Opportunities in FFA

1
Opportunities in FFA
2
Interest Approach

• Have an FFA chapter officer or a former member
  visit your class and discuss what he or she has
  gained from participating in FFA activities.

3
Student Learning Objectives

• Instruction in this lesson should result in
  students achieving the following objectives
• 1 Describe how FFA develops leadership skills,
  personal growth, and career success.
• 2 Identify major state and national activities
  available to FFA members.

4
Terms

• The following terms are presented in this lesson
  (shown in bold italics)
• Advanced Leadership Development Conference (ALD)
• Agriscience Student Recognition Program
• Career Development Event (CDE)
• Experiencing Discovery, Growth, and Excellence
  Conference (EDGE)
• FFA Global Programs
• FFA Scholarship Program
• Food for America
• leader
• leadership
• Made for Excellence Conference (MFE)
• National FFA Convention
• Partners for a Safer Community
• Partners in Active Learning Support (PALS)
• personal growth
• Washington Leadership Conference (WLC)

5
Objective 1

• Describe how FFA develops leadership skills,
  personal growth, and career success.
• Anticipated Problem How does the FFA
  organization develop the skills and
  characteristics for future career success?
• I. The purpose of FFA is to help students develop
  to their full potential through activities in the
  agriculture program.

6
Objective 1continued

• A. Leadership is one of the major areas stressed
  in FFA. 
• 1. Leadership is the ability to influence other
  people to meet individual or group goals.

7
Objective 1 continued

• 2. A leader is a person who helps other people
  reach their goals.
• 3. Four desirable traits of a good leader are 
• a. Personal skillstraits that make it easier for
  other people to follow a leader, such as being
  hardworking, responsible, and honest
• b. How to skillstraits that help a leader
  share responsibilities, such as organizing
  meetings, speaking to groups, and writing
  messages
• c. Thinking skillstraits that enable a leader
  to think and assess problems 
• d. People skillstraits that help a leader
  relate well with other people, such as being
  trustworthy, respecting others, and having a
  positive attitude
•  

8
Objective 1 continued

• B. Personal growth is developing skills in order
  to have a better life.
• 1. It includes leadership skills, career skills,
  social behavior, and citizenship skills.
• 2. Social behavior deals with manners and respect
  for others. 
• 3. Citizenship involves being a good member of
  the community and the nation.

9
Objective 1 continued

• C. FFA promotes career success through
  recognition of excellence in agriculture and the
  development of skills for career advancement.
• 1. Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) is an
  example of a career-related activity. 
• 2. A Career Development Event (CDE) provides
  opportunities to practice technical skills
  learned in the classroom that will be used later
  in career settings.

10
Objective 1 continued

• D. FFA provides a number of offices for
  leadership development. These offices include
• Presidentpresides over meetings
• Vice-Presidentpresides in absence of the
  president
• Secretarytakes minutes of meetings
• Treasurerin charge of the financial accounts
• Sentinelkeeps order in meetings
• Reporterreports news to media
• Historiankeeps FFA scrapbook
• Parliamentarianrules on parliamentary conduct
  during meetings
• Chaplainpresents invocations at functions

11
Objective 2

• Identify major state and national activities
  available to FFA members. 
• Anticipated Problem What major state and
  national activities are available to FFA members?
• II. As an FFA member, you can participate in a
  wide range of activities at the local, state, and
  national levels.

12
Objective 2 continued

• A. Every year, state and national conventions are
  held to conduct business, provide recognition for
  award winners, and demonstrate opportunities for
  leadership growth.
• 1. The National FFA Convention is the largest
  youth conference in the nation. Recent attendance
  has been in excess of 50,000 members.
• 2. The convention offers motivational speeches,
  educational tours, leadership conferences, and
  the FFA National Agricultural Career Show. 

13
Objective 2 continued

• B. Every year at their respective conventions,
  state and national officers are elected to serve
  for the upcoming year.
• 1. State officers usually travel around their
  state, visiting chapters and presenting
  leadership workshops.
• 2. National officers spend more than 300 days
  each year traveling across the United States and
  abroad, representing FFA. 
• C. At state and national conventions, FFA members
  provide much of the entertainment.
• 1. Many state and the national conventions host a
  talent contest. 
• 2. Musically talented individuals can participate
  in state and national choruses and bands.

14
Objective 2 continued

• D. FFA Global Programs give students and teachers
  the opportunity to explore global agriculture
  through experiences that demonstrate the
  agricultural practices and cultural traditions of
  other countries. 
• E. FFA members who are interested in science and
  plan to go to college should participate in the
  Agriscience Student Recognition Program.
• 1. Winners at the state and national levels earn
  substantial scholarships for higher education.
• 2. Participants are required to develop a
  scientific project that involves agriculture and
  to write a report describing methods,
  technologies, observations, and results. 

15
Objective 2 continued

• F. More than 1 million are awarded every year
  through the FFA Scholarship Program. To apply for
  a national FFA scholarship, secure an application
  form from an advisor or guidance counselor.
• G. Partners in Active Learning Support (PALS) is
  an FFA mentoring program based on partnering FFA
  members with younger students to build trust and
  develop self-esteem.

16
Objective 2 continued

• H. Food for America is a program that FFA members
  present to elementary school students. It
  educates younger students about where food comes
  from and the importance of agriculture. 
• I. Partners for a Safer Community is a national
  collaborative effort to promote agriculture
  safety and health through education, community
  development, and youth leadership. 

17
Objective 2 continued

• J. National FFA Week is held every year during
  the third week in February. Members conduct
  various activities to celebrate and promote their
  organization.
• K. The national FFA magazine, FFA New Horizons,
  is an excellent source of information about the
  organization. It features articles about members
  participating in various local, state, and
  national activities. 

18
Objective 2 continued

• L. A number of conferences are available to
  members. 
• 1. The Washington Leadership Conference (WLC) is
  located in our nations capital. The Washington
  Leadership Conference is a five-day event that
  trains FFA members to make a positive impact in
  their schools, their local communities, their
  states, and the nation.
• 2. The Experiencing Discovery, Growth, and
  Excellence Conference (EDGE) is the first
  component of the National FFA Leadership and
  Personal Growth Series. It is designed to help
  middle school students better understand who they
  are and where they are heading. 

19
Objective 2 continued

• 3. The Made for Excellence Conference (MFE) is
  the second component in the National FFA
  Leadership and Personal Growth Series. It is a
  two-day personal development conference designed
  primarily for high school freshmen and
  sophomores. The overall outcome of this
  conference is personal growth. 
• 4. The Advanced Leadership Development Conference
  (ALD) is the third component of the National FFA
  Leadership and Personal Growth Series. It builds
  upon the curriculum of both EDGE and MFE and
  offers an experience specifically for high school
  juniors and seniors. During the conference,
  students explore the wide variety of careers
  available in the field of agriculture. 
• 5. State leadership conferences are commonly held
  within each state around the country. State
  conferences focus on personal development and
  learning more about what FFA has to offer. 

20
REVIEW

• How does the FFA organization develop the skills
  and characteristics for future career success?
• What major state and national activities are
  available to FFA members?