Survival Instinct!

Watch the following Youtube video: 

(If the video doesn't appear above, click HERE to view)

After you've watched the video, pretend that our wilderness survival project was a real life survival situation.  You are stuck in the middle of nowhere with these people and if you don't work together, you will not survive!  Respond in your journal to the following prompt:  What have you learned about how the people in your tribe would behave in a real survival situation?  Do you think you'd be able to survive?  Why or why not?  

Click HERE to read an article on natural instincts.  Respond to each of the SIX natural instincts by honestly explaining how you think you would be affected by them in a real life survival situation. 

Peer Feedback!

Here are the steps to follow for you to get peer feedback: 

1. Find a partner you can trust.
2. Ask them to review your resume and cover letter, comparing it to the rubric below.  They can also make corrections to grammar, spelling, and punctuation. 
3. When they are done reading your work, have a CLEAR, FOCUSED conversation with them.  Make sure you are getting enough feedback to ensure you know what you need to revise!  

Writing Your Cover Letter!

A cover letter is a ONE-page addition to your resume that demonstrates why you are the best candidate for the job.  Although your resume contains the necessary qualifications that prove why you are the best candidate, the cover letter is your chance to show the employer more about who you are and why you are unique.  

You cover letter should: 

• be addressed to your employer
• speak specifically about the job you are applying for
• identify why you are interested in the job
• highlight your skills and experience 

Although your cover letter is a personal statement about yourself, make sure your language is formal and contains NO MISTAKES.  If your cover letter is poorly organized or contains errors, the employer will not consider you for the job! 

Take a look at the following examples to see how you should structure your cover letter.  If you need more guidance about your specific job, do a search for cover letters related to that field. 

These guys wrote good cover letters: 

Creating Your Resume!

It's time to start creating your resume.  Imagine yourself 10 years in the future.  Write your resume as if you have already acquired the necessary education, skills, and experience to land your dream job.  

Take a look at the resume samples below.  Begin to research the qualifications you would need to get the job of your choice.  Build your resume and fill it in with information that your research suggests in order to get the job.  Remember it's 10 years in the future, so make sure you use the correct dates.  

Sample resumes:  

If you don't produce a strong resume, you won't be able to get a job.  You may end up with a job like this guy:  

Choosing a Career!

Today is your chance to explore the many career options that you have available to you.  Of course, no one expects that you will know exactly what career you will want to have as an adult at this point, but try to explore the kinds of careers that interest you the most.  If you are planning to pursue a career in sports or performing arts, consider this your PLAN B career.  

Take your time looking through the information on these websites.  You will be expected to choose a SPECIFIC career to research for next week as you learn how to build your resume and apply for a job.  

Remember if your career requires a college degree, think about how you will pay for your education.  Will your salary be enough to repay those student loans?  



Complete a few self assessments to see what kind of careers might interest you: 

Career Zone                    Technology Careers              Career Cluster Survey

Career Capture               Career Interest Survey           Career Interest Questionnaire

What Career is Right?    Career Test                            Job Selector

Explore these websites to check out different career options: 

Kids Work                      Job Families                     Wall Street Journal

AOL Jobs                      Occupation Search            Career Planning

Career Clusters              Career Exploration           Virtual Job Interview 

Figure out how much money you'll need: 

Money Choices

Salary Information 

This is what happens if you don't PLAN:

When You Grow Up

Click HERE to see quotes by Shel Silverstein.  

Choose one quote that you like best and respond to it in your journal.  How does it make you feel?  How will this quote help you make a decision about your career as an adult?  

This is Shel.  Try not to mess with him.  

Revising Your Speech

Here's how to revise your speech: 

1. COMPLETE YOUR FIRST DRAFT!

2. Examine the grading rubric below.  Compare the expectations for a level 4 in each category with your first draft.  Ask yourself what you can do to improve on each section.  Make changes as necessary.  

3. Ask someone you trust to read through your first draft and give you SPECIFIC, DETAILED, feedback about each category and what you can do to improve your writing. 

4. Go back to your draft to re-write, edit, and make changes to improve your writing.  

After you've gone through this process several times, with several different people reading your work, you should be able to produce a REVISED DRAFT that is ready for proofreading.