I was thinking about graduation lately. Kids are ordering leaver's hoodies and collecting photos to go into yearbooks. So I thought I would do a lesson around graduation. First I'm going to start with the video above. FYI if you created a similar video you can get some English credits.
But let's start with what do you think is the most important thing people should leave school knowing? Some say it is about what you are most passionate about. Knowing what makes you happy and what you want to do with your life is the top of the list. How to figure out how tall a building is or analyzing a film seems superfluous to life. I recommend asking others what is the best part of their lives. Interview people and write an article about it. There are some Media Studies credits that go towards that if you complete it.
Once you have a good idea of what makes people happy it is time to find that career that will get you up in the morning. I suggest talking to your parents, teachers and career adviser. they will have some suggestions but when it comes to what you want to do it should be something that excites you. (there some unit standards around this kind of thing) Write it down. Things tend to be more real if you write things down.
Goal setting:
What do you need to achieve this idyllic future where you can do exactly what you want? Include in there what you plan to do to bolster you against those who tell you that you'll never get a job in that field or you won't earn enough money as those will inevitably be voiced. I suggest looking at different time management strategies.
Identify things that you don't know about that you'll need to know about. For instance how to file a tax return or how to set up a bank account. If you already know this stuff thank your parents for being awesome because not everyone learns this stuff.
Teacher Notes
Create a motivational video - Level 1
Create a motivational video - Level 2
Media Studies - Level 1
Media Studies - Level 2
Media Studies - Level 3
There are too many to list under the core generics but some of them are very important to know about to face the world and unfortunately we often don't teach these to our academic students and then they face the world unarmed.