Overview
Mad Skills provides an opportunity for students to explore their skills and recognize those of their peers. Additionally, students will learn the difference of one’s abilities, knowledge, and skills, and how these attributes work together.
NB Curricular Connections
English Language Arts
- Strand: Interactions – Big Ideas: Expression, Skill Descriptor: Describe and contribute thoughts, feelings, and experiences, and compare to those of their peers
What you’ll need
- Whiteboard
- Marker
- Mad Skills Bingo Sheet (included)
- My Mad Skills Printable (included)
Instructions
- Discussion: Begin with writing this question on a whiteboard: What is a skill? Have learners discuss with a partner and then offer their own definitions. At its core, a skill can be defined as:
Ability + Knowledge = Skill
Skills are the ability and capacity to carry out processes and be able to use one’s knowledge in a responsible way to achieve a goal. – OECD (The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development), 2019
Skills can always be developed and improved upon with training and practice. Have students list different types of skills that fit this definition. (Communication, Organization, Flexibility, Problem-Solving, Numeracy, Literacy, specific sports or arts, etc.)
2. Mad Skills Bingo Sheet: Please provide 1 Mad Skills Bingo Sheet printable to each learner. With a pencil, set a timer (5-10 minutes) for learners to fill in ALL (or as many as they can) of the squares with peers’ names around the classroom.
3. *Note: No one’s name may appear more than once.* After the timer is finished, re-group and discuss some of the boxes, allowing learners to share who they found had particular skills.
4. My Mad Skills Sheet: Choose a skill that you have. Describe the knowledge and the ability that you have, to be able to say that this skill is part of your skillset by modeling orally.
5. Then, provide one My Mad Skills printable to each learner. Allow learners time to sketch and describe their own unique skills. Give time for learners to share with a partner, or a peer that knows them well, so that they have someone to remind them of skills that they may not have thought of. If time permits, have some learners share one of their skills.
Reflection Activity
Please see the attached PDF for several choices on how you and your learners can reflect on today’s activity.
