Essential Skills, when learned, are used for life-long application. The first group teaches habits of the mind and the second group teaches clear communication.

The use of essential skills must be demonstrated in the students school work for portfolio inclusion. Students begin using and understanding these skills from elementary school and work toward progressive competence in the proceeding years at TFA.

Essential skills are a tool for understanding, applying and communicating knowledge, and developing social and emotional maturity. The essential skills are applied to the essential questions.

HABITS OF THE MIND
Comparing
To examine for likeness and differences

Abstracting
Breaking up a whole/creating a whole from pieces

Analyzing Perspective
Examining the elements and parts of something in its relationship to the way you view it or someone else views it.

Philosophizing
To reason/ To bring into conformity with a philosophical point of view. A search for general understanding of values and reality by chiefly speculative rather than observational means.

Discriminate
The power to distinguish and select what is true,appropriate, or excellent

Evaluating
Measurement/ to determine the significance or worth by carefully appraising or study.

Organizing
To form something into a clear structure so that it can be systematically followed.

Analyzing
To break down a complex whole to its parts.

COMMUNICATION SKILLS

Paraphrasing
A restatement giving the meaning in another form.

Sequencing
A continuous and connected series united by a theme

Arguing
Showing Proof

Listening
To pay attention in order to hear and understand.

Questioning
To subject to analysis

Clarifying
To be free of confusion, to make understandable

Storytelling
Uses sequencing analyzing perspective to tell a point of view