Problem Solving

Taking responsibility for our own actions and problems in life is a skill we need to build. There will always be challenges our lives, so we must take ownership over what we can control to and use problem-solving skills to keep moving forward.

Grade Level: 6-12

Character Skills

Responsibility

SEL Skills

Self-Awareness
Responsible Decision-Making

Academic Skills

Effective Problem-Solving

Definitions

Responsibility

Do what you are supposed to do. Try your best.
Persevere. Keep on trying.
Be self-disciplined.
Think before you act. Consider the consequences.
Be accountable for your words, actions, and attitudes.

Self-Awareness

Identify and understand emotions, values, attitudes, motivations, mindsets, and personal attributes.

Responsible Decision-Making

Make decisions based on rationality, ethics, and effectiveness.

Effective Problem-Solving

Make rational, ethical, and effective decisions to find the best solutions to problems.

Share This Activity

Learn more about our character, SEL, and academic outcomes.

Instructions

Have students independently reflect on the prompts below.
- What is a problem you are facing?
- What is making that problem difficult to get through?
Watch the video Stuck on an Escalator as a class.
Divide students into groups to discuss the following questions. Ask groups to share out their answers after groups have had time to process the video.
- What is the problem for these people in the video?
- What is the solution?
- Whose responsibility is it to solve their problem?
- What keeps us from taking responsibility when we have a problem?
Talk about the following questions as a whole group.
- When faced with a problem, what are some ways we can take responsibility and get off the escalator?
- What prevents you from getting off the escalator?

Student Reflection

Go back to the problem you reflected on earlier.
- What are responsible solutions to your problem.
- Who can help you solve it?
How does it feel when you solve a problem that has been going on for awhile?

Family Connection

Tech Support
- Anydo is an app that helps organize and prioritize tasks when you are overwhelmed and stuck with too many things to do
- Sam App is an app to help you take ownership over your own health and manage the anxiety of dealing with the stress of the day to day.
Pillar Time
- Play a game of chess to determine strategic ways to stay out of checkmate.
- Write a 100-word poem about being thankful for problems .
- Use an object from your home and try to come up with as many ways to use it as possible.
  - For example: a spoon
    - Dig a hole (slowly)
    - A party trick for your nose
    - To carry an egg
- Watch the video, Stuck on an Escalator as a family.
Dinner Discussion
- Describe an experience when you had to solve a problem in your life?
- Discuss how responsibility plays a role in finding solutions to everyday problems.
- Share why you feel it is important to take responsibility for your own actions and problems.