When students have built a character core, these character strengths work together to support the development of 21st Century strengths such as leadership, resiliency, mindfulness, and innovation. Leadership, for example, requires one to exercise patience, commitment, courage, and perseverance, all core strengths. 21st Century skills are strengths most employers have identified as essential to be college and career ready in today’s world and in the future workplace. Lesson plans support increased rigor with a menu of student activities that include problem-solving and research.
Cloud9World’s 21st Century Skills program consists of 10 different character strengths provided for the early childhood level as well as an elementary level. Flexible cross grade level lesson plans, an online Social-Emotional Competency Indicator, and customized packaging empower schools to meet the specific social-emotional and academic needs of their students.
Research behind The 21st Century Program
Social-emotional learning benefits all students. Research supports the fact that continuous, purposeful, and systematic social-emotional learning instruction provides many positive outcomes, including skills valuable for college and career readiness.
Employers cite the following skills as essential to the 21st Century workforce:
- Increased attendance, grades, and graduation rates
- Decreased frequency and seriousness of negative behavior incidents
- Increased positive relationships
Cloud9World offers many online resources for schools implementing this program to create a schoolwide cultural shift. Videos, games, morning announcements, books, and curriculum all add to the schoolwide focus on a single strength throughout the month. The monthly focus provides everyone involved time to internalize, practice, and apply their new social-emotional skills with each other and at home.
21st Century Skills at Home
Many 21st Century skills can be reinforced at home. This program provides parents with plenty of resources including cards that explain each skill and how it can be reinforced at home. The Home Connection provided with each lesson provides parents with activities to do at home with children to nurture and apply 21st Century skills.
Professional Development Opportunities
Professional development for 21st Century Skills is available on site. Contact Cloud9World to schedule on-site professional learning. As part of the training, teachers will examine each of the 21st Century program components and how they can be implemented to increase social-emotional and academic learning.