MLA Business Proposal Project 2015

ACADEMIC/LEARNING OBJECTIVE

Students will learn to use Google Drive Documents for Personal Business by creating an MLA Format Report / Proposal. Other worksheets and documents will be used to scaffold the assignments, and some basic research skills, and problem-solving skills will also be utilized.

STUDENTS MUST START BY READING ALL DIRECTIONS ON CLASS WEBSITE!

Students will participate in the discussion about the creation of a small business idea in the Philadelphia regional area.  Students will learn to create an MLA Short Format Report.  Students will research ideas for a business, create a proposal, and share their ideas with each other.  Students will complete all assigned journal entries, worksheets, and submit a complete business proposal on time and in the correct format.  Students will reference their sources appropriately.

 

MLA BUSINESS PROPOSAL PROJECT (300 points)

 

Today you will be developing a Business Proposal for a Small Business that you want to start in the Philadelphia, PA area.

Start thinking about what kind of business would be a good fit for you to start here in Philly!  Read the following article:  http://smallbusiness.foxbusiness.com/starting-a-business/2012/01/16/start-business-for-under-500/print,  and create a Weebly.com journal entry about the kind of business you want to start.  Make sure you write 4-5 sentences in your journal about the new company and why you are interested in it.  You must email a link to your entry to Mr. S by the end of class on Friday, March 27th at 4pm for credit.

Next, we will begin with two videos to help you to start thinking about the kind of business you want to be in.

Video 1:  (CLICK HERE)  10 Bizarre Business Ideas That Made Millions

Video 2: (CLICK HERE)  You Have A Business Idea, Now What?

We will work through the Business Proposal Worksheet (Click Here For A Copy) together.  CREATE A GOOGLE DOCUMENT "MLA BPW (Your Last Name) P(2-9)" for the worksheet, and share it with Mr. S for credit.

Here is a copy of the Business Proposal Presentation(Click Here) that goes with the Worksheet.

Once you are finished with the Business Proposal Worksheet, you are ready to write your one-page Business Proposal.  This should be written in the same MLA Short Format as the Biography Project.

You must use the MLA Short Form (Click Here)

Proper Heading and Page Numbers,  11 or 12 font Times New Roman, Single-Spaced Main Body.  You should use a couple sources (websites references in MLA Format on a separate page) and reference them appropriately.  See My Example Below! Make sure you create a GOOGLE DRIVE DOCUMENT FOR THIS PROJECT AND SHARE IT WITH ME (hscribnercaa@gmail.com) FOR CREDIT!

Name your document "MLA BPROPOSAL (Your Last Name) P (2-9)" IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS

MLA Business Proposal GRADING RUBRIC:
20 pts  MLA SHORT FORMAT
20 pts  Grammar, Spelling, Sentence Structure
20 pts  All points on Worksheet included.
20 pts  Imagination and Ingenuity
10 pts  Legal and Ethical Idea
10 pts  Submitted Correctly

Resume & Cover Letters 2015

ACADEMIC/LEARNING OBJECTIVE

Students will learn to use Google Drive Documents for Personal Business by creating Letters of Recommendation, Letters to the Editor, and a Cover Letter and Resume.  Other worksheets and documents will be used to scaffold the assignments, and some basic research skills, and problem-solving skills will also be utilized.

STUDENTS MUST START BY READING ALL DIRECTIONS ON CLASS WEBSITE!

Students will participate in the discussion about the importance of a Resume and Cover Letter.  Students will create an individual Resume following the instructions on the class website.  Students will search for a job they are interested in and tailor a Cover Letter to the specific job posting.  They must copy and paste the job listing online into the Google Document for credit.  They may be called upon to “interview” for the position with a member of the staff at school.

 

RESUME & COVER LETTER PROJECT

Finally, we are at one of the most important lesson topics of the year.  Your resume and cover letter will be a living document.  That means that it will evolve and change over the course of your life depending on your experience, education, interests and job history.  All of these experiences will be added in a one-page summary of what you will bring to the table for a future employer.  Other organizations will also need to see a resume.

1. Resume (DEFINITION): 

Dictionary.com

re·su·me

² [rez-oo-mey, rez-oo-mey] Show IPA

noun

résumé.

ré·su·mé

[rez-oo-mey, rez-oo-mey] Show IPA

noun

1.  a summing up; summary.

 

2. a brief written account of personal, educational, and professional qualifications and experience, as that prepared by an applicant for a job.

Also, resume, re·su·mé.

Origin:
1795–1805;  < French,  noun use of past participle of résumer  to resume, sum up 

VISUAL THESARUS

2. Why Do You Need One?

 STYLE / CONTENT / SIZE

3. Resume Breakdown:

VIDEO 1 - Basic Resume

VIDEO 2 - "The Quick Resume & Cover Letter Video"
  

4. Resume Builder 

WEBSITE - READWRITETHINK.ORG Resume Builder

5. Cover Letter

Tailor IT!

6.  JOB SEARCH

Monster.com / Philly.com / Careerbuilder.com 

PRACTICAL EXERCISE:
1.  Using one of the websites above (Or any other website you like), find a job you are interested in.
     Email the link for the job to the instructor. (Copy& Paste Link into body of email). 




YOU MUST COPY THE ENTIRE JOB POSTING AND PASTE IT ONTO THE LAST FULL PAGE OF YOUR COVER LETTER.  YOU MUST FIND AND INCLUDE THE MAILING ADDRESS OF THE JOB PRIOR TO WRITING THE LETTER.
 
2.  You may create a resume for yourself using the Resume Builder on ReadWriteThink.org
3.  Re-Type or Cut&Paste your resume into a Google Drive Document.  You may use any template you like as a guide.
4.  Create a Cover Letter (Use the Letter of Recommendation format) for your RESUME for the job
     you have chosen.
5.  Save your Resume & Cover Letter as SINGLE file on Google DRIVE and email the link to your instructor.
6.  Cover Letter and Resume must be Single Spaced, Formatted to match examples below, and Times New Roman (11 or 12 font size only!)

YOU MUST SUBMIT ALL DOCUMENTS AS A GOOGLE DRIVE DOCUMENT.  

Grading Rubric:
20 pts - Emailed Link To Job to Instructor
120 pts - Resume (GOOGLE DOCUMENT) 
     10 pts - Title Block
     10 pts - Objective
     20 pts - Experience/Work History
     20 pts - Education
     20 pts - Other Skills / Additional Information
     20 pts - Grammar, Spelling, Layout
60pts - Cover Letter (Proper Format, Layout, Grammar, Spelling)

6.  EXAMPLES:

  
This is one of the most important assignments you can learn to create.  Good Luck!!

- Mr. S

March Madness 2015 / Big History

Today you will each take a shot at picking the winners of the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship.  Please fill out a bracket.  You can pick the teams based on your knowledge of the game, the rankings, team color, favorite city, or any other way you like.  Make sure you remember to add the total score of the final game (Tie Breaker).  Once you are done, use the rest of the class to work on your BIG HISTORY PROJECT!!  GOOD LUCK!!

Letter To The Editor 2015

"You have to respect every person, no matter how miserable or ridiculous he or she may be.  You should remember that in every person lives the same spirit which lives in us"

                                          - After Arthur Schopenhauer (A Calendar Of Wisdom by Leo Tolstoy)

Today you will be introduced to "Letters To The Editor".  This project will help you to understand the meaning of the 1st Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America.

---

Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

---

 DEFINITION

o·pin·ion

əˈpinyən/

noun

noun: opinion; plural noun: opinions

1.

a view or judgment formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge.

"I'm writing to voice my opinion on an issue of great importance"

synonyms:

belief, judgment, thought(s), (way of) thinking, mind, (point of) view, viewpoint, outlook, attitude, stance, position, perspective,persuasion, standpoint;

  
Think about an important issue in your world today.  Choose an article that has an opinion about your issue.  You will use the following tools to complete your letters:

STEP 1:  Read "Write an Opinion Piece or a Letter to the Editor for Your Local Newspaper"

You must also read the following article from the New York Times about how to get your letter published:  NYTIMES ARTICLE (Click Here)


STEP 2:  Review the following websites to understand how the media may influence the reporting of subjects and events.

 ACLU ACTION CENTER 
 FAIR.ORG

STEP 3:  Find An Article on an issue that is important to you online. 

STEP 4:  Use the following tools to help you outline the article and write the letter.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR FORM LINK

NAME YOUR NEW DOCUMENT "LTE (YOUR LAST NAME) P?"

READWRITETHINK Persuasion Map 
READWRITETHINK Letter Generator (IF YOU USE THIS, YOU MUST REWRITE THE LETTER IN THE CORRECT FORMAT)

STEP 5:  Create a NEW Document in your GOOGLE DRIVE.  Name the Document "(Your Last Name) LTE"  Re-Type  or Copy the letter you created in the format we have been using in MS Word.  Include the link to your article in your EMAIL to me.  Turn in your work by clicking SEND AS ATTACHMENT under the FILE Heading of Google Drive.  In the body of your email, include a one paragraph written explanation about why you chose the article and why this topic is important to you and the link to your article.

Your final email should include the link to the article, your Letter to the Editor, and your explanation.  I hope this project gets you thinking about something important and helps you to focus your opinions.

Enjoy!!

- Mr S

Grading RUBRIC

Deliverables (Items That Must Be Turned In): 

1.  Email with link to article must be addressed to hscribnercaa@gmail.com
     Subject:  Letter To The Editor Article
     Email Main Body:  (Paste the link to your article)

2.  Complete the Newspaper Article Summary Questions Worksheet about your article. 
     (Handwritten with your name on it)

3.  Final Emails should include the following items: 

     Persuasion Map (PDF) & Letter Creator (PDF) are for an additional 30 points of extra credit

     GOOGLE DRIVE "Letter to the Editor"

     Body of Email:  2-3 Paragraph Explanation of why you chose this article/topic and paste the link   to article again for reference purposes.  LETTER must be in the class format (See Example Above), include proper formatting, date, address, topic, and greeting.  The letter must be no less than 11 font and no more than 12 font.  The letter must include introduction paragraph, at least two supporting paragraphs, a conclusion paragraph and finish appropriately.  The letter must also contain proper grammar, spelling, capitalization and punctuation.

Please list a REFERENCE at the bottom of your article similar to this:

Reference:  "Title of Article", by (Author), Name of Publication/Website, Date Published
                    (Copy and Paste Weblink Here)

You will be graded using the following rubric:



20 pts - Accurate Email with link to article.
180 pts - MS Word "Letter To The Editor"
                20 pts - Google Drive Document, Emailed as Attachement
                20 pts - Proper heading and addressing.
                80 pts - Grammar, Punctuation, Spelling, and Capitalization
                60 pts - Timely, Appropriate Theme, and Complete Content

Additional Points (Extra Credit For This Assignment)
IF YOU DO NOT TURN IN A COMPLETE, FINAL LETTER TO THE EDITOR, YOU CANNOT GET THE EXTRA CREDIT, EVEN IF YOU COMPLETE THESE STEPS! 
25 pts - Persuasion Map (PDF)
25 pts - Letter Creator (PDF)

This assignment is designed to help you develop critical thinking skills, and to help you learn how to voice your opinion about a current topic in a responsible way.  Please take you time to complete this assignment correctly.  See the example below for an idea of how to submit this project.

- Mr. S

EXAMPLE BELOW:
Each picture is a step from the original directions.  I have chosen the following article to work with for my example Philly.Com Opinion Article (Click Here)

Article:  "Don't Set School Rules Based On Fear" by Bengston/Maranto (Philly.com Editorial)

STEP 1:  Read the articles about what makes a good "Letter To The Editor"

STEP 2:  Choose an opinion-based article on a topic you are interested in.

STEP 3:  Create a Summary of your article (SEE BELOW): 

STEP 4:  Use your Summary to create a PERSUASION MAP (SEE BELOW):

Use your PERSUASION MAP to create a Letter to the Editor in the LETTER CREATOR

Retype your Letter to the Editor using our classroom format (discussed previously) in MS WORD

SHARE the letter with me at hscribnercaa@gmail.com for credit.

Introduction To Business Documents (Word)

ACADEMIC/LEARNING OBJECTIVE

Students will learn to create, open, format, save and send professional looking documents using Google Drive.  Students will begin to use proper grammar, sentence structure and formatting to create documents.  Students will store documents for later use, and create specific documents for career and college application.

STUDENTS WILL ENTER THE CLASS QUIETLY AND BEGIN WORKING!

STUDENTS MUST START BY READING ALL DIRECTIONS ON CLASS WEBSITE!

Students will create learn to format a Formal Letter.  Students will learn the basic tools included in Google Drive Documents.  They will create and share a Letter of Recommendation Request for credit. 

Everyone:

Today we will begin to create some important documents for your Google Drive.  These will be useful as you go to higher education or into the workplace.  You will need to know how to compose, format and write a formal letter as you get older.  Pay attention and each project we work on will become a template to use for future jobs, school, or other events in your life.

https://drive.google.com/templates

Today we will work on the following basic skills:

• Open GOOGLE Drive Document and Create a New Document
• Navigate Toolbars
• Select, Copy, Cut, and Paste Text
• Change Font, Size, Bold, Italic, Underline
• Change VIEW with Zoom, Add and Use Toolbars, Find and use a Toolbox
• Resize the Window and Document Layout
• Indent Paragraphs, Change Justification of Text
• Format Margins, Save Document and Create a PDF (Save or Print Document)

Congratulations, you are now ready to create documents in Google Drive.  We will work on advanced features later in the year, but for now you are able to use the basics.

LETTER OF RECOMMENDATION (LOR) PROJECT

Today, once you have reviewed the following activities above, please follow the directions below:

PROJECT NAME:  "LOR (Your Last Name) P?"

Prior to starting this project, you need to pick a local High School that you want to attend.  You will need to find the name of the Principal and the Address for the school you picked to complete the LOR Project.  Follow the directions exactly as stated below.

1. Open a NEW Document in your Google Drive 
2. RENAME the Document "LOR (Your Last Name) P?"
3. Set the FONT to Times New Roman, Size 11
4. Set your LINE SPACING to 1 with 0 Spacing Before and After.
5. Make the MARGINS 1-inch on all sides with 1/2-inch Header and Footer
6. Type your Name and Your Address in the top Left corner.
7. Press (Return) Twice
8. Type the DATE
9. Press (Return) Twice
10. Type "Crossroads Accelerated Academy at Meade" (Press Return)
11. Type "Attn: (The Full Name Of A Teacher at Crossroads)" (Press Return)
12. Type the Address of Crossroads@Meade on the next two lines
1. 1601 North 18th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19121
13. Press (Return) Twice
14. Type "RE: Letter of Recommendation Request"
15. Press (Return) Twice
16. Type "Dear Mr./Mrs. (Last Name of Teacher Selected),"
17. Press (Return) Twice
18. Type a letter to the teacher you selected asking POLITELY for a Letter of Recommendation to the High School of your choice in Philadelphia.  Make sure to include at least 3 paragraphs.  The first paragraph should explain why you need the letter.  The second paragraph should explain why you are asking this particular teacher, and why you deserve it.  The final paragraph should explain who to send the letter too (Make sure to include the Principal's name and actual address of the school you want to attend.  You will have to use the Internet to find this information.)  Leave a space between each paragraph.
19. Press (Return) Twice after last paragraph of the letter.
20. Type "Sincerely Yours,"
21. Press (Return) Four times
22. Type "(Your Full Name)
23. Press (Return) Once
24. Type "(Your Title)"
25. Press (Return)
26. Type "Your Email Address/Phone Number" 
27. SHARE Letter for Grading and Credit

Once the letter is complete, use the SHARE button to send a copy to Mr. S by Gmail.

Tomorrow you will begin to create your Resume and Cover Letters.  This Formal Letter format is critical for you to know.  Any additional PERSONAL PROFESSIONAL LETTER you type should be formatted this way.  Consider this a TEMPLATE for use anytime you need to Create a Letter in the future.

Good Luck!

- Mr. S

Gamestar Mechanic 2015

ACADEMIC/LEARNING OBJECTIVE

Students use a link provided on the class website to begin learning about how video games are created.  Each student will work on their own to work through the storyline and levels of the game-making process.  Students will be required to use Peer Mentoring to help each other through difficult levels prior to instructor intervention.

STUDENTS WILL ENTER THE CLASS QUIETLY AND BEGIN WORKING!

STUDENTS MUST START BY READING ALL DIRECTIONS ON CLASS WEBSITE!

Students will create individual accounts on Gamestar Mechanic using the link provided on the class website.  Students will work independently on each level of the storyline to begin creating a video game.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION AND POSITIVE ATTITUDE TODAY!

EVERYONE:

Today you will spend some time working on GAMESTAR MECHANIC!  This is an introductory program to teach the basics of creating video games.  Please use the link below to join our class:

http://gamestarmechanic.com/join/CS2015/free

Once you have joined, spend time in class today working through the story and initial levels.  You can work on this from any place you have an internet connection.  Once you see how basic game design works, by completing the storyline and levels, you will then be able to put this together with the basic coding we have worked on with Code.Org and Scratch.MIT.Edu.  Take your time and work through this at your own pace.

Enjoy today's "SHORT" day, and be ready to work on business letters, reports, and resume's when we get back tomorrow!

You can also use today to finish your SCRATCH animated project.  Relax and Enjoy today!

- Mr. S