College and Career Readiness Units
Helpful Links for College and Career Readiness Units: Calendar & Syllabus, Standards Based Grading
Unit 1: Traits for Success, Career Exploration (August-Oct)
Unit 1 Cover Sheet/Unit Overview Career Exploration/Successful Traits
Unit 2: PSAT Prep
Unit 3: Debate (Nov-Dec)
Unit 2 Debate Cover Sheet: Debate, Defending a Position
Resources: Debate Resources
Unit 4: Post Secondary Education, College Exploration (Jan)
Unit Cover Sheet: College Exploration
Resources: College Resources
Unit 5
Unit 6: College Applications (Mar-April)
Unit Cover Sheet College Applications
Resources: College Application Process
Unit 7: Budgeting and Savings (May)
Unit Cover Sheet: Budgeting and Saving
Resources: Budgeting & Savings, Scholarships and Financial Aid
Other Resources
Course Description
OVERVIEW: College & Career Readiness is a 10th grade course that offers a student-centered curriculum where students apply approaches-to-learning skills geared toward their own interests and future career paths. Students will explore and answer questions such as: What careers interest me? What are my career goals? What education do I want to pursue after high school? What are some effective habits and skills for success? What do I need to do to prepare effectively for college or trade school? Overall, students will prepare and begin implementing goals towards their long-term college and career plans with a teacher acting as a mentor and a facilitator. The course emphasizes self-awareness, career and college readiness, goal setting and planning using an inquiry- based process through real life applications and scenarios.
CAREERS: Students will explore personality and interests in a career exploration learning about advantages and disadvantages of potential careers. They will also conceptualize what success means to them.
COLLEGES: Students will also explore education options after high school (4 year colleges, 2 year colleges, trade schools, military pathways) based on their interests and learn the fundamentals of the college application process and the overall steps for preparation.
21st CENTURY SKILLS: Students will gain some 21st Century Skills with technology, presentations, and learning to make a budget. Students will also develop ATL skills including research skills and organization and will learn to formulate an argument and debate.
TESTING: Students will be exposed to two college entrance exams: the PSAT in the fall and the ACT in the spring as a mock exam. The goal is to familiarize students with the format and types of questions on the PSAT and ACT and for students to recognize their strengths and areas for growth. Please note that the class is not a test preparation class, but an avenue to help expose students to the test and recognize areas for growth.
PERSONAL PROJECT: Students will also be guided through the steps for planning and developing their MYP Personal Project, an independent exploration where students develop a line of inquiry and research and develop their own product and paper. The personal project formally assesses students' Approaches to Learning (ATL skills) for self-management, research, communication, critical and creative thinking, and collaboration.
2024-2025
Language and Literature: COLLEGE READINESS
Criterion A: Analyzing - MYP Year 5
One Page Rubric (click on link)
i. analyse the content, context, language, structure, technique and style of text(s) and the relationship among texts
ii. analyse the effects of the creator’s choices on an audience
iii. justify opinions and ideas, using examples, explanations and terminology
Criterion B: Organizing
i. employ organizational structures that serve the context and intention
ii. organize opinions and ideas in a sustained, coherent and logical manner
iii. use referencing and formatting tools to create a presentation style suitable to the context and
intention.
Criterion C: Producing a Text
i. produce texts that demonstrate insight, imagination and sensitivity while exploring and reflecting
critically on new perspectives and ideas arising from personal engagement with the creative process
ii. make stylistic choices in terms of linguistic, literary and visual devices, demonstrating awareness of impact on an audience
iii. select relevant details and examples to develop ideas.
Criterion D: Using Language
i. use appropriate and varied vocabulary, sentence structures and forms of expression
ii. write and speak in a register and style that serve the context and intention
iii. use appropriate non-verbal communication techniques.
In addition to the College and Career Readiness Standards, the class will incorporate the TEKS for the College Readiness and Study Skills course.
Texas Essential Knowledge & Skills (TEKS) for College Readiness Course (.5 credit)
a) Introduction.
(1) High school students that require or request additional honing of the study skills, especially as the students prepare for the demands of college, may enroll in the one semester course College Readiness and Study Skills. In this course, students acquire techniques for learning from texts, including studying word meanings, identifying and relating key ideas, drawing and supporting inferences, and reviewing study strategies. In all cases, interpretations and understandings will be presented through varying forms, including through use of available technology. Students accomplish many of the objectives through wide reading as well as use of content texts in preparation for post-secondary schooling.
(2) For high school students whose first language is not English, the students' native language serves as a foundation for English language acquisition and language learning.
(3) Statements that contain the word "including" reference content that must be mastered, while those containing the phrase "such as" are intended as possible illustrative examples.
(4) The essential knowledge and skills as well as the student expectations for College Readiness and Study Skills, an elective course, are described in subsection (b) of this section.
(b) Knowledge and skills.
(1) The student reads widely for a variety of purposes from numerous sources and cultures. The student is expected to:
(A) read self-selected and assigned texts from varied sources such as literature, literary non-fiction, expository, electronic texts, and other media; and
(B) read for various purposes such as to be entertained, to appreciate a writer's craft, to be informed, to take action, and to discover models for writing.
(2) The student builds an extensive vocabulary through reading and systematic word study. The student is expected to:
(A) expand vocabulary through wide reading, viewing, listening, and discussion;
(B) apply knowledge of affixes and roots to comprehend;
(C) investigate word origins to understand meanings, derivations, and spellings;
(D) distinguish between the connotative and denotative meanings and interpret the connotative power of words;
(E) use reference material to determine precise meaning and usage such as glossary, dictionary, thesaurus, and available technology; and
(F) use context to determine meanings of words and phrases such as figurative language, idiomatic expressions, homonyms, and technical vocabulary.
(3) The student comprehends texts using a variety of strategies. The student is expected to:
(A) use self-monitoring reading strategies to make modifications when understanding breaks down;
(B) activate and draw upon prior knowledge and experience;
(C) establish purposes for reading such as to discover, to understand, to interpret, to enjoy, and to solve problems;
(D) construct images based on text descriptions; and
(E) create graphic organizers to represent textual information.
(4) The student reads critically to evaluate texts and the authority of sources. The student is expected to:
(A) analyze audience, purpose, and message of text;
(B) evaluate the credibility and relevance of information sources;
(C) evaluate the author's motivation, stance, or position and its effect on the validity of the text;
(D) analyze aspects of texts such as organizational patterns, diction, format, and tone for their effect on audiences;
(E) identify explicit and implicit textual information in text;
(F) support complex inferences with text evidence and experience; and
(G) recognize persuasive techniques in texts such as bandwagon, glittering generalities, and testimonials.
(5) The student uses study strategies to learn from a variety of texts. The student is expected to:
(A) use effective reading strategies to recall material from text such as previewing, skimming, scanning, rereading, and asking relevant questions;
(B) summarize information from text such as outlines, study guides, annotating, and two-columned note taking;
(C) use text features and graphics such as headings, tables, sidebars, photographs, and captions to form an overview of informational texts and to determine where to locate information; and
(D) use effective test-taking strategies for different types of tests.
(6) The student expresses and supports responses to various types of texts. The student is expected to:
(A) respond to literary and informational texts through various modes of communication such as discussions, further reading, presentations, journals, written responses, or visual arts;
(B) formulate and defend a position with support synthesized from multiple texts; and
(C) evaluate personal responses to reading for evidence of growth.