UNIT 1: Plan essential questions Lead a discussion about the rigor and fairness of the graduation requirements at your school. * Is it fair that everyone has to meet minimum requirements? * Are the requirements rigorous enough to prepare students for college and the world of work? Whole Group Discussion Quantitative Evidence Discussion - Finish your Direct Instruction with a series of focus questions, including: * Why do colleges use numbers, scores, and minimum requirements to evaluate applicants? Is this fair? * How do admissions requirements at colleges compare to the minimum graduation requirements for our school? Are they more rigorous or less rigorous? Why is that? Encourage students to talk about their impressions of the difficulty of the curriculum at your school, and whether or not your school is truly preparing them for college. SPIRALING CONTENT Remind students of the concerns they expressed in Lesson 1. How many of those concerns are related to high school requirements and preparation for college-level work? SELF ADVOCACY Discuss as a class: If the group were going to make suggestions to the principal or governor about what the minimum graduation requirements should be, what three changes would they suggest in order for students from this school to be better prepared for admission? TRANSCRIPT REVIEW EDUCATOR PREPARATION Get copies of your students' unofficial transcripts from your guidance office. Independent Work Transcript Review - Give students a copy of their unofficial transcript and have them record their completed course names, teacher names, and grades in the chart. LESSON EXTENSIONS Create Your Plan of Study - Have students review their transcripts and reflect on areas of strength or areas of improvement. This might be helpful when writing college essays about their strongest or most challenging subjects in school. Have students create their test-taking plan for the next year in the space provided. academic excellence Chances are most of your students will be enrolled in classes they need in order to graduate. Should they consider the requirement met just because they are enrolled? Discuss senioritis and the tendency to "slack off" in the senior year. Why is it vital that students continue to achieve high marks in these courses? Have students record courses they are currently registered for in another color. lesson 3: Your Academic Goals 43