READING AND WRITING

TOPIC / LESSON NAME
CONTENT STANDARDS
PERFORMANCE STANDARDS
LEARNING COMPETENCIES
SPECIFIC LEARNING OUTCOMES
TIME ALLOTMENT
Purposeful Writing in the Disciplines and for Professions
The learner understands the requirements of composing academic writing and professional
correspondence.
The learner produces each type of academic writing and professional correspondence following the
properties
The learner produces each type of academic writing and professional correspondence following the
properties of well-written texts and process approach to writing.
At the end of the lesson, the learners are able to:
1. Identify the unique features and requirements in composing a professional resume.
2. Discuss the importance and give qualities of a good resume.
60 minutes

LESSON OUTLINE:
During the lesson, the learners will:
1. Introduction/Review: Give their thoughts about the Learning Competency; and the state the Importance of Writing a Good Resume
2. Motivation: Relate the importance of the Resume to their chosen exit point from Senior High School
3. Instruction/Delivery: Understand why resumes are important, and what the qualities are that make it outstanding
4. Practice: Critiquing of sample Resumes and identifying qualities which make the resumes either good or bad
5. Enrichment: Encoding of a resume on the computer following a recommended format
6. Evaluation: Critiquing of a poorly constructed Resume and editing it, as necessary

1. Projector and downloaded video clip

MATERIALS 2. Copies of the two resumes for critiquing
3. Copy of the list of action verbs in describing accomplishments (See Appendix A)
Spencer, Linda. How to Write a Great Resume and Cover Letter. Sep 21, 2012.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAthQKLhBTs. Accessed January 6, 2016.

Action Verbs, Harvard Law School, Bernard Koteen Office of Public Interest Advising (OPIA) website.
http://hls.harvard.edu/dept/opia/job-search-toolkit/action-verbs/. Accessed January 6, 2016.

RESOURCES What Is the Best Resume Font, Size and Format? http://theundercoverrecruiter.com/what-is-the-best-
font-for-your-resume-infographic/. Accessed January 6, 2016.

Writing a Good Resume: Student Critique and Practice Exercise.

http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/writing-good-resume-career-readiness.shtml
Accessed January 6, 2016.
 READING AND WRITING

PROCEDURE MEETING THE LEARNERS’ NEEDS

INTRODUCTION Teacher Tip:
1. Relay the learning competency to the learners and have them copy it in their notebooks: You may add more questions to the
I will identify the unique features and requirements in composing related guide questions, focusing but
a professional resume. not limited to the following:
2. Ask the students the following questions: a. Format (Font, number of pages,
a. Why do we need to write a resume? presence of a picture)
b. What do you think makes a good resume? b. Purpose
c. Parts
MOTIVATION Teacher Tip:
1. Inform the students that resumes are, and why they are important: It is best if the students could
immediately pinpoint their most possible
A resume is a summary of background, skills and qualifications, which is sent to employers exit point. Likewise, different types of
for review. Consider it to be your personal marketing brochure with the goal of gaining the resumes could then be fit for each type
employer’s attention and to giving them the information they need to bring you to the next of class.
step in the hiring process, an interview.
For example, if the student chooses
Your resume is often the first document that an employer would typically look at, so it serves higher education, the students may be
as your first impression in the employment process. A well-written and formatted resume given a resume that focuses on
tells the employer a lot about your professionalism, and improves the chances for receiving preparing a resume for college
an interview. Consider that employers compare resumes to decide who to interview. application.

2. Remind them that the exit points of Senior High School are to prepare them either for On the other hand, if the student
employment, entrepreneurship, skills development, or higher education. In selecting which of chooses employment, the students may
these exit points they are most likely to consider after Grade 12, they need to make a powerful be given a resume that focuses on
resume since each of these exit point would definitely need a resume. preparing for a job. The classified ads
will come most handy in this activity.
INSTRUCTION/DELIVERY Teacher Tip:
1. Tell the students as to how good resumes are written: Encourage the students to also ask
a. The best way to begin writing your resume is do a self-assessment. Think of past some questions about the resume. Their
successes and achievements that you have experienced and write them down. These questions might not necessarily be
could be related to academics, volunteer activities or work experience and can even answered on the spot, although it would
include things like travel, hobbies or any life experience where you learned and grew. be good if the questions would be
Once you have finished brainstorming, narrow down the points that you want to focus on answered with a thought or so.
and prioritize them based on their applicability to qualities an employer may find
important. You don’t have to include every single point on your resume; quality is always If their questions could not be
better than quantity. immediately answered, note these
 READING AND WRITING
b. Quantify your accomplishments and help the reader to understand what you are capable questions on the board – and have the
of. It is not just what you are able to do, but how well you can do the job being pursued. students, and you yourself, research
By presenting specifics, the reader will gain a much better picture of your skill set and add answers to these questions.
to your credibility. Ask yourself questions like: How did I improve something? What did I
learn and how did I grow? What skill did I demonstrate? How did my employer benefit These questions may fall under tips to
from my work? writing a good resume, or why a single-
c. Position your resume by considering the qualifications and requirements for the job being page resume is better than a three-page
pursued and addressing those in the resume. For example, if you are seeking a position one, or the best format in writing a good
that requires strong analytical skills, you will need to write about your analytical skills and resume.
how you use them to resolve problems. One technique for doing this is called C.A.R.,
which stands for Challenge, Action and Result. Write about a challenge you had, the
action you took to meet that challenge and what the result was.
d. Resume writing is an ongoing process and will likely continue throughout your career.
Gain feedback from employment professionals, peers, industry insiders, friends and
family and always keep your resume up to date.
2. Show a sample of a good resume.
3. Inform the learners that they will be watching video, and that they will only view it once.
4. Play the video once. (Spencer, Linda. How to Write a Great Resume and Cover Letter. Sep 21,
2012. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAthQKLhBTs. Accessed January 6, 2016.)
5. After playing the video, ask the students to write down important points they got. Allow them to
jot down these points in their notebooks. Give them a minute to do this.
6. Call three to five students to share their insights to the class.

PRACTICE Teacher Tip:

1. Provide two sample resumes for students to review. One comes from a high school graduate Students may seek existing copies of
with little motivation, job experience or sense of professionalism. The other is from a sharp actual resumes, either from friends or
student who graduated from a state university and has been active acquiring several skill sets. their family members, and have them
2. Go over both resumes as a class. First, have students spend a few minutes writing down errors gloss over these copies. They may then
and needed improvements in the first resume. use these versions for Practice.
3. Next, go over the second resume. Compare and contrast the two resumes, explaining why the
second student’s is better and writing these aspects and reasons on the board or chart
paper. Students also can suggest improvements the second student could have made.
4. You may want to note that there is no single best way to structure a resume. Additional sections
that could have been included in the samples are Computer Skills, Honors and Awards, and
School Activities. Ultimately, the resume should be tailored to the specific job for which one is
applying.
 READING AND WRITING

Here are some points to cover when reviewing the sample resumes.
Sample missteps in the first resume:
a. Unprofessional, cutesy email address.
b. The Statement of Objective and Summary are unprofessional and not workplace-relevant.
Photography might be a skill for her, but she has not emphasized how she has used this
skill professionally.
c. Time availability should not be included on a resume.
d. There are several typos.
e. Uses unprofessional wording (e.g., "awesome," "cool," "cute," "pics"), as well as
inappropriate clipart and exclamation points, which have no place in a resume.
f. No date is listed for her high school diploma; there is no description of coursework that
might be relevant to the workplace.
g. Her work history isn’t in order (jobs should be listed in reverse chronological order), and
she included a questionable volunteer experience (cupcake tester) under Work
Experience.
h. Her descriptions of past job duties fail to emphasize skills gained (e.g., "flip burgers and
fill condiment containers"), and also reflect negatively on her customer service skills (e.g.,
"deal with annoying customer requests").
i. Includes information that doesn’t pertain to job skills (hobbies should only be listed if they
are highly related to the job for which one is applying) (ex. Eye color, height, religion)

Sample good qualities in the second resume:

a. Based on the professionally stated objective, there are listed skills that are relevant to his
chosen career field.
b. Had no spelling errors or inappropriate/unprofessional wording.
c. Arranged his work history in reverse chronological order.
d. Described past job duties in a way that emphasizes his skills and leadership qualities.
ENRICHMENT Teacher Tip:
It would be great to have the students create their own resume and encode it directly on a computer. If Students may cite a specific job or
ever the students would have access to a computer, remind them of the following format in creating a university they want to apply for from an
good resume: announcement in the Classified
Resume fonts & sizes: Advertisement section of the
a. The most common font to use is Times New Roman, in black and size 12 points. newspaper. You may want to have them
b. Other serif fonts (with tails) to consider that are easy to read include: Georgie, Bell MT, do a simulation where students create
Goudy Old Style, Garamond. their own resumes, given the
c. Popular sans serif (no tails) fonts include: Arial, Tahoma, Century Gothic and Lucida advertisement as a prospective
Sans. opportunity.
 READING AND WRITING
d. Any of the above fonts would be reasonable for a resume as long as you consistently use
one font only.
e. Make your headings and name stand out, think of your resume like a blog post or
newspaper article.
f. Make headlines bold, Italicize, capitalize or underline. And feel free to increase the font
size to 14-16 points.
g. Try and keep your resume to one page, leave the reader wanting to know more.

Resume formats:
Resume formats are a bit more debatable than resume font or size. But, obviously you want the most
important information first.
a. Contact information. List your full name, address and contact information at the top of the
page. You should center the information and be sure to bold and capitalize your name.
b. Value statement. State the role you are applying for and what values you bring to the job.
Objectives state what you are trying to accomplish, value statements explain why you
should be hired.
c. Core strength. List industry keywords and specific skill-sets that pertain to your job and
industry. This is a high level overview of your qualifications and industry knowledge.
d. Experience. However, if education is not the strongest component of your resume, go
ahead and list your experience first, starting with your most current job and all your
responsibilities.
e. Education. Clearly state your schooling from the most recent institution you’ve attended,
with all dates, locations and certification received.
f. Honors & awards. After education and experience, you can list your professional skills
and any relevant awards or certifications.

EVALUATION Teacher Tip:

Provide the students with a sample of a resume for critique. They are needed to highlight the areas for It is better to have quantitative
improvement and the strong points of the resume. They will then rewrite the sample resume in a comments than qualitative grades for
separate sheet of paper. (See sample at the end of this lesson.) this evaluation. Students might have
different takes on editing the resumes
(they might not be able to see all strong
points and areas for improvement). The
important thing is that they start to
recognize the importance of the resume,
and how it can be improved.
 READING AND WRITING
APPENDIX A: From Harvard Law School
Bernard Koteen Office of Public Interest Advising (OPIA)

Below is a list of action verbs to assist you in describing your experiences and accomplishments:
accelerated compared edited illustrated operated restored
accomplished compiled educated immunized ordered retained
achieved completed effected implemented organized retrieved
acquired composed elicited improved originated reviewed
activated computed encouraged increased outlined revised
adapted conducted established informed oversaw rewrote
adjusted consolidated evaluated initiated perceived routed
administered constructed examined instituted performed scheduled
advised contacted executed instructed persuaded searched
allocated continued exhibited interpreted planned selected
analyzed contracted expanded interviewed planted served
annotated convened expedited introduced presented shaped
anticipated conveyed experienced invented presided shared
applied coordinated experimented investigated printed showed
appraised corresponded explained judged produced simplified
arranged counseled explored led protected solicited
articulated created facilitated listened provided solved
assembled critiqued figured maintained publicized specified
assessed decided financed managed questioned spoke
assigned defined focused marketed raised stimulated
authored delegated forecasted mastered recommended structured
balanced delivered formed measured recorded studied
briefed demonstrated formulated mediated recruited supervised
budgeted derived fostered modeled reduced supported
built designed founded modified rendered synthesized
catalogued detected functioned molded repaired targeted
categorized determined generated monitored reported taught
chaired developed governed motivated represented tested
clarified devised grouped named reproduced trained
cleared directed guided negotiated researched translated
coded distributed helped observed resolved tutored
collaborated drafted identified obtained responded updated
wrote verified utilized
 READING AND WRITING
Sample Resume for Evaluation: