Activity Templates – Problem Solving Skills
A National FFA lesson plan offering three problem-solving activity templates—Define the Problem, Generate Ideas, and Choose a Solution—each with two activity options to help students identify, analyze, and evaluate solutions to problems. It includes two student handouts (“Question the Problem” and “The Ripple Effect”) and is designed to be incorporated into agriculture class curriculum before cooperative projects, practicums, project/service-based lessons, or SAE planning.
At a glance
- Learning objectives
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- Analyze problems to develop appropriate solutions.
- Identify the positive and negative impacts of proposed solutions.
- Evaluate proposed solutions to identify the most viable option.
- Time required
- 15 to 30 minutes per activity, 3 activities included
- Materials
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- Handouts for each student when using the activities "Question the Problem" or "The Ripple Effect."
- A small prize for the "That's Crazy!" idea generation activity.
- Resources
- FFA.org
- Suggested Use
- Incorporate any of these problem solving activities into the class curriculum before any of the following: Cooperative projects; Practicums; Project or service based lessons/units; SAE planning
Downloads & Links
Aligned Standards
AFNR Cluster Skills
- CS.02Evaluate the nature and scope of the Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources Career Cluster and the role of agriculture, food and natural resources (AFNR) in society and the economy.
Common Core – Literacy in Science & Technical Subjects: Writing
- WHST.9.10.4Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
Common Core – Math Practices
- CCSS.MP1Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.
Common Core – Speaking and Listening
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.9-10.1.DRespond thoughtfully to diverse perspectives, summarize points of agreement and disagreement, and, when warranted, qualify or justify their own views and understanding and make new connections in light of the evidence and reasoning presented.
Next Generation Science
- HS-ETS1-3Evaluate a solution to a complex real-world problem based on prioritized criteria and trade-offs that account for a range of constraints, including cost, safety, reliability, and aesthetics as well as possible social, cultural, and environmental impacts.