6th Grade Helping Students Identify Problems Lesson Plan (Social Emotional Learning)

Topic: Helping Students Identify Problems

Objectives & Outcomes

• Students will be able to identify and define problems.
• Students will be able to identify potential causes of problems and think of solutions.

Materials

• Pictures of different types of problems (e.g. littering in schools, traffic congestion, limited parking spaces)
• Whiteboard and markers

Warm-up

• Ask students to think of a problem that they have encountered in their everyday lives. Write their ideas on the whiteboard.
• Ask students to share their ideas and explain why they think the problem exists.

Direct Instruction

• Introduce the concept of problem solving and explain that it involves identifying a problem and coming up with a solution.
• Ask students to think of a problem that they would like to solve in their school. Write their ideas on the whiteboard.
• Ask students to share their ideas and explain why they think the problem exists.
• As a class, brainstorm potential solutions to the problem. Write these ideas on the whiteboard.
• Evaluate the potential solutions and choose the best one.

Guided Practice

• Ask students to work in small groups to brainstorm additional ideas for solving the problem.
• Have each group share their ideas with the class and discuss why each idea might work or not work.
• As a class, choose the best solution to the problem and discuss how it will be implemented.

Independent Practice

• Assign each student a small part of the overall solution to the problem.
• Ask students to write a paragraph explaining their role in the solution and how they will contribute.
• Encourage students to ask questions if they are unsure about their -role in the solution.

Closure

• Review the problem and the various solutions that were proposed.
• Ask students to share their paragraphs and explain why they were assigned to their role in the solution.
• Encourage students to talk about what they learned about solving problems and how they can use these skills in the future.

Assessment

• Observe students during the problem-solving process to assess their participation and understanding.
• Collect and review the paragraphs written by students to assess their ability to identify and explain a problem and propose a solution.