What’s Next? Life After High School

Activity 1: Guided Composition

• “10 Rules for Going to College When Nobody Really Expected You To” by Joe Rodriguez

• Purpose: write a paragraph on the topic of this unit

• I will read a paragraph while you listen (don’t write, just listen)

• During this second reading, take notes (good practice for college)

• Write your own paragraph based on what you heard using your notes

• Keep this in your notebook

Activity 2: Quickwrite (5 min)What are your plans for the future?

Questions to consider:• College? Military? Work?

Volunteering? Mission work?• Why did you make this decision?• Where will you go? • What do you want to gain from

this experience?

Activity 3: My Sense of SelfThe more language you have to describe yourself and what

you are bringing to the next stage of your life, the more opportunities you have to represent yourself accurately.

1. Circle/mark 20 words from the list (feel free to add a few of your own) that match your sense of self

2. Rank those 20 in order of most important (#1) to less important (#20) – write this list in your notebook

Sample: Activity 3

Activity 4: Self ReflectionTake some time to write about your word choices. Consider the significance of the words you chose by asking questions about them as key concepts and what you will need to do to best represent yourself in your letter of introduction or your application essay:

• Why did you rank them as you did?• What do your words tell you about your opinion of

yourself in terms of readiness for work or college?• Predict how well your key concepts will work for

you as you move into the next stage of your life. For example, if one of your words is “stubborn,” write about how that concept may work for you or against you as you consider your future.

Activity 5: Understanding Vocab

• Discuss your words with someone you trust, and ask them about the words you have chosen.

• As they talk about your words, take note of their comments by letting them talk for a while and then writing down the gist of what they say.

Activity 6: Prereading Predictions

Before we read Angel Pérez’s article, take a little time to preview it by responding to the following questions:1. Look at the title, what do you think Pérez’s message

will be?2. Take a look at the length of the article, and decide if

your predictions can be fulfilled in this length of the article—752 words.

3. Skim through the first two paragraphs, and read the final paragraph. Once you have done that, can you add anything to your predictions about Pérez’s message?

Activity 7: Reading With the Grain

• Purposeful Reading• First read we are “playing the believing game”– To understand the gist & main points– We believe information as true & trust the author

• As we read, underline (or highlight) the best advice Pérez gives about how to represent yourself – Mark the ideas where you think Pérez is giving

advice you can use as you consider the best way to represent yourself

Activity 7: T-Chart

Go back through it again and choose a few (3+) of the sentences you marked. Copy them down on the left side of a T-chart. Once you copy the sentence in the left-hand side, write for a few minutes on the right about what the quote made you think about or why you chose the quote.

Quote (Advice) Response

“an error in high school should not define the rest of your life, but how you respond could shape you forever” (par 5)

• “Famous Failures” YouTube video

• Bigger picture: life & self

• Part of failing is learning: work, relationships, financial, skills

Activity 8: Respond to Perez

Write a one-page description of an event or moment when you were less than perfect and explain to your reader what your response to that moment says about your character, values, or potential for being a good student, worker, or soldier.Focus on what you learned from the failure & what that says about your character.

Common question on college application or job interview!

Activity 9: “Intellectuals”

1. In your notebook, write down the names of 3 people you classify as an intellectual.

• In small groups (3-4 people) share your lists • Come to an agreement on 3 people you (as a

group) classify as an intellectual.2. Write your own definition of what an

intellectual is. • Share your definitions & create a class

definition of the term

Activity 9: Intellectuals3. Which quote do you think best matches your definition of intellectual? Explain.

“The demand for certainty is one which is natural to man, but is nevertheless an intellectual vice.” Bertrand Russell

“An intellectual is a person who takes more words than necessary to tell more than he knows.” Dwight D. Eisenhower

“An intellectual is someone whose mind watches itself.” Albert Camus

(Be prepared to discuss)

Activity 10: Vocabulary

• As we read the next article, circle any words or phrases that are unfamiliar and need to be defined.

• Some of the phrases are going to be outdated, but you will be able to determine their meaning from context.

• However, some may need to be defined so we can better understand the author’s message.

Activity 11: Read, Stop, Define, Respond

1. Read & follow along with the next article “Hidden Intellectualism” by Gerald Graff

2. As you come across unfamiliar words, circle them.

3. When we periodically stop, you will be prompted to jot down ideas, thoughts, predictions, opinions, connecting to other ideas or texts, or even questions you have in reference to what was just read. Write in the margins.

Activity 12: Idea Chunks

• Write three separate “idea chunks” that respond to the ideas presented in both articles.

• Idea chunks are short pieces of writing, maybe one to two paragraphs long, that attempt to capture an idea you have.

• Be sure to find some support (textual evidence) for that idea, and explain the importance of the idea.

Activity 13: Write a Letter

• Write a letter to a trusted friend about how well prepared you are, or are not, for the next stage of your life.

• Explain why you are or are not ready.• Share with your friend how you plan to

become more prepared.• Be sure to use letter formatting: address &

salutation, signature, date, short paragraphs

Activity #: Jigsaw 4 Articles

• You will receive an article to read.• Read the article & write a 2-3 sentence

summary of the article.