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Communication and Problem Solving
Convey Ideas in Writing
- Improving writing through the use of imagery
This activity leads learners through the process of adding detail to sentence starters to create mental images of what they are writing. This activity will help to improve writing assignments regardless of the subject matter by drawing on the experiences of the learners and using these experiences to vary and expand the vocabulary they use in writing.
- Entrepreneurship: How to begin
This learning activity will introduce the idea of entrepreneurship and starting one's own business. Through the experiences that a guest speaker brings and their own discussion and research, learners will begin to define a business plan and understand the parts of a business plan.
- Entrepreneurship: Is it for me?
After a general introduction to entrepreneurship and business plans from the first lesson in this series, this lesson focuses on taking stock of oneself to determine what personal factors to consider in deciding if the time is right to become an entrepreneur. Learners write a resume, a statement of net worth, and life plans.
- Entrepreneurship: What business am I in?
Clearly defining what kind of a business one proposes starting is a most important and serious part of the business plan. In this activity, learners create goals and mission statements for their businesses and define the services they will render to the consumer. Then they have fun inventing names and slogans for these hypothetical businesses.
- The job application - From both viewpoints
Several completed job applications, filled in with varying amounts of care and completeness, are distributed to the learner. Learners examine these applications from the standpoint of the employer trying to decide which applicants to call for an interview. Once learners have enough experience to differentiate among applicants based on their applications, they use their portable personal information cards (prepared in the previous learning activity) to complete their own applications.
- Writing a formal thank you letter
Learners research various formats for writing thank you letters in resource books and through a provided Internet site. They use these resources to write a thank you letter to a recent outside speaker who visited their class.
- Proofreading and Revising Articles for a Class Newsletter
Learners submit their newsletter articles and a newsletter team proofreads them. Revisions are suggested. Writers revise their articles. Using a template from a word processing program, articles are typed in final form.
- Writing an Article for a Class Newsletter
Learners choose a topic about which to write for a class newsletter. In order to prepare for the article, they must choose the type of article they will write (hard news, features, announcements, and opinions/personal reflections) and make a list of the 5 Ws and 1 H: Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How. If an interview is involved, the learner formulates possible questions.
- Creating an Effective Resume
Participants learn to assess their skills and document their employment history through the preparation of a resume.
- Encouraging others in class, in the workplace, in the home
To encourage each other and practice writing skills, each learner writes a letter of encouragement to a classmate.
Cooperate With Others
Decision-making
- Brainstorming Job Ideas
As a class, learners will brainstorm ideas for different kinds of jobs. From this list of ideas, each learner will choose one job or career to research further.
- Choosing an Appropriate Employment Ad
Working individually and using the classified ads of a local newspaper, learners read descriptions of people's goals, interests, experience, and skills, then find an appropriate employment ad for that person. Next, learners find an appropriate ad for themselves.
Interpersonal
Learn Through Research
- Diagnosing a car non-starting problem
When a car won't start, or when the battery appears not to be charging, the driver often thinks a new battery or alternator is required. Neither may be the case. This activity suggests a procedure for "shade-tree mechanics" to use in diagnosing the problem.
- Increased productivity
Participants learn how to use the special ruler presently used for precise measurement in industrial settings. In this lesson, learners will work individually to analyze whether given objects would meet the correct specifications required for a particular manufactured product.
- Business and Industry Resource Book
Through visits to various places of business in the community and interviews with company officials, learners compile business information including company goals, job types, benefit packages, salaries (if available), and positions open at that time. Learners then create the Business and Industry Research Book to be utilized for career planning and/or job search. The project is carried out periodically to keep the resource book up to date.
- Creating a job resource center
Learners will work together to create a bulletin board display for their classroom which is a Job Resource Center containing information and ideas for job search.
- Job Research for a Job Pamphlet
Learners will use a variety of resources to research a job that interests them.
- Using the Public Library for Career Search
ABE/GED students are introduced to the public libraries and research a question they have regarding career choice.
- Statistical sampling
Learners collect data in the field and analyze it in class using tables and graphs to determine how many observations of a phenomenon are necessary in order to draw reasonably valid conclusions about it. This project is to teach learners the power of statistical sampling in searching for information.
- Building memories.…...
In order for the learners to understand the value a photograph holds for a potential customer and that customer's family, the learners will observe the impact of photographs on their own family by creating and laying out the design of a family photo album.
Lifelong Learning
- Stress Reduction: Identifying and Combating Stressors
Workers use role play to become more aware of the need for good communication skills. After such skills are modeled by the teacher in the course of the lesson and workers have a chance to discuss them, workers plan how they will try to practice the skills on the job.
- Stress Reduction: Deep Breathing Techniques
Workers use role play to become more aware of the need for good communication skills. After such skills are modeled by the teacher in the course of the lesson and workers have a chance to discuss them, workers plan how they will try to practice the skills on the job.
- Stress Reduction: Visual Imagery
This activity leads students through the process of using visual imagery in dealing with stress, enabling them to cope both on the job and in everyday life.
- "Where Has All The Money Gone?" A lesson in capital spending
Learners are walked through the process of balancing books by determining monthly totals of their small business spending. Learners then are introduced to the concept of in-kind resources, and recalculate expenses including all in-kind that was donated to their grant project.
Listen Actively
Personal Qualities
- Utilizing Individual Resources in Everyday Problem Solving
Learners will utilize their understanding of individual resources gained from the previous learning activity to determine the individual resources that people in scenarios presented by the instructor have to use in problem solving. Learners then apply their own list of individual resources to problem solve scenarios of their own creation.
Planning
- Personal information card for job search
Learners examine several job applications and make a comprehensive list of the categories of information that might be requested. Learners then gather their own personal information in these categories and create a portable personal data card they can use as a reference when filling out job applications in different situations
Read with understanding
- Understanding the News
Students learn to identify types of news stories by reading newsletters and newspapers. They will be able to categorize stories by type.
- Statistics: Reading and Interpreting Production Graphs
Participants learn how to interpret and create different types of graphs. Participants will analyze data presented in charts to complete assignments. They will then work as a group to devise a project in which they will develop surveys to test a certain hypothesis. The group will design appropriate graphic illustrations and make a presentation before the class.
- Interpreting Workplace Memos and Notices
The participants will read company memos and write summary sentences while working as part of a group.
- Placement and Organization of Employment Ads
Using actual complete newspapers, learners work sometimes individually and sometimes on teams to find the classified section in the newspaper; find the employment ads within the classifieds; note the categories into which jobs are organized; and practice categorizing and organizing specific employment ads.
- Understanding Content Vocabulary in Employment Ads
Working in small groups, learners use worksheets and the classified ads in a local newspaper to improve their ability to interpret newspaper employment ads by learning to read and understand commonly used content vocabulary (phrases and abbreviations).
- Increased comprehension with the use of imagery
This activity leads learners through the process of forming mental images of what they read in order to improve reading comprehension using, as three examples, the written directions for using a whetstone to sharpen a knife, a short news story of interest, and then a paragraph from a literary work.
Reflect and Evaluate
- Understanding and Identifying Individual Resources
Using actual complete newspapers, learners work sometimes individually and sometimes on teams to find the classified section in the newspaper; find the employment ads within the classifieds; note the categories into which jobs are organized; and practice categorizing and organizing specific employment ads.
Speak so others can understand
Take Responsibility for Learning
- Rewarding responsibility and accountability: Outstanding entrepreneurs
Learners are given points daily based upon their participation and efforts in attempting to open a small business, in this case, a photo studio. Learners choose which tasks they want to complete and ultimately decide how many points they wish to score. Weekly, monthly, and seasonal awards are granted to learners who have earned the highest points.
Use information and Communications Technology
- Searching for dream homes on the Internet
This lesson was part of an Action Research Incentive Grant to develop work-focused Families First classrooms in Tennessee. For this project, learners opened a photography studio to gain work skills and to experience how money can be earned through self-employment. In order to appreciate how quickly money is spent when obtaining capital, this learning activity was developed.
Using Math to Solve Problems & Communicate
- Industrial measurement: Using the industrial ruler
Participants learn how to use the special ruler presently used for precise measurement in industrial settings. In this lesson, learners will work individually to analyze whether given objects would meet the correct specifications required for a particular manufactured product.
- Industrial measurement: Using calipers to assess acceptable dimensions
Participants learn how to use the calipers presently used for precise measurement in industrial settings. In this lesson, learners will work individually to analyze whether given objects would meet the correct specifications required for a particular manufactured product.
- Industrial measurement: Using micrometers in the workplace
Participants learn how to use the micrometers presently used for precise measurement in industrial settings. In this lesson, students will work individually to analyze whether given objects would meet the correct specifications required for a particular manufactured product.
- Math skills for everyday: Filling out income tax forms
Using actual tax forms, students learn how to accurately figure their own income taxes, and read and fill out the proper forms.
- My paycheck amount - Computing taxes and withholdings
The focus of this activity was for learners to actively participate to calculate income tax and other deductions that are figured as a percentage of gross earnings. As a group activity, learners became familiar with the difference between gross earnings and net earnings by calculating and subtracting different types of deductions. In addition, learners gained information about different types of benefits that can be offered.
- Sign making (for window of an office or business)
Learners are asked to design and lay out a sign and figure out how to transfer it to a window using letters/numbers purchased from a store.
- Accounting the Monopoly Way
Learners play a game of monopoly, utilizing an accounting tool to determine if they have made money or lost money. Learners predict what expenses may be incurred and as they travel the board, any inflows and outflows are documented in the appropriate categories on the profit and loss statement. For each trip around the board, learners determine the total amount of inflows and outflows, and calculate a bottom line figure. After a pre-determined number of trips around the board, the learners graph their predictions and actual outcomes, and write a comparison/contrast summary of their data.
- Statistics: Determining Mean, Range, Median, Mode and Probability
This lesson teaches how to calculate mean, median, range, mode and probability. As a class, learners explore the differences in meaning among mean, range, median, and mode. Then working in teams, they use data from their workplace to compute values for these terms. Finally the class explores the term “probability” using a die.
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