Summer is a great time for high school students to bolster their resumes for colleges and careers. It's even good for younger students to think about, not necessarily in terms of college and career readiness, but for developing life skills such as work ethic, team work, and responsible citizenship. Summer is a great time to do this simply because there is more time and there tends to be more opportunities available for young people, as it is assumed they aren't in school over the summer. This is obviously not the case for everyone. It doesn't have to be summer, nor do students have to be on break to work on personal growth and bulking up their resumes.

There are the obvious ways to build a high school resume such as gainful employment, volunteering, and a decent GPA or academic narrative, but there are many less obvious ways. I think it's really important for students to branch away from the typical or expected points on a resume for a couple reasons: 1) They will want to stand out amongst other college and/or job applicants, and 2) The skills desired in an employee have drastically changed from as recently as 20 years ago. 

I've listed resume building activities for students to do over the summer and added resources that might go well with each. All of the suggestions are student-directed and experiential.

Note: Many students that are trying to build their resumes may be college hopefuls. Money.com has a page on their site with "The Best Colleges in America, Ranked by Value", based on a number of data points such as tuition and graduates' earnings. There is also an interactive feature where students can build their own rankings based on their own personal criteria. Great resource to pass on! 

1. Building 21st-Century Skills:
As I said above, having something to show for yourself other than the fact that you can get a decent GPA is critical. A GPA demonstrates limited capabilities, and isn't always an accurate representation of performance or potential. Employers of today are looking for employees that can problem-solve, work well with others, work independently, navigate technology that is constantly evolving, and more. 

"21st-Century Skills Portfolio" - This is a great student-directed, summer learning activity and resume builder. The idea is for students to assemble "evidence" of skill building with skill-building activities. All of the following suggested resume builders could be added to this portfolio, which in theory could be shared with potential employers, college admissions, or even as a senior project. 

2. Community Action Projects:
Community Action Projects are PBL projects where students explore community issues (locally, nationally, or globally) that they find important. They research the issue, make an action plan, and take action. It is not as simple as a community service activity or volunteer experience. It requires research, commitment to the issue, and making long-term change in the community. Raising money, advocating for legislation, giving time, and raising awareness are some ways to go about this. What is cool about this resume builder is that it is student-directd. The student leads the project from start to finish.

Check out my Community Action Projects on TpT, particularly the tool kit for unlimited project possibilities. This tool kit comes with a printable and digital version to be used with Google Apps.

3. Online Courses: 
There are so many free courses online today, many of them from highly reputable colleges. Not only does this resume builder increase content knowledge, but shows that the student has the skills to self-direct and has interest in tech literacy, an important 21st-century skill.

Udemy, Coursera, and edX are some options. There are many others. The Covid-19 pandemic has led to many organizations to provide historically expensive online courses for free while the pandemic persists. Check out this list of free websites (including online courses) here. You can also head directly to a list of Coursera classes that are offering free enrollment and a certificate through July. This is great for professional development and CEU's for educators as well. 

4. Start a Business:
This doesn't have to be elaborate. It could be as simple as a lawn mowing or dog walking business, or as elaborate as starting a skateboard clothing brand. I have had students do both. There is so much to be gained from starting a business. Students will learn about marketing, how to balance a budget, use spreadsheets, write a business plan, etc. Check out my FREE template for getting started with a business. 

5. Service Learning/Volunteering:
Yes, I have suggested that this is an obvious choice. It is, but is no less important because it's obvious. Get students rolling on self-directed service learning experiences this summer through project-based learning. Going through the experience using project-based learning principles will help students with structure and organization, as well as expanding the experience beyond simply putting in clock hours.

Elements of project-based learning include working with community experts, demonstrating learning with an innovative final product, and presenting the experience to an authentic, public audience. Check out my project-based learning toolkit that includes templates for getting started on any PBL experience. 

6. Shadowing/Interning:
This is such a great opportunity for students to develop career skills in their line of interest. Not only that, it gives students a clear understanding of whether their "career path" is really what they want. I thought I wanted to be a doctor my entire young life. I even went through several years of pre-med while I was an undergrad, just to discover later that I was not only uninterested in the field, but extremely uncomfortable with many of the tasks that would have been required of me - working with blood for instance. I could have saved myself a lot of time, energy, and resources if I had volunteered in a hospital in high school or shadowed a nurse or doctor before commiting to a career that made me queasy. 

Check out a couple of these resources as potential student projects for summer, both of which require shadowing a community expert - Hometown Behind the Scenes: Local Business, and Hometown Behind the Scenes: Community Event. You could also check out my Career Exploration PBL project, which would help students reduce the chance of getting into a career that isn't right for them. 

7. Gainful Employment:
Again, another one that I pointed out as obvious above, but nevertheless, it's an important experience for students to have. I had some older students that came to my school often after years of struggling in the traditional school system. Most of them, some 20 years old, had never been employed. That is not a great way to head into life after school. Employment helps students practice teamwork, punctuality, work ethic, personal finance, and other life skills. Not only that, it gives them a sense of accomplishment and pride.

8. Start a Blog or a Podcast: 
Have students identify something that interests them such as art, music, history, social issues, education, etc. and start a relevant blog or podcast about that topic. In theory, the topic should be relevant to their future. For example, if they are interested in music production as a potential career, starting a blog about the local music scene would make sense.

Creating a blog or podcast is an experience in itself. There's a huge learning curve. I know from experience. It's also multi-disciplinary and helps build 21st-century skills. Another cool thing about doing this is that it could be referred to later on by employers or clients to demonstrate skills and knowledge on the topic. It would also illuminate character, which is a priority to many employers. 

9. Responsible Citizenship:
Students can get involved in community issues by attending town hall meetings, voting, meeting with legislators, participating in walks or protests, etc. Students can even search around for student government opportunities. Model UN is the first one to come to mind, but community education programs and YMCA's also offer options for students.

Getting involved in community issues through government experiences is one action plan option for community action projects mentioned above. 

10. Start a Club
This is one of my favorites! Coordinating and maintaining a club would look outstanding on a resume. It takes organizational skills, follow-through, commitment, creativity, leadership skills, time management skills and more. Summer reading groups, a community clean-up group, a wildlife club, and a skateboard club are all great examples. Check out my project-based learning resource, Start a Club, which includes a guide and all of the templates needed to get started. 

I have a college and career readiness PBL bundle in my TpT store that includes most of the resources mentioned in this blog post. You can save a lot of money by choosing the bundle vs. each product individually.

Thanks for checking out 10 resume builders for students to do this summer break! There are of course many other options. I would love to hear your ideas and comments. Thanks for stopping by! 

Follow Experiential Learning Depot on Pinterest and Instagram for more on experiential education.

Happy college season! For some, that season is long over, having completed early applications over the summer. Phew! Now all you have to do is wait! For some, you're still trying to get everything figured out. Preparing application materials for deadlines, considering a gap-year. Maybe even wondering if college is for you at all. I get that. I've been there! College is truthfully not for some in my opinion. You do you! 

There is a lot to consider when choosing your path. If the path you have chosen is to go to college, your job isn't over yet. You still need to find a great fit. There are a lot of variables to consider, such as tuition, financial aid and scholarships, location, academic programs, and acceptance rates. If you're interested in exploring college options, check out this FREE college search activity that helps you determine what you are looking for in a college experience, and which schools will best provide that experience. 

And if weighing those basic options wasn't challenging enough, colleges also differ in how they're grading student work. In fact, some colleges are not grading at all. No A-F grading system, no failing, no GPA. Some schools do this to mitigate the pressure of grades; to measure learning based on student-performance, quality of work, and growth; and/or to provide detailed feedback on student work to foster the desire to improve. 

This post isn't about which assessment method is better. It is about providing information and alternatives. It is up to you to determine which method is the best for you. Consider your learning style, interests, past experience, and goals moving forward. 

I've compiled a list of colleges and universities in the United States that offer alternatives to the traditional A-F grading system. Check them out, and who knows, maybe this is just what you need? 

Note: this list is not exhaustive. I'm sure there are others. Do your research. If you have a particular school in mind, but wonder about their assessment approach, find out!

Narrative Reports - a narrative report is a detailed, written evaluation by the professor on student work and progress. It often times is the entirety of the student's transcript. The purpose of this is to provide important feedback and opportunity for growth. Some schools provide grades with the narrative, but is typically the choice of the student. The following colleges provide narratives on transcripts. 

1. Hampshire College, MA - narrative
2. Antioch University, CA, OH, NH, WA - narrative
3. Antioch College, OH - narrative AND grades
4. Sarah Lawrence College, NY - narrative and grades optional
5. Alverno College, WI - narrative
6. Fairhaven College of Interdisciplinary Studies, WA - narrative 
7. Prescott College, AZ - narrative, grades optional
8. Evergreen State College, WA - narrative
9. Reed College, OR - narrative, grades optional
10. New College of Florida, FL - narrative
11. Bennington College, VT -  narrative, grades optional
12. California Institute of Integral Studies, CA - narrative, grades optional
13. College of the Atlantic, ME - narrative, grades optional 
14. Evergreen State College, WA - narrative. ESC goes as far as having on-on-one evaluation meetings between each student and their professors. 
15. Fairhaven College and Western Washington University - narratives (and self-evaluations)
16. Goddard College, VT - narrative
17. Johnston Center for Integrative Studies, CA - narrative
18. St. Johns College (Annapolis and Santa Fe) - narrative, grades optional
19. Yale Law School, CT - narrative
20. Northeastern University School of Law, MA - narrative

ePortfolios - many colleges and universities have turned to ePortfolios rather than letter grades. ePortfolios are online portfolios where students submit evidence of learning. The portfolio can then be shared online.

1. Indiana University/Purdue University Indianapolis, IN - ePortfolios for some classes
2. Virginia Tech, VA - implement the ePortfolio Initiative, some courses
3. Laguardia Community College, NY - known for their success with ePortfolios 

No fail grading systems - some schools have eliminated failing grades entirely along with GPA's. Transcripts usually include alternatives to the A-F grading system along with narratives.

1. Brown University, RI - A, B and C only, no failing grades, no GPA, no deans list. Course Performance Report is a requested narrative by the student for more detailed feedback.
2. University of California, Santa Cruz - students can elect pass/fail for 25% of classes.
3. Harvey Mudd College, CA - pass/fail for first year students. 
4. Harvard Law School, MA - not a traditional A-F grading scale, but can technically still "fail". They're grading policy is "honors", "pass", "low pass", and "fail". 

What's interesting about this is that there is a huge range. It's not just super-progressive schools that have taken on new methods of student grading. It's private and public, ivy-league and community colleges, traditional and progressive.  They're all great schools trying to do what is best for the students. So don't think you can't consider a school that doesn't offer a failing grade. There are no rules! Do what is right for you. To figure that out you may have to do some soul-searching. Happy hunting, and good luck!! ​

My 4 year old son, Charlie, has been requesting, more like demanding, that we buy him toys. Not just every time we leave the house, but now toys can be purchased right from our couch. He has discovered Amazon. My attempt to explain greed, materialism, poverty, waste, the difference between needs and wants to a 4 year old has been unsuccessful. 

And anyway, does my 4 year old need to know about human suffering this early in his life? Maybe, maybe not. We can save that discussion for another day. Regardless, he wasn't getting it. That approach didn't work. 

So I tried something else. I told him he could earn money and save it for "wants". We discussed how a four year old boy might go about doing that. He observed that some kids make money with lemonade stands. We determined that it was too cold for that. I asked him what kinds of things we eat and drink in the fall? He said hot chocolate. We didn't have ingredients for hot chocolate. He reminded me that we had two gallons of apple juice left over from his sister's birthday party the week before. That is how "Hot Apple Cider Central" got it's start.

Charlie designed a sign (what it should say), and I wrote it out. He decided where the sale would be, and what extra treats he could give away to lure in customers. I showed him how to post an advertisement to our online neighborhood forum. He had to brainstorm and engineer a way to keep the apple cider hot outside. I introduced to him the Crockpot. He even chased neighbors down the street shouting "apple cider for sale!" We then had a conversation about appropriate sales tactics. 

Charlie made $4 his first day out. He charged his customers "5 monies" for a cup of apple cider. Considering he has no concept of money, I'd say $4 was a success! But the bigger success was the knowledge and skills gained in the process, and the pride he took in his work. 

All of us are entrepreneurs at heart. Check out this free graphic organizer from my TpT store, Experiential Learning Depot. It is a guide for brainstorming business ideas, geared toward all ages and skill levels. It would be a fun activity to incorporate into your class, or could be treated as the starting-off-point to something bigger, like writing an actual business plan and hosting an exhibition night to show them off. 

If you use the graphic organizer with your students or own children, I'd love to hear about some of their business ideas! Thanks for reading.

​​Follow me on Pinterest (Experiential Learning Depot) , Instagram and TpT for more education resources and ideas!