Scholarships for Post-Secondary Options Practicum in Business Management and Administration Lesson Plan Performance Objective Upon completion of this lesson, each student will create an organized structure and the files needed to apply to multiple scholarships. Specific Objectives Students will locate five scholarships that they meet the requirements for. Students will create an organized file system for the documents required by the scholarship. Students will write three essays appropriate to submit with scholarship applications. Students will request and collect at least three references to be submitted with scholarship applications. Students will write thank you letters to anyone who writes references. Students will create a calendar to track the due dates of the scholarships. This lesson should take eight to 10 class days to complete. Preparation TEKS Correlations (1) The student knows the employability characteristics of a successful worker in the modern workplace. The student is expected to: (D) apply the competencies related to resources, information, interpersonal skills, systems, and technology in appropriate settings and situations. (2) The student relates communication, mathematics, and science to the requirements of the student's chosen field. The student is expected to: (A) demonstrate effective verbal and written communication skills with individuals from varied cultures, including fellow workers, management, and customers. (9) The student applies communication, mathematics, and science knowledge and skills to jobrelated activities. The student is expected to: (A) use written, verbal, and visual communication techniques consistent with industry standards; and 1
(B) use mathematics concepts in communication technology. 110.34. English Language Arts and Reading, English IV (One Credit), Beginning with School Year 2009-2010 (15) Writing/Expository and Procedural Texts. Students write expository and procedural or work- related texts to communicate ideas and information to specific audiences for specific purposes. Students are expected to: (B) write procedural and work-related documents (e.g., résumés, proposals, college applications, operation manuals) that include: (i) a clearly stated purpose combined with a well-supported viewpoint on the topic; (ii) appropriate formatting structures (e.g., headings, graphics, white space); (iii) relevant questions that engage readers and address their potential problems and misunderstandings; (iv) accurate technical information in accessible language; and (v) appropriate organizational structures supported by facts and details (documented if appropriate). (16) Writing/Persuasive Texts. Students write persuasive texts to influence the attitudes or actions of a specific audience on specific issues. Students are expected to write an argumentative essay (e.g., evaluative essays, proposals) to the appropriate audience that includes: (A) a clear thesis or position based on logical reasons with various forms of support (e.g., hard evidence, reason, common sense, cultural assumptions); (B) accurate and honest representation of divergent views (i.e., in the author's own words and not out of context); (C) an organizing structure appropriate to the purpose, audience, and context; (D) information on the complete range of relevant perspectives; (E) demonstrated consideration of the validity and reliability of all primary and secondary sources used; (F) language attentively crafted to move a disinterested or opposed audience, using specific rhetorical devices to back up assertions (e.g., appeals to logic, emotions, ethical 2
beliefs); and (G) an awareness and anticipation of audience response that is reflected in different levels of formality, style, and tone. (18) Oral and Written Conventions/Handwriting, Capitalization, and Punctuation. Students write legibly and use appropriate capitalization and punctuation conventions in their compositions. Students are expected to correctly and consistently use conventions of punctuation and capitalization. (19) Oral and Written Conventions/Spelling. Students spell correctly. Students are expected to spell correctly, including using various resources to determine and check correct spellings. Tasks Day 1: Scholarship & Funding Opportunities Teacher presentation on scholarships and demonstration of finding scholarships. Students will identify two sources of scholarships. Day 2: Getting Organized Teacher presentation on scholarship process and organizations. Students will identify two additional sources of scholarships. Students will create a digital system to organize and track scholarship applications. Students will identify the common elements of scholarship applications, including but not limited to, transcripts, resumes, essays, photographs, and letters of recommendation. Day 3: Keeping Track of Time Teacher presentation on time keeping and calendaring. Students will identify one additional source of scholarships. Students will create a plan for five scholarships with a calendar timeline to complete and submit the materials. Day 4: Resumes Teacher presentation on writing resumes. Students will write resumes. In partners, students will edit and review resumes. Day 5: References Teacher presentation on getting personalized references. 3
Student will write an email that can be used to solicit references. Students will contact at least three individuals for reference letters for each scholarship. Day 6-8: Writing essays Teacher presentation on writing scholarship essays. Students will write and edit one essay per day. In pairs, students will review and revise edits. Essays can be written in class or assigned as homework. Day 9: Collecting Transcripts Students will collect necessary transcripts from high school or college programs. Students will work on documentation in folder system. Students will be editors for each other s work for proof and review. Students will contact/follow-up with individuals for reference letters. Students will scan and organize reference letters. Students will write thank you letters to references. Day 10: Finalize Project Students will finalize project. Students will complete a self-evaluation of the project using the rubric. Students will submit final USB flash drive or link to collaborative drive. Accommodations for Learning Differences It is important that lessons accommodate the needs of every learner. These lessons may be modified to accommodate your students with learning differences by referring to the files found on the Special Populations page of this website (cte.unt.edu). Preparation Find scholarships that would be appropriate for your cluster area. Find scholarship listings for your local community. Pull example resumes. Each year, ask students for samples to share with other students. Instructional Aids Scholarship websites Grading rubric Internet Materials Needed USB flash drives or collaborative drives Equipment Needed 4
Computers (for students to complete project) Projector (for digital presentation) Scanner to scan recommendation letters 5
Outline MI Outline Instructor Notes I.Explain different types of funding I. Apply for Financial Aid 1. Scholarships Talk through the different types of funding for post-secondary education. Open the discussion to see what the students have thought about using. 2. National Grants 3. Pell Grants 4. Service Commitment: AmeriCorps, PeaceCorps, ROTC, Military 5. Local schools / living at home 6. What Kinds of Scholarships 7. University / College 8. National 9. State 10. Organizational 11. Local 12. Scholarship Searches & Strategies 13. Search sites & aggregators 14. Professional organizations Give examples of the different types of scholarships someone may find at each level. Add appropriate examples from your own industry. Help students find scholarships that would be beneficial to them. By looking at the scholarships that they found, have a discussion about the common elements that students have found. Based on your school s security, find out what collaborative drives are available. Show different types of calendar templates. Allow students to use what they will actually follow even their smart phones. Provide examples of student resumes. 15. Local organizations 16. School counselors 17. Lists Help students brainstorm whom they could ask to be a reference. Essays may take more or less time in the classroom depending on your own 6
II. 18. Emails 19. Scholarship Process 20. Key components Personal information 1. Resume 2. Academic information 3. Community information 4. Essay 5. References 6. Transcripts 7. Due dates 8. Organization 9. File types 10. USB flash drives or collaboration drives 11. Keeping Track of Time 12. Start early 13. December due dates 14. Documentation of enrollment / grades 15. Resume 16. Content types 17. Writing tips 18. Example 19. Content Ideas 20. Reference letters schedule and how much writing they can do at home. Check with your own school about the transcript request process. Give a copy of a rubric to each student for a self-evaluation. 21. Reference process 7
22. Get more letters than you need 23. Write thank you notes 24. Scholarship Essays 25. Good writing 26. Flow / structure 27. Memorable 28. Tell your story 29. Share your heart 30. Stand out from other students 31. Essay ideas 32. Transcripts 33. Ordering and organizing 34. Finalize Project 35. Self-review 36. Finalize project pieces 37. Submit Multiple Intelligences Guide Existentialist Interpersonal Intrapersonal Kinesthetic/ Bodily Logical/ Mathematical Musical/Rhyth mic Naturalist Verbal/Linguistic Visual/Spatial 8
The application for this lesson is outlined in the Scholarship Planning Project and Rubric at the end of this lesson. Extension Application Create a bulletin board to share the successes of each scholarship received. One idea is to have fake checks that can be put up on the board. You can also track how much total funding each class receives. Summary Review What do you think scholarship committees are looking for when they review resumes, essays, and letters of recommendations? Where are the best places to find scholarships? Evaluation Informal Assessment Instructor will observe students during Independent Practice. Instructor will assist students as needed. Formal Assessment Use the Scholarship Planning Rubric to evaluate. 9
Scholarship Resources Handout You can search for scholarship listings and find many sites that include listings of scholarships. Here are a few to get you started. Every Chance Every Texan o http://www.everychanceeverytexan.org/funding/aid/faidalpha.php My College Options (Texas) o https://www.mycollegeoptions.org/tx/0/texas/search-results-scholarship-search-bylocation.aspx College Scholarships (Texas) o http://www.collegescholarships.org/states/texas.htm College Scholarships (Subjects) o http://www.collegescholarships.org/scholarships/subject-specific.htm Big Future by the College Board o https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/scholarship-search Student Scholarships o http://www.studentscholarships.org/ Some school districts have great scholarship listings too: Austin ISD o https://www.austinisd.org/scholarships Arlington ISD o http://www.aisd.net/aisd/default.aspx?alias=www.aisd.net/aisd/scholarships Mesquite ISD o http://www.mesquiteisd.org/college-scholarships/ Fort Worth ISD o http://www.fwisd.org/files/_ffasx_/a22733bd372513063745a49013852ec4/scholarship _senior.pdf Houston ISD o http://www.houstonisd.org/site/default.aspx?pageid=110473 Waxahachie ISD o http://schools.wisd.org/default.aspx?name=whs.scholarships Scholarship Aggregators There are many sites that help you find scholarships. You can use them to help find the scholarships, but we recommend that you use it only as a directory and submit directly to the organization instead of through the aggregator site. There are many scams where you have to pay to get scholarships. You should never have to pay anything to receive a scholarship. 10
Scholarship Project For this project, you will be setting up your own plan to apply for scholarships that you meet the requirements for. You will collect files and documents to do this. There are two options for completing this task. A) Collaborative Drives This option is valuable if you want to be able to work with your teachers and parents. You can share documents and get help with reviewing documents very easily. B) A USB flash drive If your school limits the access to a collaborative drive or file sharing, then a USB flash drive is a good way to bring the documents back and forth to school and home. Requirements 1. Identify at least five scholarships for which you meet the requirements. 2. For each scholarship, create a folder in either a USB flash drive or virtual drive. Name that folder to correspond to the name of the scholarship. a. In each folder, create a document named REQUIREMENTS that lists with each of those requirements. 3. Create a folder called ESSAYS. a. In this folder, you will put any essay that you have written as a scholarship essay or for a class that could be used as content in a scholarship essay. b. Review the current essays in Apply Texas if you are planning on attending school in Texas. c. Include at least three different essays in your folder. 4. Create a folder called RECOMMENDATIONS. a. In this folder, you will file any letters of recommendations that you have been able to collect. These are best if they have been signed, scanned, and can be reprinted or sent digitally if needed. b. Include at least three letters of recommendation. i. A teacher ii. An administrator iii. A member of the community 5. Create a folder called RESUMES. a. In this folder, you will file a copy of your resume. Some scholarships will require different lengths. Therefore, if you create a new version, keep any copies in this folder and save with the name of the file relevant to the type of resume that it is (For example, One- Paged Resume or Two-Paged Resume). b. Include at least one resume in this folder. 6. Create a CALENDAR to document the due date of each scholarship. a. If you are using a collaborative drive with a calendar app, you can make this in a shared Calendar that you can share with your family. b. If you are using digital file share site or a USB flash drive, you can make a calendar in a table in a document, spreadsheet, or a calendar template for a slide. 11
Scholarship Identification Folders Created Requirements Essay 1 Essay 2 Essay 3 Recommendations Resumes Calendar Writing 0 Poor/Not Evident Scholarships were identified, however, they were not an appropriate match for the qualifications of the student. The drive is not organized. The requirement listing is not included. The first essay is missing or is too short to be considered for a scholarship. The second essay is missing or is too short to be considered for a scholarship. The third essay is missing or is too short to be considered for a scholarship. Zero to one recommendation letters are included. A resume is not included in a folder. A calendar is not included. The writing needs significant revisions with many errors in grammar or mechanics. Scholarship Planning Rubric 1 Needs Improvement Four scholarships were identified that match the qualifications of the student. The drive includes a folder for each scholarship. Some requirements for scholarships are missing in the folder structure. The first essay does not align well to the prompt or may not be appropriate yet without revision for The second essay does not align well to the prompt or may not be appropriate yet without revision for The third essay does not align well to the prompt or may not be appropriate yet without revision for Two recommendation letters are included. A resume is included in a folder that needs revisions to be able to appropriately highlight the student s academic career for A calendar is created to document due dates for each of the scholarships identified, but the formatting is not clean and professional. The writing needs revisions with some errors in grammar or mechanics. 2 Exemplary Five scholarships were identified that match the qualifications of the student. The drive includes a well-organized structure with a folder for each scholarship. Requirements for each scholarship are listed in each folder. The first essay aligns well with the prompt and would be an appropriate essay to submit for The second essay aligns well to the prompt and would be an appropriate essay to submit for The third essay aligns well to the prompt and would be an appropriate essay to submit for Three recommendation letters are included. A resume is included in a folder that appropriately highlights the student s academic career for A professional, well-formatted calendar is created to document due dates for each of the scholarships identified. The writing is exemplary with no errors in grammar or mechanics. 12
Peer Review for Essay Writer: Peer Reviewer: Essay Prompt: Scholarship Organization: Does the essay meet the prompt? Does the essay meet the goals of the scholarship organization? Does the essay convey a personal tone and voice? Does the essay maintain good organization, structure, and flow? Does the essay maintain correct writing grammar and mechanics? Is the essay unique and memorable? Yes/No Notes 13