George Washington High School
San Francisco, CA
Lesson 3: Business Today & Yesterday
Grade Level
High School Juniors
Time Allotment
Five 50-minute sessions over five consecutive days
Objectives
Overall Conceptual Objectives
To introduce students to business concepts and terminology.
To introduce students to the different type of industries
in San Francisco.
To have students realize that the U.S. was a farming economy
before the 20th century.
To introduce a variety of Internet research, technology, organizational
thinking and presentation skills that students can use to enhance
their knowledge pursuits.
Performance Objectives
Students will learn business concepts and terminology.
Students will learn how to analyze business using these concepts
and terminology.
Students will learn how to gather information from different
types of text.
Students will learn how to use a graphic organizer.
Students will learn how to compare and contrast information.
Students will learn to make predictions based on the information
that they have gathered.
Students will learn how write a memo report, create a PowerPoint
presentation and make a verbal presentation using the PowerPoint
slides.
Procedure for American Literature, day by day
Day 1, Activity 1: Motivational
1. Students imagine the San Francisco Skyline. They imagine what
kinds of businesses the buildings house, the types of industry
in San Francisco and the people who work in those industries.
They imagine themselves 10 years in the futures and write about
a typical day at their own job in one of these industries. Then
they imagine themselves back in time 75 years and write about
their jobs if they lived back then. They do the same for 150 years
ago.
2. Students divide into teams and share in their small groups.
Each group shares one journal with the entire class. The class
discusses the differences in the industries and types of jobs.
Students generalize about the future of industry in San Francisco
and offer reasons for their projections. They discuss the training
needed to qualify for the jobs of the future. The teacher asks
students for helpful information shared in this session, and lists
this information on the board.
Activity 2: Developmental
The teacher passes out the Technology prediction sheet, "Totally
Typed Out"(8) from Newsweek, June 5, 2000. Students read the list
and analyze how the writer develops his predictions by looking
at the diction used in the brief article. The teacher lists business
research tools for students (reading business news reports, surveys,
interviews, interviews, purchase data). Students copy the list
for later use on a research project. The teacher collects student
writing and reminds them that there will be a quiz tomorrow.
Day 2, Activity 3: Developmental
The teacher explains the project: Students will research business
today, 75 years ago and 150 years in San Francisco, compare and
contrast them, and make projections about business in the future.
They will learn how to write memos and how to make oral presentations
using PowerPoint. The teacher passes out a requirement sheet for
the project. Using the list from the previous day, students develop
a list of information they will need about business in the past
and present to make projections about the future. The teacher
talks about research, introducing organizations such as The Chamber
of Commerce, Historical Society, National Archives. The teacher
will discuss Web research and search engines (sample industry
sheets, sample template and Web tutorial links in the appendix).
The teacher discusses the work process and division of labor.
The teacher should devise a way of delegating work between teams.
Day 3 Activity 4: Compare and Contrast
Students find similarities and differences between business today
and yesterday. Students compare and contrast two topics such as
wagon building or blacksmithing with auto mechanics or farming
in the year 2000 and farming in the year 1900.
Assignment: Compare and contrast essay Requirements: Businesses
must be alike or different in three ways. What is discussed about
one subject must be discussed in the second subject. Explanation
is necessary.
Students will present two forms in the text: Subject A: One or
two body paragraphs Subject B: One or two body paragraphs These
paragraphs should be written in the point by point method, examining
one aspect of one subject and same aspect of the second subject.
Day 5
Students meet in teams and present their findings for the first
35 minutes of the session. The teacher circulates, monitors progress
and answers questions.
Activity 5: Developmental
Teaching the Memo: The teacher gives lecture on the memo, and
instructs students to take lecture notes. Four parts of the memo:
The Heading--To: From: Date: Subject: The Body--Why you are writing:
Information, action desired) Reference Initials--Typist Notation--attachments
Assignment: The students each write a memo to a mentor in an industry
for which the student may want to work ten years from now. Each
student asks for an appointment with a mentor to discuss necessary
skills and possible training opportunities in the referenced industry.
Procedure for Computer Applications, day by day
Day 1 Activity 1: Developmental
Students construct a template for the agreed-upon categories
that they will research for each company, using a table from the
word-processing program, Microsoft Word. The teacher will start
with a brief definition of terminology, including the difference
between columns and rows. The teacher asks students how many columns
and rows they will need (students should know the number of columns,
but not necessarily rows). The teacher explains adding rows. After
the teacher's demonstration of table creation, students create
their own tables and the teacher demonstrates how to widen or
shorten individual columns. The teacher demonstrates how to access
the World Wide Web, how to conduct Web research, and how to navigate
back and forth between the table and the Web. The teacher may
construct a 'hotlist' for the Web resources or have books on hand
for historical research.
Days 2 and 3
Students search the Web and compile research during these two
sessions. Students meet in teams at the beginning of each day,
at the end or both at the beginning and end of each session. The
teacher checks for progress each day.
Day 4 Activity 2 Word Processing Business Documents
Students review skills: Indenting, margins, spacing, fonts, review
of saving and backup to floppy. Each team shares findings with
other teams using computer projection of their tables as a visual
aid. The audience takes notes.
Day 5
Each student types up a memo report of his or her findings.
Extensions: Students interview mentors and make oral presentations
to the class or to other classes about exploring a particular
industry or career. Students may videotape these presentations
and make public service announcements (PSAs) or career exploration
tapes for others. This will include video editing as well as importation
of computer graphics, image and animation.
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