September 2019
Link Lines
William & Mary Training & Technical Assistance Center
By LaShauna Britt, Debbie Grosser, Christine Peterson, and Cami Williams
Introduction to Profile of a Graduate
Incorporating the Five C’s with the experiences and attributes of the Profile of a Virginia Graduate helps prepare students to meet the standards outlined by the Profile of a Virginia Graduate and achieve the goal of being “life ready” by high school graduation. The matrix below identifies examples of instructional strategies and practices to support students in developing skills and experiences around the four components of the Profile. Application examples in Mathematics and Language Arts are also provided.  
Profile of a
Virginia Graduate
Instructional Strategies and Classroom Practices
Mathematics and
Language Arts Examples
Content Knowledge

Achieve and apply appropriate academic and technical knowledge

  • Project-based instruction
  • Explicit instruction
  • Universal Design for Learning
  • Specially designed instruction
  • Immediate feedback
  • Instruction on cognitive and metacognitive strategies
  • Inclusion of real-world problems/examples in lessons

Math : Provide students with fraction circles to explore the relationship between a whole and its parts; in order to deepen content knowledge of fractions by using the   Concrete-Representational-Abstract strategy .

Language Arts: Assign students a teacher-selected passage related to a science or social studies unit of study. Students will engage in Think-Pair-Share to answer assigned questions. Extend the activity by requiring student pairs to complete an idea map to support students in generating a paragraph highlighting the key concepts covered in the article or unit.
Workplace Skills

Attain and demonstrate productive workplace skills, qualities, and behaviors
  • Project-based instruction
  • Problem-solving tasks
  • Instruction and practice in self-management, communication, and interpersonal skills
  • Cooperative learning
  • Creation of class norms/expectations for group work
  • Use of I’m Determined Good Day Plan Tool
Math: Explicitly teach students how to break down math concepts into smaller chunks by using the Proceduralizing Strategy . Breaking down work task into smaller parts can be a beneficial skill in the workplace.

Language Arts: Have students explore workplace soft skills and develop communication and vocabulary by completing the Right Way/Wrong Way skits
Community and Civic Responsibility

Build connections and value for interactions with diverse communities
  • Cooperative learning
  • Relationship-building activities
  • Recognition and positive reinforcement of student effort and behaviors
  • Opportunities for classroom discourse
Math : Facilitate a whole-class math discussion using math discourse , where students participate in error analysis of a real-world story problem. The purpose of math discourse is to build problem-solving skills while engaging in experiences around community and civic responsibility.

Language Arts: Have elementary or middle school students research an aspect of citizenship in the United States. Students may engage in a Jigsaw activity to gain knowledge of the content, and to share that knowledge with classmates. The purpose is to build research and communication skills while learning about community and civic responsibility.
Career Planning

Align knowledge, skills, and personal interests with career opportunities
Math: Provide the students with a list of words that correspond with the topics of career planning and finance. Create discourse around these topics. Discussions about unfamiliar vocabulary associated with career planning and finance can assist students in making decisions about their futures.

Language Arts: Ask students to write an essay about their career of choice using a writing strategy, such as the POWER strategy . The purpose is to build writing skills while students engage in career-planning experiences.
How does the Profile of a Virginia Graduate address students’ needs from Kindergarten to graduation? The Profile of a Virginia Graduate seeks to address both the knowledge and skills related to reading, writing, and mathematics that students must master prior to graduation from high school as well as experiences and attributes that students must attain to succeed in post-high school careers and work-related paths of their choice.

The Virginia Department of Education has developed a number of resources that can assist you in learning more about these new requirements , including the Virginia is for Learners website.  Virginia is for Learners keeps parents, educators, and all Virginians informed about changes to Virginia’s public education system and includes a media library with detailed information on Profile of a Virginia Graduate and related initiatives. 

Each edition of Link Lines for 2019-20 will include information related to the Profile for educators at all grades levels. The next edition (November/December) will focus on classroom management and behavior within this framework.
References
Virginia Department of Education. (2018, June). In brief: Graduation requirements. Retrieved from http://www.doe.virginia.gov/instruction/graduation/index.shtml