Research suggests that many teachers are struggling to integrate digital technologies in meaningful ways into the curriculum to deepen student learning and engagement while concurrently building the key 21st century skills of creativity, collaboration, communication, and critical thinking (Hutchinson & Reinking, 2011). This presentation considers a case study (Yin, 2014) conducted in a 6th grade setting in Ireland that involved the design and implementation of a curriculum unit on climate change. The unit supported both the development of digital literacies and disciplinary thinking as students worked collaboratively as scientists, geographers, mathematicians and design engineers to produce digital artefacts that summarized student learning across the unit. Pedagogical models and instructional frameworks evolving from careful analysis of multiple data sources will be presented including the need to (a) engage in authentic real-world challenges to encourage students to reflect on global issues at a local level; (b) create a classroom culture that promotes opportunities for reflection and collaborative learning environments; (c) develop the skills, strategies, dispositions, and mindsets to build conceptual knowledge across the disciplines during online research and inquiry; (e) communicate information and ideas through multiple modes and multiple means of representation (Rose & Meyer 2002); and (f) nurture habits of mind, resilience and self-efficacy in an online environment through in-built supports.