Integrating Career Awareness into the ABE/ESOL Classroom - SABES

A P P E N D I X A
Lesson Planning
Guide to the Lesson Planning Template
Class Type/Level: One size does not fit all! How you use the curriculum depends on the type and level of students
you’re working with (ABE, ESOL, GED, etc.). Make note of the class level for which you’re planning. Give some thought to
how you might use the lessons differently with each group of students.
Total # hours of instruction or counseling/week and Total # of ICA hours: The amount of time you can devote to the
curriculum will also depend on how much instructional or counseling time you have available during your program cycle.
Make note of the time you have for instruction or counseling and the portion of it that you plan to dedicate to career
planning.
Lesson Title: List the ICA curriculum lesson title, or other lessons or activities that you’ll be using to link to and supplement
the curriculum.
Class (or Counseling) Time: How much classroom time will you need to deliver each lesson in a meaningful way with your
group of students? How much time will you need to present the lessons and activities in individual or group counseling
sessions? Include the time that you’ll need for any pre-lessons to scaffold or model the material, or follow-up lessons to
reinforce it. Will students complete the handouts during class or counseling time or complete them as a homework
assignment?
Preparation Needed: Consider whether you will need to do additional research or gather additional materials in preparation
for the lesson. Make note of any modifications you will need to make to the handouts for the lesson.
Curriculum Standards: You will be more likely to use the career planning lessons if you can integrate them into your
existing curriculum, rather than see them as something extra that interferes with or distracts from the work you are already
trying to accomplish with your students. Even if you are not required to adhere to a set of curriculum standards or competencies,
list the specific skills that you want each lesson to address so that you set out with clear goals to be accomplished
in each lesson. For example, perhaps in addition to helping your students obtain labor market information, you intend
for the activity to help them improve their Internet search skills or help them interpret and analyze percentages.
Curriculum standards are discussed in the Introduction to the ICA curriculum. Each lesson is linked to SCANS competencies
and we provide examples of how they link to Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks (standards) in Appendix C.
How will you collaborate or coordinate with other program staff to prepare for and/or deliver these lessons?
Some of the practitioners who piloted this curriculum most successfully did it in collaboration with other staff. For example,
language arts and computer skills instructors teamed up to work on the lessons involving use of the Internet. Another
instructor set the groundwork for some of the lessons and the counselor followed up by scheduling individual appointments
to help students complete self assessment and goal setting activities. Teachers in another program introduced a
series of lessons tailored to their own class levels and jointly organized a series of program-wide career planning workshops
and guest speakers for all of their students to attend together. What are your ideas?
Integrating Career Awareness into the ABE & ESOL Classroom | Appendix A | 183