Employability Skills in Agriculture
Lesson Overview
Media: Microsoft® PowerPoint® Presentation (49 slides)
Seat Time: 4 Classes | 200 minutes teaching
Goal:
To define employability skills in agricultural careers.
Description:
This lesson discusses employability skills in agriculture through a brief description of career and academic planning. Additionally, this lesson defines employability and the employability skills an individual might need for an agricultural career.
Objectives:
1. To define career preparation.
2. To analyze different pathways of academic preparation.
3. To define employability.
4. To identify employability skills in agriculture.
Class 1
Class Overview:
Career Preparation Microsoft® PowerPoint® Segment
Action Plan
Vocabulary Handout
Key Concepts
Career Preparation Check for Understanding
Agriculture Career Planning Project
Essential Questions:
1. What is career preparation?
2. What are licenses and certifications?
3. What role does academic preparation play in preparing for a career?
4. How will hands-on experience help prepare for a career?
Step 1: Bell Ringer:
· Have students consider the third Essential Question, “what role does academic preparation play in preparing for a career,” then encourage students to share their answers.
Step 2: Distribute the Action Plan, Vocabulary Handout and Key Concepts.
· The Action Plan lays out a list of tasks for students to complete during the lesson.
· The Vocabulary Handout is a list of terms used throughout the lesson.
· The Key Concepts is an outline which identifies the main ideas presented in the lesson which students can fill in to aid in note taking during the lesson.
Step 3: Show the Career Preparation PowerPoint® segment.
· This segment is 19 slides long.
· Be sure to utilize the Key Concepts for this segment of the lesson.
Step 4: Administer the Career Preparation Check for Understanding.
· The check for understanding is a short review of the content presented in the segment.
Step 5: Students should begin the Agriculture Career Planning Project.
Step 6: Exit Ticket:
· Students should show their progress on the Agriculture Career Planning Project.
Class 2
Class Overview:
Workplace Skills Microsoft® PowerPoint® Segment
Action Plan
Key Concepts
Exhibit & Apply Activity
Essential Question:
1. What are employability skills?
Step 1: Bell Ringer:
· Ask students to consider the Essential Question, and then encourage them to share their answers.
Step 2: Show slides 20 to 35 of the Workplace Skills PowerPoint® segment.
· This portion of the segment is 16 slides long.
· Be sure to utilize the Key Concepts for this segment of the lesson.
Step 3: Students should complete the Exhibit & Apply Activity.
Step 4: Exit Ticket:
· Display an agricultural career and have students call out skills relative to the career.
Class 3
Class Overview:
Workplace Skills Microsoft® PowerPoint® Segment
Action Plan
Key Concepts
Workplace Skills Check for Understanding
Identifying Effective Communication Activity
Step 1: Bell Ringer:
· Have students think of a time they witnessed effective communication being implemented, and then have a few students share their stories.
Step 2: Show slides 36 to 49 of the Workplace Skills PowerPoint® segment.
· This portion of the segment is 14 slides long.
· Be sure to utilize the Key Concepts for this segment of the lesson.
Step 3: Administer the Workplace Skills Check for Understanding.
· The check for understanding is a short review of the content presented in the segment.
Step 4: Students should begin the Identifying Effective Communication Activity.
Step 5: Exit Ticket:
· Have students discuss a positive or negative communication experience with a partner. If the communication interaction was efficient, have them identify a few factors to support why. If the communication interaction was inefficient, have them identify a few factors which could have improved the situation.
Class 4
Class Overview:
Action Plan
Employability Skills in Agriculture Final Assessment
Step 1: Bell Ringer:
· Have students write down one employability skill they want to improve. Lead students to share their skills with the class.
Step 2: Administer the Employability Skills in Agriculture Final Assessment.
· The assessment is a comprehensive assessment covering material throughout the entire lesson.
Step 3: Students should complete the Agricultural Career Planning Project.
· Students will develop a career plan for an agriculture-related career and select a postsecondary education program which best fits their career of choice.
Step 4: Exit Ticket:
· Have students write down two to three strategies or experiences which could enhance or improve the employability skill they listed from the beginning of class.
Activity Overview
Exhibit & Apply
In pairs, students will select at least five personal and professional skills needed in the agriculture industry from the list provided. They will write a summary of each characteristic selected and explain how an individual could exhibit and apply this characteristic.
Accommodations:
Provide students with the definition of the five personal and professional skills they choose.
Modifications:
Allow students only to write a summary of three personal and professional skills.
Extension:
Have students complete five to ten additional personal and professional skills.
Identifying Effective Communication
Students will read agriculture-related scenarios, identify whether effective communication was used and then explain whether the component was used correctly or incorrectly.
Accommodations:
Provide students with which component of effective communication was used. Students will decide if the component was used correctly or incorrectly and defend their answer.
Modifications:
Allow students to work in pairs on the activity.
Extension:
Have students write their own scenario and include which components of effective communication were used correctly or incorrectly.
Project Overview
Agriculture Career Planning
Students will develop their own personal career plans for an agriculture-related career. They will use all available resources to research career plans. Within their plan, they should include items, such as high school classes taken, educational programs and licensing and certifications needed. Students will then research which postsecondary education will best match their chosen career. They will compare postsecondary programs and write a short summary of their comparisons.
Accommodations:
Provide students with credible links to career plan examples.
Modifications:
Allow students to include only four of the six bullets listed.
Extension:
Have students submit their career plans to their counselor to receive feedback.
