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Day 4: eDynamic 6.2 — Gaining Experience

Lesson Overview
Time 50 minutes
Objectives Work through eDynamic Learning Unit 6.2: Gaining Experience; identify three specific ways to start building career experience this year (before high school); connect experience-building to TSA and other Irving ISD student organizations
TEKS d(3)(F), d(8)(C)
Deliverable eDynamic 6.2 progress + completed Experience Action Plan listing 3 specific actions the student will take this school year
Materials Chromebooks, eDynamic Learning Unit 6.2 access, printed Experience Action Plan template, projector

Warm-Up (5 min)

WARM-UP: Besides school, what experiences have you had that might help you in a future career? Think wide, sports, clubs, volunteering, hobbies, family responsibilities, side hustles, video game tournaments, anything.

Take 5-6 student responses. Write them on the board. The point is to surface that experience does not require a paying job, students already have more relevant experience than they think.

Activity 1: eDynamic Unit 6.2 — Gaining Experience (30 min)

Source: eDynamic Learning Unit 6.2, Gaining Experience

[VERIFY IN eDynamic] Confirm that Unit 6.2 is the correct unit on "Gaining Experience" in your eDynamic license. The unit covers job shadowing, internships, co-curricular activities, volunteering, and portfolio building.

Students log into eDynamic and open Unit 6.2. The unit walks students through the major types of career experience available to teenagers:

  1. Job shadowing: spending a half-day with a working professional in a career of interest
  2. Internships: short-term hands-on work, paid or unpaid, often in summer
  3. Volunteer work: donating time to community organizations
  4. Co-curricular activities: student clubs, school sports, performance groups
  5. Career and Technical Student Organizations (CTSOs): TSA, SkillsUSA, FCCLA, FBLA, HOSA, FFA, BPA
  6. Part-time work: for older students, paid jobs that build basic workplace skills
  7. Portfolio projects: personal work students create on their own time (websites, art, code, music)

As students work through the unit, they note on their Experience Action Plan: - One type of experience they have already started building (write the example) - Two types of experience the unit introduced that they had not considered before - One specific question the unit raised they want to learn more about

Facilitation Tip

Pace check at minute 15, circulate and verify every student has reached the CTSOs section. If students are still on the introduction, give them a private nudge. The CTSOs section is the most relevant for Irving ISD students.

Activity 2: Experience Action Plan (12 min)

After eDynamic, students complete the printed Experience Action Plan. The template asks for 3 specific, time-bound actions the student will take this school year:

# Action (specific) When (this month / this semester) How it connects to my pathway
1
2
3

Example actions to model on the board: - "Join TSA in January and sign up for the Drone Challenge competition" (connects to drone engineering pathway) - "Ask my aunt who is a nurse if I can shadow her at the hospital during spring break" (connects to nursing pathway) - "Volunteer at the Irving Animal Shelter for 5 hours this semester" (connects to vet science pathway) - "Build a personal Scratch coding project to add to my Climber Profile by the end of March" (connects to computer science pathway) - "Try out for the school robotics team next school year" (connects to robotics manufacturing pathway)

The actions must be specific (not "do something with computers") and time-bound (not "someday"). Students who get stuck pair with a peer or with the teacher to refine their action.

DOK 3: What conclusions can you draw about why participating in TSA, SkillsUSA, or other CTSOs builds experience that employers value? How does it look different from just listing classes on a resume?

Exit Ticket (3 min)

EXIT TICKET (Ranked Justification) · Printable PDF:

Rank my 3 Experience Action Plan items from MOST LIKELY to complete (1) to LEAST LIKELY (3).

  • Action 1: _____. Rank ____

  • Action 2: _____. Rank ____

  • Action 3: _____. Rank ____

For EACH rank, write ONE reason (access, time, interest, family support) that backs the rank:

  • Rank 1 (most likely): _____________

  • Rank 3 (least likely): _____________

Bottom line: ONE CTSO (TSA / SkillsUSA / FBLA / HOSA / FCCLA / FFA / BPA) my pathway connects to, and how joining it THIS YEAR would help my Rank 1 action:

My CTSO: _____

How it helps my Rank 1: _________

(d(3)(F), d(8)(C))

Differentiation

  • Support: Pre-filled Experience Action Plan with one action already drafted as an example (related to the student's pathway from Week 1). Students adapt the example and add 2 more.
  • Extension: Research a regional TSA, SkillsUSA, FBLA, or HOSA competition that connects to the chosen pathway. Find the competition date, registration deadline, and what students compete in. Bring the registration link to class.
  • ELL: Bilingual Experience Action Plan template with Spanish headers. Pre-teach: Experience = Experiencia, Job shadow = Acompañamiento laboral, Internship = Pasantía, Volunteer = Voluntario, Portfolio = Portafolio.