One of my favorite units (behind the FFA Unit) is agribusiness. So many students have no idea just how essential agribusinesses are to their daily lives and the economy, let alone what an agribusiness is.
We start this unit with a class discussion over agribusinesses and agricultural products. Now teaching in an urban area many of my students are very mislead about everything that can be considered an agricultural product. After our class discussion students work on their Agriculture Products poster. This project is included in my Agribusiness Unit or available here on my website. I like for students to complete these on paper and we display the best from each class period, or more unique products, in the hall so that other students who do not take agriculture classes could look at them while they loiter in the hall. Once students have completed this we discuss the different products and what they have learned about them and the different industries that they might not have had previous knowledge over. Most of the time at least one student will admit that they didn't realize a certain item or industry was related to agriculture. This is a great transition into their next project, Job Hunting.
I require students to choose any job that relates to agriculture to research and create a brochure over. This project is included in my Agribusiness unit or available here on my website. By allowing students to have choice in their work and research they are more invested in the project. The Job Hunting brochure is one of the few projects where I do not prevent students duplicating as a majority of the students that take my class do so as it is a requisite for the Veterinary Science course offered later on in high school. There are typically a few students who do not wish to live near their hometown and have moving away as their number one goal in life. For those students I will allow them to research their job in their preferred community, I do have to pick a point for them to measure their commute on so keep that in mind if you make this exception. After these are completed I do have students present them in a Round-Robbin style, this allows students to practice presenting without the pressure of talking in front of the entire class.
After researching careers students will create their resume including the education that they would need to qualify for that position. I do tell them to include their current work or leadership experience but to fill in the rest with what they would need to get the job of their dreams based on the qualifications found in their research. This helps make it very clear for students how much they still need to accomplish before they are able to reach that goal. This assignment is a bonus file in my Agribusiness unit or available here on my website.
The final part of the unit is the completion tying a tie and practicing giving a proper handshake. This lesson typically takes a full 45-50 minute class including daily class procedures. We practice this with donated ties from teachers in the school. About a month prior to beginning this unit the first few times I sent an All Staff email informing the other teachers about what we would be doing and asked for donations from their own closets or their husbands. After two years of this request I now have enough out of style ties for every student to have their own tie during this practice with a few to spare. The final part of this lesson is the homework. Typically, I do not assign homework unless students choose to not use their class time to complete work; however, shaking hands requires homework. I send each student home with this half sheet for them to practice their handshake skills with a few adults in their lives before our next class. Staff around the school love students taking time to have conversations with them about their day and helping students develop the valuable skill of a good handshake.
