ACADEMIC PREPARATION
Week One Day One
Lesson Title: Teamwork Game with Basic Operations
Subject Matter: Math
Learning Level/ Prerequisite Skills:
9th Grade Math Level
Lesson Length: One hour
Instruction Type: Small group
This activity is designed to integrate two workplace
skills, locating information and teamwork, with a review of whole number
computation skills. Learners will
locate specific information using the newspaper and complete a series of math
whole number problems working as a member of a team.
Learning
Objectives /Skills:
At the completion of this lesson, students will be
able to add, subtract, multiply, and divide whole numbers, locate information in
a newspaper, and identify characteristics of effective groups.
Skills:
Adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing whole numbers, Locating
Information, Teamwork, and Critical Thinking.
Materials
Needed:
Handouts:
Newspaper Marathon, Working
in a Group
Newspapers,
one for each student (collect from subscription or purchase necessary amount)
Magic
Markers, one for each student
Paper
and Pencils
Scissors,
one for each group
Supplemental
Materials: Timed Math Facts Tests
How
to Prepare:
Make
copies of Newspaper Marathon, one for
each student. (Attachment from Free Lance Star); and handouts
Introduction
/ Warm Up / Review:
Familiarize the learners with the various sections of
the newspaper and review vocabulary words related to the lesson with them. (For
example, define the term flag: the
newspaper’s logo on front page.)
Presentation of
Lesson:
Tell the learners this activity will provide a
practice review for them in computation of whole numbers.
Describe the following scenario: Their team is employed by the same
company. Their boss has asked them
and two other teams to engage in a research project that will require
problem-solving skills. The teams will be asked to gather important information
from the newspaper that is crucial to the survival of their company.
Each team will report back to the boss in two weeks,
and the team who provides the most accurate solutions will not only receive a
bonus, but they will be honored at a company banquet. Encourage them to work
cooperatively on the problems. Accuracy is the goal, rather than speed. One
person from the team will be asked to report back to the larger group when they
have finished the exercises.
Practice
/ Activity:
Divide the learners into pairs.
Give each student a magic marker and ask each individual to circle the
areas of the newspaper they are directed to find as they locate them.
Each pair may approach this exercise in their own unique way, but
individual pairs should work cooperatively
to solve the math problems, so that each individual practices adding,
subtracting, multiplying, and dividing at some point during the exercise.
One person may be designated as a recorder to record answers for the
pair, for instance, but should also have an opportunity to practice math skills.
Hand out copies of the handout, Newspaper Marathon, one for each person. Upon completion of the
exercise, have the team’s reporter report back their group’s answers.
Application/Transfer:
Hand out copies of Working in a Group. Discuss
its contents briefly. Engage the larger group in a discussion of teamwork
skills. Did one person emerge as
their group leader? Why or why not?
Did all the group members participate?
Did certain team members play specific roles in the group?
If so, what were those roles? Did
they feel their team worked efficiently? Effectively?
What would the difference be between a team that works efficiently, and a
team that works effectively? How
could their team improve their performance next time?
Reflection
by Teacher:
Students are just getting to know each other and
working together in small groups allows for interaction on a personal level. How
comfortable were students with this activity? Did it allow for the beginning of
connections to be made among students? Did students support each other in the
team effort?
Planning
for Next Lesson:
Determine which students need more practice and
provide worksheets of whole number operations either as homework or as follow-up
activity in the academic segment of the technology strand.
HANDOUT
NEWSPAPER MATHATHON
Instructions:
Use a daily newspaper to find the answer to the following problems:
1.
Find the total number of pages in a daily newspaper.
______
2.
Add the number of letters to the editor.
+______
3.
Multiply by the number of comic strips about women.
x______
4.
Divide by the number of local stories on the front page.
______
5.
Subtract the number of bylines in the local news section.
-______
6.
Add a
previous day's fifth-highest temperature in degrees on
the weather chart. +______
7.
Multiply by the largest numeral found on the front page.
x______
8.
Add the number of letters in the longest headline in the sports section.
+______
9.
Divide by the number of editorials on the opinion page.
______
10.
Subtract the number of
people listed on the newspaper's flag.
-______
11.
Add the number of photos in the main news section, rounded off
+______
to
the highest number.
GRAND TOTAL _______
HANDOUT
Bonus
Questions
1.
Look
through the newspaper’s classified ads and cut out any job that requires math
skills to perform. - 1 point
each.
2.
Call the local newspaper’s classified ads department and find out what
the cost per
word is to place an ad in the paper.
Cut an ad out of the newspaper and compute its
total cost. - 5 points
3.
Find the foreign exchange rate in the newspaper.
(What section would you expect to
find it in?) Exchange $500 in American money for at least two different
types
of currency. How much of the foreign currencies would you get? - 5 points.
4.
Choose a job from the classified ads that quotes the salary.
Compute the gross pay for
one week of work, one month of work, and one year of work. - 5 points
5.
Find “land for sale” ad in the paper.
If the price for the total acreage is quoted, find the
cost per acre. If the price per acre is quoted, find the total cost for the
total number of
acres being sold. If the
total acreage is not named, then figure the cost on 525 acres.-
6.
Brain
Teaser –
Jim
and Nancy Smith live on a 100 acre farm. There
is a square pond located in the center of their property.
To celebrate the births of each of their four children, the Smiths
planted a pine tree at each corner of the pond. Twenty-five years after the
birth of their last child, the Smiths have decided to double the surface area of
the pond with the following conditions:
- The
pond’s shape will remain square.
-
The trees
are not to be relocated or removed at any time.
-
The trees
cannot be surrounded by water.
Can
they achieve their goal? – 5 points
If
so, how? – 5 points
HANDOUT
Working in a Group
“An
effective group is more than a sum of its parts. It is a group whose members commit themselves to the common
purpose of maximizing their own and each other’s success.”
Effective
groups have the following characteristics:
Did you know that………cooperative groups
outperform individuals working alone?
“The
environment that encourages or allows silence of some group members reduces the
potential of the creative process.”
--
From “Silence” by Harriet Forkey in Reading
Book for Human Relations Training by
Lawrence Porter and Bernard Mohr, 1982
Lesson
Title: Getting
a GED: What motivates YOU?
Subject
Matter/Life Skill Area: Academic
Preparation
Learning
Level/Prerequisite Skills: 9th
Grade Reading and Math Level
Lesson
Length: One
hour
Instruction
Type: Instructor-led
whole group, small group, and individual.
Overview
and Rationale:
This activity is designed to not only inform learners
about the GED exam and how the course content relates to it in the academic
segment, but also to encourage them to examine the importance of motivation in
helping them to reach this most important goal.
Learning
Objective / Skills:
At the completion of this lesson, students will be
able to identify the five subject areas covered by the GED exam, the method of
scoring, approximate time period for completion of the exam and write a journal
entry about the importance of motivation in obtaining a GED certificate.
Skills:
Critical thinking, group discussion, journal writing
Materials
/ Equipment Needed:
Locate
GED text that covers the breakdown of subjects covered in the GED Exam and
scoring method. (Contemporary’s GED Test 5: Mathematics, p.ix) One for each
student
Handout:
I Promise, Mama (Source: A 6th
Bowl of Chicken Soup for the Soul, Jack Canfield and Mark Hansen, 1999.)
GED
Brochures, one for each student
Chalk
and Chalkboard
Paper
and Pencils
How
to Prepare:
The
instructor should be familiar with the GED exam and the contents of the exam.
The instructor should also know the scoring system and strategies for test
taking.
Introduction
/ Warm Up / Review:
Introduce yourself and tell the learners that you
will be working with them to master academic skills necessary to pass a GED
exam: primarily, English grammar, writing, and math.
Pass out GED texts that show the breakdown of
subjects covered in the GED exam and discuss the scoring system, test format,
and length. Encourage students to
ask questions. Discuss the format of the test and allow a time period for
questions and answers.
Presentation
of the Lesson:
Pass out copies of the article, “I Promise,
Mama,” and ask for student volunteers to read it out loud for the class.
When they are finished, ask them if they can define for you the term,
“motivate.” “What does it
mean to motivate someone?” Write the definition on the board: to provide with
a motive or something which causes a person to act in a certain way.”
Ask students to give you examples from their lives of
things that motivate them; prompt them with questions, such as, “What
motivated you to get out of bed this morning?”
“What motivated you to drink a cup of coffee or eat breakfast?”
List their answers on the board under the word,
“motive” and stress to the learners that motive is a noun, but motivate is a
verb. Finally, ask them to tell you
what motivated Jean to drop out of high school. (She felt sorry for her mother, wanted to help her mother
out, etc.)
Practice /
Activity:
Break up students into small groups.
Ask them to identify as many of the following motives from the article as
they can:
What
motivated Jean to get married? (The
young man who smiled at her.)
What
motivated Jean to drop out of Virginia Commonwealth University? (Her children
needed her.)
What
motivated Jean to return to college? (Her divorce.)
What
motivated Jean to finish college? (A promise to her mother.)
What
motivated Jean to establish a parenting program for low-income moms? (She wanted
to be a source of strength for them like her mom was for her.)
What
motivated Jean to continue her education for so many years?
(Answers will vary, her mother’s love, etc.)
Why
was motivation so important in helping Jean reach her educational goals?
Discuss their answers in the larger group and ask
them to identify as many other things that motivate people in general.
(Example: money, better job,
honors/ awards, etc.) List them on the board under the word, “Motive.”
Briefly explain to the learners that you would like
them to reflect on what motivates them to continue with their education and why
motivation is important in reaching the goal of getting a GED.
Ask them to write down their thoughts in a journal entry.
Explain that a journal is an extremely informal kind of writing and that
they will not be asked to share their journal entry with either the teacher, or
the other students.
Reflection
by Teacher:
Students should know more about the GED exam and the
motivation it will take to pass the exam. Special
Note: This curriculum was written before the release of the new GED 2002 Test
and does not include instruction in calculator use. However, many of the Math
and Job Readiness exercises can include instruction on the used of the GED
calculator.
Planning
for the Next Lesson:
Students
will continue journal writing throughout this course and the instructor should
provide encouragement to students to take part in this activity.
ACADEMIC
PREPARATION
WEEK
ONE DAY TWO
Lesson Title: Math Word Problems – Whole Numbers
Subject Matter/ Life Skill Area: Math
Learning Level/ Prerequisite: 9th
grade reading and math level
Lesson Length: One hour
Instruction Type: Instructor-led, whole group
with individual practice
Overview
and Rationale:
This activity is designed to help students use
critical thinking skills to solve word problems using whole numbers.
Students will identify clue words in word problems that enable them to
translate a word problem into a number problem.
Learning
Objective / Skills:
At the completion of this lesson, students will be
able to identify clue words in whole number word problems, identify appropriate
operation, sets up a number problem, and computes the answer.
Skills: Critical thinking, critical reading, and
computation using whole number operations: add, subtract, multiply, and divide
Materials
/ Equipment Needed:
Whole
number math problems: add, subtract, multiply, divide
GED
Math Book (Contemporaries, Steck-Vaugh)
Handout:
Word Problems
Chalk
and Chalkboard
Paper
and Pencils
How
to Prepare:
Identify appropriate resource for whole number word
problems. Xerox appropriate number of copies of the handout “Word Problems.”
Introduction
/ Warm Up / Review:
Explain the following to the students: Some word
problems can be solved using common sense or simple logic.
For instance, with whole numbers, if you are looking for an answer that
is larger than the numbers provided in the word problem, logic dictates that you
add or multiply; if you are looking for an answer that is smaller than the
largest number provided in the word problem, you would subtract or divide.
Illustrate this concept using the numbers 20 and 5.
However, it is not uncommon for even good math
students to have difficulty “translating” more difficult word problems into
“number problems.” It is, therefore, helpful to have a plan or list of steps
for solving more difficult math word problems.
Presentation
of the Lesson:
Give each student a copy of the handout, “Word Problems.” Review the list of steps for solving word problems with the students and the clue words provided. Give examples of word problems containing clue words and/or demonstrate some of the more difficult concepts such as ratio, area, or volume. Ask the students to identify clue words in selected problems as a group.
Practice
/ Activity:
Using a sample question, follow the steps for solving
word problems and solve the problem as a group. These sample questions could be
taken from the whole number word problems section of a GED practice text. Assign
appropriate word problems to students from the text. Insure that students are
able to work the problems.
Application
/ Transfer:
Ask students to focus on the board as the instructor
models solving the first word problem. Walk through the steps and identify the
clues that help to solve the problem. Ask students to volunteer to come to the
board to solve each of the problems. Elicit support from other students while
identifying clues. Feedback when necessary.
Reflection
by Teacher:
Solving
word problems is a skill that is very necessary on the GED exam. Insure that
students begin to approach this skill with the intent of being successful in
solving the problems.
Planning
for Next Lesson:
Provide practice problems for students
who wish to practice this skill either in class or as homework.
Remind
students that they will have the opportunity to further word problem skills when
they access academic software in the Technology strand.
HANDOUT
Word Problems
*Determine if
you have enough information to solve.
*Identify and
eliminate extra information.
Learning
Level/ Prerequisite Skills:
9th Grade
Lesson
Length: One
hour
Instruction
Type: Teacher-led
and group discussion/activity
Overview
and Rationale:
This activity is designed to integrate an academic
lesson that introduces parts of speech with a lesson that introduces the concept
of self-esteem, an attribute that is important to successful functioning in the
workplace. Learners will discuss
parts of speech and their uses, the concept of self-esteem, and engage in a
group self-esteem activity using adjectives.
Learning
Objective / Skills:
At the completion of this lesson, students will be
able to define the concept of self-esteem and identify nouns, verbs, adjectives,
adverbs, pronouns, and Articles (A, An) in a writing sample.
Skills:
Critical thinking, reading/vocabulary, verbal communication, and writing.
Materials
/ Equipment Needed:
Handout:
Personal Attributes, The
Vital Role of Self-esteem, and the self-esteem
graphic, Parts of Speech
Strips
of paper, approximately 1 & ½ inches by 8 inches: five for each student
Magic
marker for each student
How
to Prepare:
Read the list of adjectives in the handout and note
which adjectives may need defining by the instructor before beginning the
activity. Xerox appropriate number
of copies of the handouts “Personal Attributes” and “The Vital Role of
Self-esteem,” and the self-esteem graphic so that each student has a copy.
Introduction
/ Warm Up / Review:
Introduce the topic of self-esteem by inviting the
learners to tell you what they already know about this concept. Hand out the
self-esteem graphic showing the relationship of related terms. Use the graphic
as a springboard for discussion. If
necessary, point out the following: As self-worth and self-respect rise,
self-esteem also rises, resulting in greater self-confidence.
Ask the students why self-confidence is important in the workplace. (For
example, self-confidence helps an individual make decisions, etc.
Tell the learners they will be using the concept of self-esteem as a
context for study in a grammar lesson on parts of speech.
Presentation
of Lesson:
Discuss the following parts of speech with the
learners and give examples: Nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns, and
articles (a & an). Use a GED Writing Skills text if necessary. Tell the
learners they will be using adjectives in a group activity on the topic of
self-esteem.
Pass out the handout The Vital Role of Self-esteem.
Tell the students they are going to read an article about a research
project that showed that self-esteem is important in the workplace.
Have the students break into groups of 5 or 6 and discuss and answer the
discussion questions. Have one student from each group report back their group’s
findings for selected questions. (Or
do this as a whole-group exercise.)
Practice
/ Activity:
Tell the learners they have had time to develop some
first impressions about the members of their group during the discussion. Pass
out the handout, Personal Attributes. Ask
the learners to briefly read through the list of adjectives.
Discuss any adjectives whose meanings are not clear to the learners.
Ask the learners to pick five adjectives from the list that they feel
describes the person to their left and write each adjective on a slip of paper
provided for them with a magic marker. After
everyone has done this, have the learners speak individually in their small
group, telling why they chose those particular adjectives to describe the person
to their left. They should hand the
slips of paper to the person they are describing.
Have students' feedback to the large group. Allow for
comments and questions.
Journal Writing Activity: Answer one or more of the
following questions: Were you surprised by the adjectives used to describe you?
Why or why not? How has
self-esteem affected your life, either positively or negatively? Have students
write a paragraph on self-esteem, using as many of the terms in the graphic as
they can.
Provide worksheets on parts of speech for students
who wish to practice identifying parts of speech as a homework assignment or let
them practice this skill in the academic segment of the Technology Strand.
Have students identify one of the four parts of
speech (noun, pronoun, verb, and conjunction) in each paragraph. Answers will
vary according to the choices students make.
Reflection
by Teacher:
This lesson provides an activity in grammar, but it
also helps students to begin to think about the positive attributes and skills
they possess. Students will later identify these skills in the interview lessons
so that they can promote themselves during the interview process.
Planning
for the Next Lesson:
Students
will be taking another step in examining the self when they look at goal setting
the next day in the Academic strand.
HANDOUT
Why do some people earn more than others?
And what can be done to enhance an individual’s or a group’s
productivity and earning power?
Economists pondering these questions have focused on the importance of
investing in human capital in the form of education, training, and work
experience. In a study in a recent
issue of Economic Inquiry, economists
Arthur H. Goldsmith of Washington & Lee University, Jonathan R. Veum of the
Bureau of Labor Statistics, and William A. Darity, Jr., of the University of
North Carolina add another variable to the wage equation: psychological capital.
“Everyone knows that psychological variables such as attitudes and
personality can affect productivity,” says Goldsmith, “but economists have
generally shied away from studying their impact on wages on the grounds that
they are difficult to measure.” He
and his colleagues got around this problem by analyzing a nationwide survey of
several thousand young workers that included a widely accepted psychological
test measuring self-esteem.
The results were striking. Predictably,
the researchers found that human capital – schooling, basic skills, and work
experience – had a big impact on wages. But
their statistical analysis also indicated that roughly 10% of this effect was
really due to self-esteem, which highly correlated with human capital.
In terms of causality, the researchers found both that self-esteem
affected the acquisition of human capital and that human capital and its payoff
via higher wages tended to enhance self-esteem.
Moreover, productivity (as reflected in relative wages) was more
sensitive to changes in self-esteem than to changes in human capital.
At the margin, says Goldsmith, “a 10% rise in self-esteem boosted wages
more than a 10% increase in education or work experience.”
Such findings have many implications.
They suggest, for example, that a subtle effect of rising income
inequality may be to erode the self-esteem and productivity of those who feel
they have fallen behind. More
significantly, since much of self-esteem is acquired in childhood, the results
underscore the importance of parents and teachers acting to enhance this aspect
of “psychological capital” –in addition to fostering youngsters’
acquisition of basic skills.
Source: Business Week, Feb. 2, 1998
HANDOUT
Discussion Questions
HANDOUT
Discussion Questions: Answer Sheet
Investing in
people who receive education, training, and accumulate work experience.
The state of
personal attitudes and personality (high/low or good/bad attitudes) of workers.
Productivity is
a measure of how much work is produced by a worker in a given amount of time.
Using time well, prioritizing, staying on task are traits of high productivity.
The higher the
level of productivity, the lower the cost of employing a worker.
Persons with
higher self-esteem may be more likely to seek out education, skills, and work
experience.
It will
increase an individual's wages.
A. changes
in a person’s self-esteem or
B.
changes
in a person’s education, skills, or work experience
Most
self-esteem is acquired in childhood.
Yes, self-esteem, as well as education and training, plays a big role in productivity.
HANDOUT
|
Adventuresome Affectionate
Articulate
Artistic Athletic Beautiful Bold Brave Bright Carefree Cheerful Clever Communicative Competent Courageous Creative Daring Delightful Dependable Eager Efficient Enthusiastic |
Faithful Flexible Forgiving Forthright Friendly Generous Goal-oriented Graceful Grateful Happy Hard-working Honest Hopeful Humorous Intelligent Joyful Kind Mature Musical Nurturing Optimistic Organized |
Passionate Patient Peaceful Personable Persevering Productive Punctual Relaxed Self-Confident Serious Smart Spiritual Strong Studious Talented Thoughtful Trustworthy Truthful Warm Wise |
|
BASIC PARTS OF SPEECH |
||
|
Parts of Speech |
Function |
Example |
|
Noun |
Names
a person, place or thing, or an idea |
John
drove to Milwaukee to give a
speech about democracy. |
|
Pronoun |
Replaces
a noun |
Somebody
showed
him and me a picture of it. |
|
Verb |
Shows
action or state of being (is, are, was, were, being, be, been) |
Jim
is tall. He plays basketball. Lew looked
for a job. |
|
Conjunction |
Joins
words and groups of words. |
Meg
was here, but, she left. Misha and
I got home at noon. |
Source:
Contemporary's GED, 1994 Edition
Page
59.
ACADEMIC
PREPARATION
WEEK ONE DAY
THREE
Lesson
Title: The
Importance of Goals
Subject
Matter/Life Skill Area: Goal-setting
Learning
Level /Prerequisite Skills: 9th
grade reading and math level
Lesson
Length: One
hour
Instruction
Type: Teacher-led,
small group, and individual
Overview
and Rationale:
This activity is designed to inform learners of the
importance of setting goals, describe the critical attributes of effective
goals, and explain the relationship of goals to values.
Learners will analyze their own experiences with setting goals and set at
least nine short-term, intermediate, and long-term goals for themselves.
Learning
Objective / Skills:
At
the completion of the lesson, students will set a short-term, intermediate, and
long-term goal in each of the following three categories: personal, educational,
and career.
Skills:
Critical Thinking and setting goals, self-management
Preparation
for the Lesson:
Download
the following handouts from the Internet: The
Power of Written Goals, The 7 Steps to
Creating Powerful Written Goals! Creating
Smart Goals, and Are Your Goals and
Values in Line? http://www.topachievement.com
Materials
Needed:
Handouts,
one for each student
Chalk
and Chalkboard
Pencil
and Paper
Introduction
/ Warm Up / Review:
Inform the learners that they will be investigating
the importance of goal setting, the qualities of effective goals, and
relationship of goals to values. In
addition, they will be setting at least 5 short-term and long-term goals for
themselves.
Ask
students to comment on goals that they might have made in the past. Write
responses on board. Encourage students to share both academic and personal
goals. Share some of your own personal goals also.
Presentation
of the Lesson:
Read the handout to them, “The Power of Written
Goals.” After reading the article
draw a circle graph on the board showing the 3% who practiced goal-setting and
the 97% who did not. Explain that
if the circle graph represented 100 of the Yale graduates 20 years later, the
study showed that the 3 students who practiced goal-setting had earned more
money than the other 97 combined who did not.
Practice /
Activity:
Pass out the handouts “Creating Smart Goals” and
“The 7 Steps to Creating Powerful Written Goals.” Divide the students into
small groups of 4 or 5 and have them read the handouts together.
Have the students discuss their own experiences with setting goals and
analyze why they were or were not successful in reaching them.
Application/Transfer:
Ask students to define short-term, intermediate, and
long-term goals. Short term: will happen in a few days or weeks.
Intermediate: will happen in next few months or years.
Long-term: 5 to 10 years or longer. Have the learners read the handout,
“Are Your Goals and Values in Line?” When
they are finished reading have them rank order their values from most important
(1) to least important (25).
Reflection
by Teacher:
Were students able to successfully set goals in the
defined categories? Did they have
difficulty thinking “long-term?" What identifiable barriers to successful
goal setting surfaced in this exercise, and how might the instruction better
address those barriers?
Planning
for Next Lesson:
Review each student's goals so that you are aware of
what goals pertain to, and can be met, by the objectives of this program. Review
goals individually with each student.
Lesson Title: Verb Tenses using Affirmations
Subject Matter: Grammar/Self-esteem
Learning Level / Prerequisite Skills: 9th
grade reading and math level
Lesson Length: One hour
Instruction Type: Group discussion, individual
Overview and Rationale:
This activity is designed to integrate an academic
lesson that introduces verb tenses with a lesson that introduces the concept of
affirmation: a practice that enhances self-esteem. The learners will study the 4 characteristics of affirmations
and practice recognizing and writing verbs in specified tenses while enhancing
their knowledge of affirmations and why affirmations can have a positive impact
on their lives.
Learning
Objective / Skills:
At the completion of this lesson, students will write
verbs in present, past, future, continuing and perfect tenses.
In addition, learners identify the four characteristics of affirmations
and effectively write their own affirmations.
Skills:
Critical thinking and writing
Materials
Needed:
GED
Writing Skills Text
Handouts:
Affirmations and Recognizing Tenses and Writing Affirmations
Chalk
and Chalkboard, Pencil and paper
How
to Prepare:
Prepare copies of the handouts listed above. Read
them over and be familiar with the content as well as the instruction.
Introduction
/ Warm Up / Review:
Inform the learners that they will be investigating
two concepts: verb tenses and affirmation, a practice that contributes to
positive self-esteem. Ask the
learners to tell you what they already know about the term, “affirmation.”
If they cannot tell you its definition, then ask them what part of speech
it is. (Noun) Point out that many other
Introduction
/ Warm Up / Review, Continued:
nouns
also end in a suffix that ends with the letters ion. (Action, religion,
satisfaction, friction, etc.)
Presentation
of Lesson:
Hand out copies of the handout “Affirmations.”
Engage the learners in a discussion of the definition and 4 key characteristics.
Pass out the GED Writing Skills Texts and review the
section on verb tenses. Give the learners a regular verb and have them conjugate
the verb in the following tenses: present, past, future, present perfect,
past-perfect, present continuing and past continuing.
Practice
/ Activity:
Hand out copies of the handout,
“Recognizing Tenses and Writing Affirmations.”
Encourage learners to work together as they complete the exercises. Ask
students to share their affirmations within their small groups. Encourage
students to lend support to correct any tenses that are not correct.
Application/Transfer:
Have
the learners write five affirmations of their own and instruct them to repeat
them two or three times daily for the next week.
Write
several examples of your own affirmations on the board. Ask students to share
their affirmations and write them on the board also. If verb tenses need to be
corrected, ask students for feedback on corrections.
Reflection
by Teacher:
Were the learners able to write affirmations in the
present tense? How many were still
using future tense to write affirmations? Were
they able to successfully conjugate a verb in the assigned tenses?
Assign those who are still having trouble distinguishing between tenses
to complete an exercise on tenses in the academic portion of the Technology
strand.
Planning for
Next Lesson:
Math exercises in the following two days will include
percentages, averages, and ratios. Go over material to insure familiarity.
HANDOUT
AFFIRMATION WITH TENSES
Recognizing
Tenses and Writing Affirmations
Rewrite
the following statements as affirmations. What
tense will you write them in?
_______________
What words will you avoid using? _______, _________, _________
Example:
I won’t be chosen for the job.
Rewrite:
I am a good candidate for the job.
1. I
have no skills.
Write
5 affirmations of your own. Say
them two or three times a day for the next five days.
HANDOUT
AFFIRMATION WITH TENSES
Affirmations
“Developments in the workplace in this time of
accelerating change, choices, and challenges demand a greater capacity for
innovation, self-management, personal responsibility and self-direction—all
qualities of high self-esteem.”
“The most
fundamental meaning of self-esteem is
trust in your own mind, your own mental processes. Therefore, trust in your ability to learn, to judge, to
decide.”
“Studies
conducted among top executives suggest that one of the leading causes of failure
is the inability to make decisions. That
inability is due to troubled self-esteem—distrusting
one’s own mind and judgment.”
Quotes from: The Power of Self-esteem, Nathaniel Branden
An
affirmation is a positive statement that you say to yourself that builds
positive self-esteem. Affirmations have four key characteristics:
Example: Instead
of saying, “I don’t want to fail the test.”
Say, “I
study hard to pass my tests.”
Avoid using the words “not”, “don’t”, and
“won’t.”
It is often much easier to know what you don’t
want, but being able to identify what you do want is extremely important
because it is the first step in setting goals.
Example: Instead
of saying “I don’t waste time.”
Say,
“I manage my time.”
Present
tense – “I am punctual.”
An affirmation should be said as if it is true,
TODAY. By stating your affirmation
as if it is true right now, your self-worth rises.
Example: Instead
of saying, “I will be brave.”
Say, “I
am brave.”
Visualization is seeing a picture of something in
your mind. For example, consider the following:
Yesterday, I cooked a thick, T-bone steak on the grill.
It sizzled and
smoked until it was medium rare.
My stomach growled as the pungent
aroma of a juicy steak cooking on the grill reached my
nostrils. I cut into
it and placed the first tender morsel on my tongue.
Did you have a picture in your mind as you read this paragraph?
What did you
see as you read it?
What did you feel?
You can use visualization to enhance your
self-esteem. You can begin to
visualize yourself today as the kind of person you
want to be. For instance, if you
want to be self-confident, create a picture in your
mind of yourself behaving
confidently.
People use visualization all the time, but often use
it in a negative way. For
instance, before taking a test, many people visualize
themselves getting a failing
grade; they see and feel their disappointment in
their minds. Instead, why not
visualize yourself calmly and confidently completing
the exam and receiving
a passing grade?
Did you know that your subconscious mind cannot tell
the difference between
imagination and reality? That is why your dreams often seem real.
It is also why
positive visualization works.
Begin now to picture yourself as the kind of person
you want to be.
Affirmations should be short and repeated several
times a day. Your subconscious mind
is most receptive when you first wake up in the morning. This is a good time to repeat 3 or 4 affirmations.
Use the power of affirmations to raise your
self-esteem. It is a powerful,
life-changing tool.
ACADEMIC PREPARATION
WEEK ONE DAY FOUR
Lesson Title: Time Management Using Math Skills
(Percentages, Graphs, and Charts)
Subject Matter/Life Skill Area: Math/Time
Management
Learning Level / Prerequisite Skills: 9th
grade reading and math level
Lesson Length: Two hours
Instruction Type: Teacher-led, individual
practice
Overview
and Rationale:
This activity is designed to integrate a lesson on
fractions, graphs, and charts with a workplace and life skills topic: time
management. Learners will record
information on how they spend their time in a chart, write ratios based on their
findings, convert ratios to percents, create pie charts based on those percents,
and create a line or bar graph for one week of recorded activities in at least
one category.
Learning
Objective /Skills:
At the completion of these lessons (follow-up
included), the students will write ratios, compute percents, record daily
activities, create a pie chart and bar or line graph, and interpret their
findings on how they spend their time in a written paragraph.
Skills: Critical thinking, recording information,
writing ratios and computing percents, interpreting graphs and charts, and
writing.
Materials
/ Equipment Needed:
Xeroxed
copies of handouts from Mind Tools, and U. of Minnesota, Duluth
GED
texts for each student
Chalk
and chalkboard
Flip
Chart Paper
Pencils
and paper
Preparation
for the Lesson:
Handouts:
MindTools and U. of Minnesota, Duluth, one for each student.
Locate appropriate examples of pie charts and line graphs in GED manual.
Introduction
/ Warm Up / Review:
Ask the learners if they have ever felt that they
needed more than 24 hours in a day to accomplish everything they need to.
Tell them the topic for today will be time management, a skill that is
valuable not only in one’s personal life but also in the workplace.
In addition to learning about this practical topic, they will have the
opportunity to practice skills that will enhance their ability to pass the GED
math exam: writing ratios,
computing percent, and making a graph.
Presentation
of Lesson:
Review the approximately 5 pages of materials on Time
Management from Mind Tools with the learners. In addition, show them how to write a ratio and how to change
a ratio into a percent (divide denominator into the numerator). Using a GED
manual, direct students to the section on graphs and charts.
Review together several pie charts and graphs.
Practice
/ Activity:
Have each learner categorize the different activities
they engage in on a given day and estimate how much time they spend in each
activity. Have them write a ratio
for each category. (Example:
If they spend 3 hours out of a 24 hour period preparing meals, they would
write 3/24.) Have them change the ratio to a percentage by dividing the
bottom number into the top and moving the decimal two places to the right.
In the above example reduce 3/24 to 1/8 and divide one by 8.
Express the remainder as a fraction and move the decimal two places to
the right. (12 and ½ %)
Have the students create their own pie charts based
on the information they compiled using the percentages they computed.
(Time spent in a typical 24 hour period.)
Inform the students that they will be asked to keep a
record of their activities for the next five days, using a time use chart. They
will then complete a follow-up activity on charts and graphs using the
information they have compiled.
Application
/Transfer:
One week later:
(This could be homework, or creating the charts could be optional;
however, students should at least write a paragraph comparing how they estimated
that they spend their time, and how they actually spend their time as a
journal-writing activity.
Using the Time Chart (U. Minnesota, Duluth), have the
students keep track of their activities for the next five days.
When the chart is complete, have them fill in the “Summary of
Activities for the Time-use Chart.”
Have them create a second pie chart of one of the days and compare their
findings with the first pie chart they created (estimated time spent).
Have them write a paragraph comparing the two charts.
Were there any surprises? How
accurate were they in predicting how they spend their time?
What have they learned about how they spend their time?
Have the students create a line graph or a bar graph
of a single category for the entire five days, putting the days of the week on the horizontal axis and hours spent in activity on the vertical axis.
For instance, a student might graph the number of hours for each day of
the week spent watching TV, or studying. Each
graph should have an appropriate title, such as “Hours spent watching TV.”
Provide the students with the handout “Planned
Weekly Schedule” for their use, stressing the importance of planning one’s
week.
Reflection
by Teacher:
Encourage students to reflect upon time as it affects
their daily lives in both the work environment and the home. Monitor this
reflection as the course continues.
Planning
for Next Lesson:
Read over the exercise on cultural diversity. Time
issues are different with different cultures and this may be part of the
discussion in tomorrow's exercise.
ACADEMIC PREPARATION
WEEK ONE DAY FIVE
Lesson Title: Ratios, Mean, and Median
Subject Matter / Life Skill Area: Math
Learning Level/Prerequisite Skills: 9th
grade reading and math
Lesson Length:
One hour
Instruction Type: Whole group instruction with
individual practice
Overview
and Rationale:
This activity is designed to introduce learners to
writing ratios, computing means, and identifying medians.
Learners will use the article “Cultural Diversity in the Workplace”
and the newspaper as a context for writing ratios, computing the mean, and
identifying the median.
Learning
Objective / Skills:
At
the completion of this lesson, the students will write ratios, compute means,
and identify medians in written materials.
Skills:
Critical thinking, math skills, and locating information
Materials
/ Equipment Needed:
Handout:
Cultural Diversity in the Workplace,
One for each student
Newspapers,
one for each student
Chalk
and Chalkboard
Pencils
and paper
How
to Prepare:
Xerox
handout “Cultural Diversity in the
Workplace,” (Career World,
April, 1998) with permission, or
download from Internet at: http://www.epnet.com/bin/epwgargoyle/submit=text/session=DMBXdfP/st=9/qn=1/ftext
Introduction
/ Warm Up /Review:
Tell the students that they will be using the same
article on cultural diversity that they used as a context for studying sentence
structure to now learn about ratios. They will be using the statistics presented
in the article to write ratios. In
addition, they will be using the newspaper to find the mean (or average) and the
median, skills that will not only be tested on the GED exam, but that can also
prove useful in everyday life.
Presentation
of the Lesson:
Tell the students that a ratio is a way of comparing
two numbers. For instance, if they
wanted to compare the number of male students (10) in a class to the number of
female students (20) they could write the ratio in one of three ways: 10
to 20, 10:20, or 10/20 (as a
fraction reduced to 1/2).
Instruct the students that ratios must be written in
the order the problem presents them. For
instance, in the problem: What is the ratio of dogs to cats in a kennel that has
30 cats and 50 dogs? Since the problem asked for the ratio of dogs to cats (dogs
first), the number 50 would be written first: 50 to 30, 50:30, or 50/30 reduced
to 5/3.
Practice
/ Activity:
First
Exercise:
Ask
the students to write the following ratios:
Teacher(s) to students in their class
Females
to males in their class
Females to total number of students in their class
Number of people wearing blue to the number of people in the class
Number of Mondays in the current month to the total
number of days in that month
Point
out that ratios that are written as fractions always consist of a Numerator and
a denominator, even if the denominator is one.
Using
the handout, “Cultural Diversity in the Workplace,” have the students locate
the appropriate information and write the following ratios:
Ratio of
African, Asian, Hispanic, and Native Americans to total Americans
Ratio of African, Asian, Hispanic, and Native Americans in the year 2050
Asian American population in 1990 to Asian American population in 1995
Asian American population in 1990 to Asian American population in 2050
Using
the first two ratios above, show the learners how they can convert ratios
to
percentage by dividing the denominator into the numerator.
Second
Exercise:
Ask
them to convert the ratios they have written in #2 to percentage by dividing.
Using
the newspaper, have the students write the following ratios:
Ratio
of male births to total births
Ratio
of female births to total births
Ratio
of multiple births to total births
Ratio of women to total number of deaths in obituaries
Ratio of marriage certificates to divorce petitions
Compute
percentage by dividing for the above ratios.
Show
the learners how to compute the average of a series of numbers.
Third
Exercise:
Have
them compute the following means:
Average age of death in obituaries
Average age of death for men
Average age of death for women
Average price of at least 5 homes listed in the Home For Sale section
Show
the learners how to find the median in a series of numbers (both where the total
number in the series is odd, and the total number in the series is even.)
Have them find the following medians:
List the high temperatures in the newspaper from
highest to lowest and find the median.
List at least 5 car prices and identify the median
price.
List salaries in one or more categories of the
newspaper and find the median.
Application/Transfer:
If time permits, ask the students to brainstorm on
the kinds of jobs in which they might find the use of ratios, means, or median
useful. (Examples:
Advertising - 2 out of 3 women buy low-fat dairy products; therefore,
grocers may want to stock larger quantities of them, or Transportation – The
average daily number of cars traveling north on a Hanson Avenue at 25th
is 350; therefore, a traffic light is needed there.)
Have they ever used ratios, means, or median in their daily lives?
Share these comments as a group.
Reflection by
Teacher:
Students should see the relationship between ratios
and our daily lives. Were students able to make that connection and will the
connection facilitate the learning ratio skills?
Planning for
Next Lesson:
Remind students of acquiring further practice by
utilizing academic software in the Technology strand. The handout from this
exercise will also be used for the next exercise. It is not necessary to make
more copies provided that there are enough for each student.
Lesson Title: Cultural Diversity and Celebrating
Differences
Subject Matter: Reading and Grammar
Learning Level:
9th grade reading and
math
Lesson Length: One hour
Instruction Type: Teacher-led and groups
Overview
and Rationale:
This activity is designed to integrate a writing
skills lesson on sentence structure, with a workplace topic, cultural diversity.
Learners will read and discuss an article on cultural diversity in the
workplace, review simple, compound, and complex sentences, and participate in a
team-building exercise using their knowledge of sentence structure.
Learning
Objective / Skills:
At
the completion of this lesson, students will write simple, compound, and complex
sentences correctly punctuated.
Skills:
Critical reading, critical thinking, group discussion, and writing.
Materials
/ Equipment Needed:
Handouts
from the last exercise. If they are not available, the Internet address is
listed below.
Access
to Internet, if necessary
Chalk
and Chalkboard
Pencils
and paper
Contemporary's
GED Book
How
to Prepare:
Read the cultural diversity article and note any
vocabulary words that may need defining for the learners.
Xerox copies for the learners (with permission from Career World) or have
them access and read the article through the Internet at: http://www.epnet.com/bin/epwgargoyle/submit=text/session=DMBXdfP/st=9/qn=1/ftext.
Xerox copies of “Sentence Basics,” and
“Cultural Diversity Discussion Questions” so
that each student has a copy.
Introduction
/ Warm Up / Review:
Tell the learners that they will be examining
subject-verb patterns in simple, compound, and complex sentences in order to
become skilled at correctly punctuating sentences. As a context for study, they
will be reading an article on cultural diversity and using that article to
identify the different kinds of sentences; then they will practice writing
sentences themselves.
Presentation
of the Lesson:
Ask students to identify the basic parts of speech
(noun, pronoun, verb, and conjunction). Review briefly the basic parts of speech
covered earlier in the week. Ask the learners to define a sentence for you.
If necessary, tell them that a complete sentence has a subject (you may
need to define “subject”), a verb, and expresses a complete thought.
Review page 58-59 in the Contemporary's GED book.
Using the GED book (pages 93-103) go over sentence
structure. Do each exercise in class. Students can work independently on the
exercise and then review the answers as a class.
Hand out the “Sentence Basics” handout.
Review the handout, pointing out that punctuation is primarily determined
by the subject/verb patterns in the sentence. Discuss the difference between
dependent and independent clauses.
Tell
the learners they will have the opportunity to practice identifying and writing
simple, compound, and complex sentences as part of a team-building exercise.
Practice
/ Activity:
Hand out (or have them read it on the Internet) the
article entitled “Diversity in the Workplace ” and the discussion questions.
Form the learners into groups of 4.
Have them discuss the article and answer the questions, writing complete
sentences as their answers. Answers
must consist of simple, compound, and complex sentences.
Every sentence must be identified as simple, compound, or complex.
One individual from each group will report back to
the larger group, writing their answers on the board and discussing the sentence
types.
Next, have the teams compete against each other for
points in the following exercise:
Using the diversity article, have the teams go on a
scavenger hunt. For every complex sentence they correctly identify, they receive
5 points, for every compound sentence they receive 4 points, for every sentence
with a compound predicate they receive 3 points, and for every sentence with a
compound subject they receive 2 points. Give
the teams a time limit of 10 minutes, and tally up the points!
Application
/ Transfer:
Ask the larger group why writing grammatically
correct sentences is important in the workplace. Discuss briefly.
Ask students to recall some of the grammatically
correct sentences from the exercise and write these on the board. Each student
can write one of their sentences that they found on the board.
Reflection
by Teacher:
Have the learners grasped the concept of dependent
and independent clauses and combining them in a complex sentence structure?
If not, assign them an activity on identifying and punctuating complex
sentences (a skill that is repeatedly tested on the GED exam) for follow-up in
the academic segment of the technology strand.
Planning
for Next Lesson:
Allow about ten minutes at this time for students to
complete their journal entries.