Unit Title:

Suggested Length:

The Communication Network

3 weeks

Standard & Benchmarks:

Business Communications 4.1, 5.1, and 6.1

Content:

Students will learn to identify the kinds and levels of communication needed for success in life, select and use verbal and nonverbal communication to make a message effective, demonstrate understanding of how the level of human needs and how human relations affect the communication process, describe the impact that communication technology has made and will further make on all roles as a communicator, discuss ways that technology affects the communication process, and list ways that communication skills should be adjusted for communicating internationally.

Suggested Student Performance/Product:

Students will complete the activities and projects that accompany the textbook.

Suggested Resources:

Textbook, Internet, Guest Speakers, and other various resources

Pre-AP Extensions:

Unit Title:

Suggested Length:

Reading 

4 weeks

Standard & Benchmarks:

Business Communications 1.1

Content:

Students will learn to judge and explain which reading technique most benefits the purpose for which you are reading, increase reading speed through timed practice, improve comprehension, and develop techniques to remember better what you have read.

Suggested Student Performance/Product:

Students will complete the activities and projects that accompany the textbook.

Suggested Resources:

Textbook, Internet, Guest Speakers, and other various resources

Pre-AP Extensions:

Unit Title:

Suggested Length:

Word Usage 

3 weeks

Standard & Benchmarks:

Business Communications 5.2

Content:

Students will learn to use reference books, use commonly confused words in sentences to show that you understand their different meanings and spellings, and list many of the words frequently used in business writing.

Suggested Student Performance/Product:

Students will complete the activities and projects that accompany the textbook.

Suggested Resources:

Textbook, Internet, Guest Speakers, and other various resources

Pre-AP Extensions:

Unit Title:

Suggested Length:

Language Skills 

3 weeks

Standard & Benchmarks:

Business Communications 5.3

Content:

Students will learn to construct complete sentences that fully describe your ideas, use verbs correctly to give your writing the proper direction, use nouns and pronouns precisely, choose the correct verb form to agree with any noun or pronoun, select exact descriptive words that will convey your thoughts, and use conjunctions and prepositions to join words clearly and correctly.

Suggested Student Performance/Product:

Students will complete the activities and projects that accompany the textbook.

Suggested Resources:

Textbook, Internet, Guest Speakers, and other various resources

Pre-AP Extensions:

Unit Title:

Suggested Length:

Punctuation and Style 

3 weeks

Standard & Benchmarks:

Business Communications 5.4

Content:

Students will learn to use periods, question marks, and exclamation points correctly, use commas, semicolons, colons, and dashes to provide pauses to guide readers through your message, identify the exact words of other writers and speakers by using quotation marks, separate and identify additional information by using parentheses, form possessives, contractions, and special plurals correctly by using apostrophes, apply rules for capitalization, correctly use abbreviations and symbols, and write numbers in words or in figures, whichever is appropriate.

Suggested Student Performance/Product:

Students will complete the activities and projects that accompany the textbook.

Suggested Resources:

Textbook, Internet, Guest Speakers, and other various resources

Pre-AP Extensions:

Unit Title:

Suggested Length:

Writing Style 

3 weeks

Standard & Benchmarks:

Business Communications 5.5

Content:

Students will learn to use words, phrases, and clauses that allow the reader to interpret messages correctly, use positive, bias-free language on a level that the receiver can understand, use balanced words, phrases, sentences, and paragraphs, apply the techniques for effective sentence and paragraph writing to your messages, and develop your written message so that each idea flows smoothly into the next.

Suggested Student Performance/Product:

Students will complete the activities and projects that accompany the textbook.

Suggested Resources:

Textbook, Internet, Guest Speakers, and other various resources

Pre-AP Extensions:

Unit Title:

Suggested Length:

Business Letters 

4 weeks

Standard & Benchmarks:

Business Communications 5.6 and 5.7

Content:

Students will learn to select the most appropriate letter-writing plan to organize ideas, position letter parts according to standard arrangement, plan and write routine letters that request, transmit, acknowledge, or respond, plan and write letters that persuade the reader to follow a certain course of action or approve a request, plan and write letters that refuse or that convey bad news, plan and write attention-getting sales and public relations letters, and plan and write thoughtful social business letters.

Suggested Student Performance/Product:

Students will complete the activities and projects that accompany the textbook.

Suggested Resources:

Textbook, Internet, Guest Speakers, and other various resources

Pre-AP Extensions:

Unit Title:

Suggested Length:

Memorandums 

3 weeks

Standard & Benchmarks:

Business Communications 5.7

Content:

Students will learn to explain the specific ways in which letters and memos are different, identify the parts of a memo, format memos according to standard styles, plan and write routine memos, plan and write informational memos, plan and write analytical memos, plan and write recommendation memos, plan and write progress memos, and use visual techniques to improve the effectiveness of memos.

Suggested Student Performance/Product:

Students will complete the activities and projects that accompany the textbook.

Suggested Resources:

Textbook, Internet, Guest Speakers, and other various resources 

Pre-AP Extensions:

Unit Title:

Suggested Length:

Business Reports and Other Written Messages

4 weeks

Standard & Benchmarks:

Business Communications 1.2 

Content:

Students will learn to write informational and analytical reports, write records of meetings, use message forms, routing slips, and fax cover sheets, write e-mail, and write new releases.

Suggested Student Performance/Product:

Students will complete the activities and projects that accompany the textbook.

Suggested Resources:

Textbook, Internet, Guest Speakers, and other various resources

Pre-AP Extensions:

Unit Title:

Suggested Length:

Oral Communication 

3 weeks

Standard & Benchmarks:

Business Communications 5.8

Content:

Students will learn to take brief written notes at meetings, remember more of what you hear, eliminate common misunderstandings that can result from the spoken word, improve your ability to follow instructions on the job, address an audience confidently, learn to use the telephone efficiently, and plan and conduct successful meetings.

Suggested Student Performance/Product:

Students will complete the activities and projects that accompany the textbook.

Suggested Resources:

Textbook, Internet, Guest Speakers, and other various resources

Pre-AP Extensions:

Unit Title:

Suggested Length:

Employment Communications 

3 weeks

Standard & Benchmarks:

Business Communications 3.1, 3.2, and 3.3

Content:

Students will learn to state qualifications for employment in a complete, attractive resume, complete an employment application form accurately and thoroughly, organize and write effective letters of application, prepare letters requesting others to serve as references, write letters accepting and refusing positions offered to you, prepare yourself for a successful interview, and write letters resigning from a position.

Suggested Student Performance/Product:

Students will complete the activities and projects that accompany the textbook.

Suggested Resources:

Textbook, Internet, Guest Speakers, and other various resources

Pre-AP Extensions: