What Skills are Missed in the Curriculum?

There are always a select few topics that teachers feel that all students should understand. Unfortunately, some of those topics are missed in the curriculum. Instead of huffing and puffing in exasperation about these missing skills, we need to step up to the plate and fill in these gaps. These items include skills and content that every teacher should take ownership of:

1. Continents, Oceans, States- This is a fun topic that should not be reserved to a solitary social studies unit. It always blows my mind when I ask students to choose a state in middle school and they have no idea what I’m talking about! There are awesome opportunities to integrate subjects when teaching geography skills. Check out a freebie here: Identify the 7 Continents
2. Cursive- I am considering this a lost art of the current generation. It is apparent that students take pride in signing their own signature and reading swooping cursive. Incorporate cursive writing into your projects, morning work, and centers. My middle schoolers love to practice their cursive skills during our spelling practice!
3. Manners- It is easy to ignore rude behaviors with an exasperated sigh. It is difficult to actually take the time to teach and reinforce basic social etiquette. But it is incredibly worthwhile! Check out this post for more on this topic.
4. Time- I have taught time to students in first and second grade and have come to the conclusion that early elementary is way too early to teach such an abstract concept! Most students do not grasp the concepts when they are taught and then they never go back and learn how to read an analog clock. All teachers should be using time terminologies (half past, quarter of, noon, etc.) when discussing the schedules. And all students should be assisted in determining the time.
5. Typing- We are now in the digital era. I was blown away by how quickly students learned how to type during the 2020 pandemic. Instead of wasting precious technology time teaching students how to type, this is something that we can introduce in early elementary with the letter of the week and continue all throughout school. Teaching punctuation marks? Demonstrate on the keyboard! Teaching proper nouns? Review capitalization with the shift key! Some of the tips and tricks that I have picked up on the computer that save me time and energy today as a professional are things that I picked up when a tech-savvy teacher took a minute to stop and share with the class.
6. Organization- This is probably one of my biggest headaches in education today. When I was in school, I was responsible for maintaining my agenda and folders. Now, students haphazardly throw materials inside of their locker and cross their fingers in hopes that they have the right supplies for class. I truly believe that many students feel that organization is a matter of luck. This could not be further from the truth! A good teacher gives students the supplies that they need to be organizationally successful. In addition, a good teacher also takes the time required to teach students how to use these materials effectively. It is easy to ignore a student who never has what they need for class. It is more challenging to stop and teach that student organization so that they can be successful in the future.
7. Public Speaking- I speak in front of people all day long. As a student, this was something that terrified me. Thank goodness I had amazing teachers and parents who encouraged me and equipped me to develop my public speaking skills. We need to provide students with opportunities to speak in front of their peers in a safe and constructive classroom environment.
8. Writing- For generations, we have displayed our knowledge through our writings. A great tool for formative assessment is writing! Encourage students to write as much as possible. The time allotted in English class is not enough to develop a generation of writers. Write about your math terms. Create a social studies comic strip. Make a science journal. Write!