

21st Century Skills Used

Collaboration
Skilled Communication

Collaboration
Students are collaborating when they work in
pairs or groups to discuss an issue, solve a
problem, and/or create a product.
WORKING TOGETHER + PURPOSE =
COLLABORATION

Collaboration
We created a Nearpod
activity that covers
information about
collaboration in the 21st
century.
Collaboration Nearpod

Skilled Communication
Students use extended communication when
they represent a set of connected ideas, not a
single, simple thought; students are using
multimodal communication when they use
multiple modes or tools to communicate a
coherent message.

Skilled Communication
Students will be communicating through:
Writing
Presentation
Speaking
Socratic Seminar
Publication

Surviving Middle School:

A reference handbook
Students will work as a class to create a handbook for an authentic
audience, next years incoming students, which can be referred to
throughout the school year. The handbook will give tips and references
for surviving the school year. Students will have shared responsibility for
creating the components of the handbook. After handbooks have been
created, students will present their information to the class. The class
will then work together to determine which pages should go into the team
s survival handbook so that all kids on the GT team can access them
throughout the next school year.

MIDDLE SCHOOL CHALLENGES:

Procedures and Expectations
Emailing a teacher
Edmodo etiquette
Binder/ locker organization
Agenda book
Absent/ late work
Infinite Campus

Academic Expectations
Note-taking
Time management
Study skills
Mastery vs. Performance
Citing sources
Plagiarism
How to collaborate electronically
Independence and responsibility for learning

Lesson 1
Teach Collaboration. Have students complete the following Nearpod activity
about collaboration: https://s.nearpod.
com/j/2D370F37327852C777DE1D9FD52786F1-1
This will give them a foundation for the expectations of working together.
https://educate.intel.
com/download/K12/elements/Collaborate_html/resources/Collaboration_Skill
s.pdf

Lesson 2
In groups of 5, students plan and assign each member different topics and roles.
Each group will create a contract stating roles and responsibilities of each
member to ensure accountability. http://bie.
org/object/document/project_team_contract_template#. http://bie.
org/object/document/project_team_contract
Each group is responsible for presenting possible solutions to the challenges new
middle school students face. All of the topics above must be included in the
groups presentation. The group must agree on what researched material should
be included. Students can choose the mode of presentation, i.e. Powerpoint,
poster, web-based, etc. Students should be demonstrating collaboration skills
learned in lesson 1.

Lesson 3
Each group member must research their specific topics outlined in the
group contract and provide supporting evidence for why it is important
for middle school survival. Each group will have shared responsibility
to create their presentations based on the research, strategies, and
examples gathered for the different topics.

Lesson 4
Each group will present their solutions to the class. During the presentations, students are required
to take notes using evidence and reasoning to identify trends and commonalities among the
different group presentations. These notes will be used in the next lesson for a Socratic seminar.

Lesson 5
A Socratic seminar will take place allowing students to communicate their ideas and observations from lesson 4. Show the
following video to refresh students Skilled Communication skills. https://youtu.be/6pGVR6ZF_2M. As a class, solutions will be
compiled for the final handbooks. A final decision will determine which versions should be included in the class handbooks for
next years new middle school students.
Socratic seminar is a formal discussion, based on a text, in which the leader asks open-ended questions. Within the context of
the discussion, students listen closely to the comments of others, thinking critically for themselves, and articulate their own
thoughts and their responses to the thoughts of others. www.readwritethink.org/professional.../socratic-seminars-30600.html

Lesson 6
The class will publish a handbook for Middle School Survival. Each group
will be responsible for a section of the handbook. This will be decided by
the class after the Socratic seminar. Possible roles assigned may include
graphics, editors, layout design, etc. This handbook will be published and
distributed to new incoming students at orientation.

Lesson 7
Reflection on project. Students will evaluate how their group performed using the following rubric.
https://educate.intel.
com/download/K12/elements/Collaborate_html/resources/Group_Task_Rubric.pdf

Lesson 7
Reflection on project. Students will evaluate how their group
performed using the following rubric. https://educate.intel.
com/download/K12/elements/Collaborate_html/resources/Gr
oup_Task_Rubric.pdf

Kim

Collett

Casey