KEY LESSON

Unit Learning Goal

Students will develop active strategies to accomplish good work in the future.

Lesson Goal

Students will articulate strategies to help prepare for similar decisions and situations that may take place in the future.

Assessment

Students will complete a worksheet documenting their ability to turn concepts into active strategies, which can be reviewed for comprehension. Students will also complete an Exit Ticket, sharing a question that they would like to continue to explore.

portfolio documentation

RESOURCES

  • Digital Whiteboard

Total TIME

45 minutes

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Opener: Lessons Review [5 minutes].

  • Remind the class about the concepts they have learned about and the types of activities they have completed over the course of Units 1-4. You may wish to tell this as a story from the beginning to the end of the lessons, using the unit goals (e.g., “We have learned about good work using three lenses, we have learned about dilemmas and the stories of other people,” etc.).

2. Reflection about Good Work [10 minutes].

  • In groups, ask students to reflect upon what they’ve learned about Good Work, using the following questions as prompts:

    • What activities are most memorable to you? Why?

    • What stories or narratives stick with you? Why?

    • Has there been a moment outside of class when you’ve recognized a good work-related moment? Describe it to the rest of the group.

3. Group Brainstorm [5 minutes].

  • Lead students in a discussion about resources and ideas to draw upon when faced with a difficult decision. Review the basic good work concepts and ideas, and write them down in front of the class. These should include:

    • The 3 Es: excellence, ethics, engagement

    • The 3 Ms: model, mission, mirror

    • The value sort

    • Alignment/misalignment

    • Responsibility

    • Obstacles/Challenges

    • Other memorable moments personalized to your class

4. Identifying Strategies [20 minutes].

  • Ask students to choose three concepts that most resonate with them, and consider how to turn these concepts into a set of one or more actions.

    • Model this process: Describe an ethical issue you’ve faced or has been discussed in the class, then talk about one of the concepts and unpack the ethical issue in terms of the concept (i.e., “in this situation, I was weighing a responsibility to my own ideals versus the responsibility I felt to my friends.”). Then, talk about how this conceptualization might be turned into an action: “By pausing to reflect, I was able to recognize this conflict in my responsibilities. I thought about what was more important to me. I also recognized that still I wasn’t ready to make a decision, considered other resources at my disposal, and decided that I needed help in making a decision. I consulted a mentor. In the future, actions I would want to take are to pause and map out my responsibilities, and to seek out and consult a mentor.”

    • Divide students into small groups and ask them to fill in the diagram that turns concepts and ideas from the lessons into tangible actions on the “From Concepts to Actions” worksheet.

    • Ask them to be as specific as possible, making sure that the actions are actually feasible.

    • If time, come together as a group and share out.

  • Add the complete “From Concepts to Actions” worksheet to the Good Work portfolio.

5. Exit Ticket [5 minutes].

  • Ask students to write down: What is one question you would like to continue to explore that has been raised for you during our discussions of “good work”?

  • Add the questions to a visible space (e.g., digital whiteboard) as the class ends.

  • Each student should add their question to the end of their Good Work Portfolio.

Possible Enrichments

  • Create a check-in schedule for your class to routinely revisit the action items developed during this lesson.

  • Have each student design a poster based on one thing they learned or remembered during the lesson plans to hang in your classroom.