I currently accepted a job as a GED instructor at a juvenile placement for young ladies, and am in need of ideas to keep the class fresh. I have the same six girls all day, every day, and the opportunities for extracurriculars are lacking. The problem I am having is I am trying to get these different girls, who range from a 3rd grade reading level to post-high school, and who need to work on various areas, to be able to focus for a large part of the day. They are all high school dropouts, with most not having attended school since the 9th-10th grade. I was hoping that someone would have some suggestions to help me prevent burnout in the young ladies and make the class a little more entertaining and engaging. Thanks a million!
Another post got me thinking about this: how about if their writing is geared towards getting them something they want? Anything would do, really. You could have them entering contests that require some sort of written component-- who knows, maybe one will actually win a vacation or something? They could write letters to the local congressman/mayor/whatever about action they feel needs to be taken. They could learn to write letters of complaint about a hypothetical poor product. They could learn to write a cover letter that will someday accompany a resume.They can fill out the essays on job applications. I'm not sure how long your classes are. If you have the same girls for a large block of time, then you could even devote one part of the day (or one day a week) to job skills-- those applications and cover letters and so on. For math, the percent problems can ALL be linked to something practical, from leaving a tip to figuring out the cost of an item with tax to choosing the better value. Is that any help at all??
What kind of computer access do you have? I was thinking that they could research and put together different power points as a project. You could also bring in magazines and newspapers for them to read and report back to the class on. Then you can let the higher readers be while you work more closely with the weaker readers.
Teach them how to fill out job applications...go by places that still use paper applications and pick up one, copy it and have them fill it in. Mock check book accounting - many people don't know how to balance a check book or the correct way to write a check. Life skills - parenting, reading a recipe, reading for enjoyment regardless of their reading ability - someday they will have children that they need to read to & they can practice with each other or by reading any book to the class. This will also help with public speaking skills.
Work on finding reading materials that they would enjoy. This can be news articles, magazine articles, books, etc. Anything! The more that they read and discuss, the more that their skills will grow.
You mentioned extra-curricular. I wonder if each girl could identify a hobby or something they are good at and be responsible for leading an activity once a week. Like, maybe one girl is good at knitting, so every Monday she could teach the class to knit for an hour or so. This would give them an activity, but would also make them feel like they were more valuable and good at something.
Without knowing more details, I would say that in order to keep them engaged, you need to shift activities pretty frequently. I wouldn't have them work on any one activity for more than about 15 minutes in the beginning. Once they build their stamina and get back into the groove of school, then you can start increasing that time. These are girls who probably have nothing but very bad memories of school, so you'll need to help them overcome their old habits and demons. Relationship building (with you and the other girls) is absolutely essential. They need to know that you understand and appreciate their struggles, that you don't judge them for past mistakes, and that you truly believe in their ability to be successful... no matter how long it takes. Celebrate small gains frequently and largely! Make a big deal out of every step forward they take, and help them physically track their progress forward with charts and graphs.
