1: "What's Next?" 
Thinking about life after college

OBJECTIVES:

Each Student will create a portfolio with 3 important sections:
1) A collection of short writings about my ideas and decisions about what I will do after high school.
2) A FAQ (frequently asked questions) in which I answer important questions about my application for a work or college opportunity.
3) Either a letter of introduction for work OR a personal statement for a college application.
Sample Letter of Introduction
Sample Personal Essay
Sample Video Essays...wait, what!?!  Yeah, totally.  They even did an NPR radio piece on this new genre.

UC App. Essay prompts

​ You will have 8 questions to choose from. You must respond to only 4 of the 8 questions.
 Each response is limited to a maximum of 350 words.
1. Describe an example of your leadership experience in which you have positively influenced others, helped resolve disputes, or contributed to group efforts over time.
2. Every person has a creative side, and it can be expressed in many ways: problem solving, original and innovative thinking, and artistically, to name a few. Describe how you express your creative side.
3. What would you say is your greatest talent or skill? How have you developed and demonstrated that talent over time?
4. Describe how you have taken advantage of a significant educational opportunity or worked to overcome an educational barrier you have faced.
5. Describe the most significant challenge you have faced and the steps you have taken to overcome this challenge. How has this challenge affected your academic achievement?
6. Describe your favorite academic subject and explain how it has influenced you.
7. What have you done to make your school or your community a better place?
8. What is the one thing that you think sets you apart from other candidates applying to the University of California?
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Activities
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Grammar
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Readings
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Common App.
Essay Prompts

  1. Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.
  2. The lessons we take from failure can be fundamental to later success. Recount an incident or time when you experienced failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?
  3. Reflect on a time when you challenged a belief or idea. What prompted you to act? Would you make the same decision again?
  4. Describe a problem you’ve solved or a problem you’d like to solve. It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma-anything that is of personal importance, no matter the scale. Explain its significance to you and what steps you took or could be taken to identify a solution.
  5. Discuss an accomplishment or event, formal or informal, that marked your transition from childhood to adulthood within your culture, community, or family.
Explore some of the links by clicking on the images below.  Return to class with something interesting to discuss.  You may use this research in later writing.
Day 1. Intro to the ERWC Assignment Template.
            Using the Journal to log your progress 
           Read activity 1 & discuss.

Day 2. Google Classroom: Prepare for the Boss Battle- Portfolio
           Activity 2 (Quickwrite in Journal)
           Activity 6 (Discuss Using Group Roles) 
           Activity 7 (Create a dialectical journal in your notebook. Min 4-5 entries)
           Activity 8 (Homework)
           
Day 3. Activity 9 (Class Discussion)
           Activity 11 (Stop & Respond Reading "Hidden Intellectualism")
           Activity 12 (Write 3 Idea Chunks between 1-3 Paragraphs each).
           Homework: Finish Idea Chunks

Day 4. Jigsaw readings & 1 minute presentation battle on these texts:
           "10 Rules for Going to College when Nobody Really Expected You To"
           "Not Going to College is a Viable Option"
           "Why Go to College?"
           "10 Common Excuses for Not Going to College and Why They are Wrong"
           "The College Degree has Become the New High School Degree"
​           "The One Question Most Americans Get Wrong About College Graduates"
           Homework: Activity 16 

Day 5. MINI-BOSS #1: Text-Based Questions!
           What's your plan for life after high school?
​           FAQ: What do you need to learn to make it happen?

Day 6. Activity 20 (Create a Google Doc and allow others with link to comment)
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Day 7. Useful Comments Vs. Useless Comments Mini-lesson
           Activity 21 (Link to your FAQ in Shared Google Sheet)
           Mini-Boss #2: What's Next for YOU?...no, seriously.

Day 8. Activity 22 & 23 (Preparing to Draft)
           Activity 24 (Write in Google Classroom's Doc)

Day 9. Finish 1st Draft

Day 10. Activity 25 (Read Around)

Day 11. Activity 26 (Revising Rhetorically)

Day 12. Activity 27 (Editing) 
             Activity 28 (Reflecting)
             Big-Boss: Get Accepted or Hired