Lesson 10

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Options After High School

In this lesson, students learn about various postsecondary options and receive exposure to the ways students finance their college educations. Students also develop a greater familiarity with academic terminology. This lesson includes multiple activities to help think more carefully about their future educational plans and how to fund them, including the assessment product for this lesson.

Make It Local  | This lesson requires some substantial changes for each individual school and/or community. The lesson is designed to utilize specific and detailed information about postsecondary educational options that are in students’ home communities. This lesson also includes “open” class time in Class Periods 4 and 5 for students to do research on postsecondary options using whatever materials and resources are available. Please take time to read through this entire lesson and all included documents well in advance to allow yourself time to make the necessary changes. Documents requiring revision include: · Teacher Resources 10.1, 10.2 · Student Resources 10.1, 10.2, 10.4 (optional) Since the PowerPoint presentation requires major revision to two slides, it is not included as a student reading in this lesson. Once you make alterations to the presentation, you can provide students with a copy of it as a reading if you so choose.

Advance Preparation

–   Class Periods 2 and 3 focus on an interactive PowerPoint presentation. Prepare the notes you will use during this presentation using Teacher Resource 10.2, Interactive Presentation Notes and Instructions: Funding Your Education (includes separate PowerPoint file).

This lesson is expected to take 5 class periods.

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Lesson Framework

Learning Objectives

Each student will:

–   Display understanding of postsecondary options

–   Define common acronyms and terminology associated with postsecondary academics

–   Summarize methods of financing a college education

–   Demonstrate the ability to find specific information using the Connect! website

Academic Standards

–   Establish challenging academic goals in elementary, middle/jr. high and high school (ASCA National Standards, A:B2.1)

–   Identify post-secondary options consistent with interests, achievement, aptitude and abilities (ASCA National Standards, A:B2.7)

–   Understand the relationship between learning and work (ASCA National Standards, A:C1.3)

21^st Century Skills

This lesson focuses on the following 21^st century skill:

–   Academic competence: Students demonstrate academic skills and knowledge that allows them to graduate from high school (and meet a-g requirements) and be prepared for college or a career

Assessment

ASSESSMENT PRODUCT	MEANS OF ASSESSMENT
Options after high school worksheet (Student Resource 10.3, portfolio component)	Assessment Criteria: Options After High School Worksheet (Teacher Resource 10.4)

–   Solid understanding of graduation requirements

–   Grasp of the relationship between one’s level of education and opportunities for work

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Instructional Materials  

Teacher Resources

–   Teacher Resource 10.1, Key: Academic Acronyms

–   Teacher Resource 10.2, Interactive Presentation Notes and Instructions: Funding Your Education (includes separate PowerPoint file)

–   Teacher Resource 10.3, Answer Key: Funding Their Educations

–   Teacher Resource 10.4, Assessment Criteria: Options After High School Worksheet

–   Teacher Resource 10.5, Key Vocabulary: Options After High School

–   Teacher Resource 10.6, Bibliography: Options After High School

Student Resources  

–   Student Resource 10.1, List: Academic Acronyms

–   Student Resource 10.2, Reading: Options After High School

–   Student Resource 10.3, Worksheet: Options After High School

–   Student Resource 10.4, Case Studies: Funding Their Educations

Equipment and Supplies

–   Whiteboard or blackboard

–   Computers with Internet access

–   LCD projector and computer for PowerPoint presentation

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Lesson Steps  

CLASS PERIOD 1

INSTRUCTION

 

Make It Local | The list of acronyms should be revised to include terms appropriate for students in your community. This will require adjustments to both Student Resource 10.1 and Teacher Resource 10.1

–   Explain that this list contains acronyms, or words formed from the initial letters of several words in the name. All of the acronyms have to do with high school and educational options after high school. Students need to be familiar with them because they are used frequently throughout high school and college. Note that they learned some of these acronyms in Lesson 8.

–   Instruct group members to pool their knowledge and fill in as many blanks as they can. Each student should fill in her own individual sheet. Encourage students to write down what the concept or purpose of the acronym is if they don’t know exactly what it stands for.

–   After another minute or two, go through each acronym and call on different groups popcorn style for the definitions. If there are terms that students were not able to identify, you may share the definitions from Teacher Resource 10.1, Key: Academic Acronyms.

–   When students have completely filled out their sheets, ask them to work together in their groups to write a sentence that uses at least three of the acronyms they have just learned. Encourage students to use more than three acronyms if they can think of a logical sentence—you may even wish to offer a prize to the group that uses the most acronyms in a single, coherent sentence. Give groups a few minutes to work on their sentences. Then ask each group to share their sentence with the class.

–   Tell students to review their sheets before the next class period, because they will need to know these acronyms for an upcoming activity.

DIFFERENTIATION The concept of acronyms may be difficult for some English learners to understand. Before beginning this activity, take some time to explain how an acronym works and give a few examples students might be familiar with, such as PE, ASAP, FAQ, FYI, PS, Q&A, TBA, UFO, or VIP. Have students practice defining a few terms before introducing the academic acronyms list.

 

STEP 2, READING OPTIONS AFTER HIGH SCHOOL

25 minutes

INSTRUCTION

 

Make It Local | The section of the reading that focuses on four-year colleges and universities will need revision to include data about schools in your community.

–   Before starting the reading, review the worksheet with the class. Explain that this is their assessment product for this lesson. Point out that students will work on this assignment at different times throughout the lesson and it will be collected at the end of the lesson.

–   Review the assessment criteria at the end of the worksheet. Call on one volunteer to read the first criterion aloud. Call on another volunteer to explain what that criterion means. Repeat this process with all the criteria and answer any questions.

–   Then give students time to read Student Resource 10.2 and complete the first section of Student Resource 10.3.

–   At the end of the period, if time allows, invite students to vote by a show of hands on which of the post-high-school options they wrote about on their worksheets. Ask a few volunteers to share one of the options they chose and what they wrote about it.

–   Remind students to keep their copies of Student Resource 10.3, since they will be adding to it in the next class period. Alternatively, collect the assignment to return to students the next time they need to add to it.

DIFFERENTIATION If you have a large number of English learners, utilize the “Stop and Summarize” strategy. Put students into groups. Make sure that each group has at least one student who is a strong English language speaker. Ask students to read the first section (“Community College”) silently. Then have them work together to write a short summary (two to four sentences) of that section. While students are doing this, circulate through the classroom to make sure students understand what to do. Ask students to repeat this process with the rest of the reading. Once students have finished, review their summaries before they complete the worksheet. This approach will take additional class time, but ensures that students fully comprehend the passage.

 

CLASS PERIOD 2

INSTRUCTION

 

Make It Local | Two slides of the PowerPoint need to be revised to incorporate specific financial data about school costs in your community.

–   If you collected Student Resource 10.3 in the previous class period, return it to students prior to the presentation. They complete the second section of this assignment as one of the interactive activities during the PowerPoint.

–   Explain that students are now going to see a presentation on how to fund their education. Let students know that they will be looking at some case studies, or examples of real-life situations that students might find themselves in as they look at paying for their education. Show the presentation. Use the suggestions in Teacher Resource 10.2, Interactive Presentation Notes and Instructions: Funding Your Education, to stop at key points and conduct brief activities with the students. These will help students understand the content and help to keep them engaged with the material. Note that students will complete another section of Student Resource 10.3 during this presentation.

–   After students have completed the section of Student Resource 10.3 (during Slide 6), call on a few volunteers to share their thoughts on one of the questions. Repeat this process after students complete the other question (during Slide 10).

–   Stop the presentation after students answer that question (during Slide 10). Let students know they will finish the presentation in the next class period. Remind students to keep their copies of Student Resource 10.3, as they will be adding to it later in this lesson (or collect the assignment again).

 

CLASS PERIOD 3

INSTRUCTION

–   Explain that students are going to finish the presentation they started in the last class period. Begin by dividing students into groups of four and distributing copies of Student Resource 10.4. Project Slide 11 and ask students to read over it. Then ask them to work together in their groups to complete Student Resource 10.4, which will give them a chance to look at how different students manage their unique financial circumstances.

–   Allow time for students to finish Student Resource 10.4. Review the answers, using Teacher Resource 10.3 for guidance. Answer any questions before continuing with the presentation.

–   When the presentation is complete, ask students: what is one thing you learned from this presentation that you might use to help you pay for your own education? Call on volunteers to share.

 

STEP 5, PREPARATION POST-SECONDARY OPTIONS RESEARCH

20 minutes

INSTRUCTION

 

Make It Local | This lesson step originally involved helping students become comfortable with a proprietary college search tool. Use this time to prepare students in whatever way you think will be most helpful for their research.

–   Take time to introduce any materials or specific websites you want students to use.

–   Answer questions and make sure students will be able to immediately begin researching when the next period commences.

 

CLASS PERIOD 4

INSTRUCTION

 

Make It Local | This lesson step originally required students to use a proprietary college search tool. Use this time to have student do their own research on post-secondary options using the tools and materials you think will be most helpful.

 

CLASS PERIOD 5

INSTRUCTION

 

Make It Local | This lesson step originally required students to use a proprietary scholarship search tool. Use this time to have student do their own research on funding options for post-secondary education using the tools and materials you think will be most helpful.

 

STEP 8, REFLECTION OPTIONS AFTER HIGH SCHOOL

10 minutes

INSTRUCTION

–   Point out that students have learned a lot in this lesson that could have an impact on their future plans. Ask students to read over the prompts and think about how they would respond. Then call on students, popcorn-style, to share their response to one of the prompts.

–   If you run out of time, make a note of any questions that still remain and make sure to take time to answer them before beginning the next lesson.

 

DIFFERENTIATION Answering a question without much time to prepare can be especially difficult for English learners. They may be so worried about how to say things in English that they do not really reflect deeply on the question. One way to address this would be to ask English learners to copy down the prompts, respond to the prompts in their primary language(s), and then translate one or more of their responses to English. You can then invite English learners to share their responses in the next class period or collect their written responses.

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Extensions

Enrichment

–   Introduce students to the FAFSA, which will help them obtain financial aid for higher education. One fun way is to screen the “FAFSA Hooray” video, which was created by a New York charter school to explain the FAFSA. It’s available online at http://www.nasfaa.org/students/About_Financial_Aid.aspx . Show the video to students and then have them practice filling out a FAFSA form. Alternately, you may wish to have students write similar songs or create similar videos about other concepts they have learned in this lesson.

–   Extend this lesson into a sixth period by arranging for a site visit to a local college or to have a college admissions guest speaker come to class. Use the guest speaker preparation materials and prompts from Lesson 7 to remind students of appropriate communication protocol.

–   In a tough economy, the burden of student loan debt on young people has become an issue of national concern.See “How Much Student Debt is Too Much?” a running blog at the New York Times online ( http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/14/how-much-student-debt-is-too-much ) and the Huffington Post page on College Debt ( http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/college-debt ). Ask students to compose their own blog posts in response to one of these.

–   Have students create online accounts at the College Board ( http://www.collegeboard.org ). In addition to providing them with access to PSAT, SAT, and AP information and test preparation, students can use the “College Search” and “My Organizer” functions to investigate postsecondary options. You may wish to start by having students find and report on two postsecondary institutions (community, career, or four-year programs) they think might be good matches for their goals and interests.

–   Have students put their budget-making skills to the test by creating projected expense budgets for college. Brainstorm possible costs as a class (tuition; dorm, apartment, or live at home; books and supplies; food and entertainment). For average costs, see FinAid’s College Cost Projector ( http://www.finaid.org/calculators/costprojector.phtml ). Students should use their own real financial circumstances or assume the following:

· They have no savings available.

· They work a part-time job for 20 hours a week earning minimum wage.

· Based on their academic performance, they have earned a yearly academic scholarship to the college; as long as they keep their average over a 3.0, they will receive 25% off of tuition each semester.

–   Ask students to choose one of the following quotes, or quotes of your own choice, to write reflections on. Have students share their reflections and conduct class discussions around them:

· Education consists mainly in what we have unlearned.

— Mark Twain, American writer (1835–1910)

· Education is what remains when we have forgotten all that we have been taught.

— George Savile, Marquis of Halifax, English statesman and author (1633–1695)

· We are shut up in schools and college recitation rooms for 10 or 15 years, and come out at last with a bellyful of words and do not know a thing.

— Ralph Waldo Emerson, US essayist and poet (1803–1882)

· A man who has never gone to school may steal from a freight car; but if he has a university education he may steal the whole railroad.

— Theodore Roosevelt, American president (1858–1919)

–   Engage parents in this lesson. Prepare a list of resources to help parents encourage and validate their students, as well as become savvy to the college prep curriculum. They can also start familiarizing themselves with financial aid planning. Discuss the college planning resources and pathways available at your school. Recommended general online sources include:

· The American Council on Education’s “Guide for Parents: Ten Steps to Prepare Your Child for College” ( http://www.acenet.edu/Content/NavigationMenu/ProgramsServices/CIP/Preparing/Guide1.htm )

· Big Future by The College Board: For Parents ( https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/get-started/for-parents )

· Career Counselor Margaret Lobenstine’s “Some Quick Tips for Parenting the

Renaissance Soul” ( http://www.renaissancesouls.com/pdfs/parenttips.pdf )

· FinAid’s Parent’s Guide to Financial Aid ( http://www.finaid.org/parents/ )

Cross-Curricular Integration

–   Social Studies: Have students research important figures in modern US history—politicians, civic leaders, scientists, inventors, or artists. What colleges did they attend? What were their majors? Have each student create a poster or PowerPoint presentation with the person’s portrait and the presentation of her findings. How might this person’s schooling prepare him or her for success?

–   English/Language Arts: Download an example of the Common Application for college, available at https://www.commonapp.org/CommonApp/default.aspx . Ask students to fill out the application as a character from a book, a play, or a short story they have recently read. For example, how might Huckleberry Finn respond to an essay question about the “most influential person” in his life? What kinds of afterschool activities would Tybalt from Romeo and Juliet take part in? How would the boys from Lord of the Flies describe their time on the island? This activity offers students a chance to familiarize themselves with what a college application looks like, and also provides an opportunity for some interesting discussions about characterization.

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Based on the Plan Ahead educational materials made available by Gap Inc. at www.whatsyourplana.com and developed in partnership with the Pearson Foundation. Such materials are copyright © 2010–2013 Gap Inc. and all rights are reserved. The Plan Ahead educational materials are provided “AS IS”; Gap Inc. and the Pearson Foundation are not responsible for any modifications made to such materials.

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