CHARLES COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS Division of Instruction

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CHARLES COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLSDivision of
Instruction

• Freshman Seminar
• January 8, 2008

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Freshman Seminar is designed to assist students
in transitioning to high school by providing them
with skills that will assist themin achieving
academically and socially.
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Literacy for the 21st Century

• How do we best prepare our students for college
  and careers in the 21st century?

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Financial Literacy

• Developing a Personal Budget
• Evaluating Using Banking Services
• Financial Responsibilities of Car Ownership
• Understanding Credit Credit Cards
• Consumer Awareness Privacy

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Visual Media Literacy

• Influence of Advertisingidentifying, analyzing,
  and evaluating advertising techniques
• Effectiveness of commercials
• Deception and misrepresentation within ads
• Awareness of sales techniques
• Avoiding fraud
• Reading Imagesidentifying, analyzing, and
  evaluating the messages in visual media
• Editorial cartoons
• Posters
• Photographs

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Research Communication Skills

• Research Process
• Developing a Research Topic
• Gathering Information
• Evaluating Information
• Note Taking
• Avoiding Plagiarism
• Developing an Oral Presentation

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Abstinence Workshop

• Abstinence is the only 100 way to prevent
  pregnancy and STIs
• How HIV and STIs are spread and prevented
• Presented to students by Health Department
  Educators

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Connect With Kids

• Adolescent issues are presented through short
  video clips, discussions, and activities
• Topics covered include
• Citizenship
• Cooperation
• Respect
• Responsibility
• Perseverance

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The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens by Sean
Covey

• Be Proactive
• Begin With the End in Mind
• Put First Things First
• Think Win Win
• Seek First to Understand Then be Understood
• Synergize
• Sharpen the Saw

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Stress Management

• Students identify what causes them stress and how
  they react to stressful situations
• Students then explore additional ways to handle
  stress

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McDonough High School Freshman Seminar
School-wide Focus

• Cornell note taking
• Student work expectations
• Changing school culture

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Freshman Seminar Teacher Training Instructional
Resources

• Use of the revised curriculum
• Classroom Strategies for Interactive Learning
• Use of graphic organizers for vocabulary
  enhancement
• Using visuals to encourage critical thinking
• Connect with Kids training
• Laptops include access to curriculum
• LCD Carts

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Semester Courses

• Keyboarding Essentials
• The Bible in Culture
• Shakespeare
• Music Theory
• Introduction to Lifetime Sports
• Introduction to Biotechnology

• African American History
• First Aid and Safety
• Applied Economics
• SAT/ACT Prep
• Survey of Music
• College Prep Math
• College Prep English