Career Lessons
1st Quarter Lessons
Lesson 1 - Aspirations
monty_python_-_vocational_guidance_counsellor.mp4 | |
File Size: | 16254 kb |
File Type: | mp4 |
I really like this one because I can basically turn it in to my first introduction to PowerPoint. I've created an assignment sheet and a PowerPoint template for kids to create their PowerPoints about their future. We did this in class, and it CAN be done in one day. I showed the Monty Python video, but the kids didn't really laugh and I didn't feel it was worth the time it took to show. Skipping that, this assignment can be done in one period, though a period and a half would be great.
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Lesson 2 - Reality Check
For this assignment I had the kids look up actual homes for sale at utahrealestate.com. They found the house they wanted, then entered the full amount in the Excel sheet I created, which automatically calculated their monthly payment. (You can skip this part if you want but the kids really liked it) Then they went to Utahfutures and went to Assessment>Reality check. I did not have them do it in groups but on their own. They entered their own house payment and then followed through the rest of the reality check. At the end, they entered their amounts in the Excel sheet, and how much they have to make a year. Then they had to find three occupations from the list that they would be interested in that will support their lifestyle. It can be done in one period, but it's tight on time! If there is time, its a great opportunity to make a graph--the kids can make a pie chart of all their expenses.
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Lesson 4 - Non Traditional Careers
I had a lot of fun teaching this lesson! I wanted to make it a bit more...dramatic. So I created these signs and put them on the board. I did NOT mention anything about non-traditional careers,yet. Then I called up 10 volunteers--5 girls and 5 boys, but I didn't draw attention to their genders at all. Then I asked the class to assign each of them a job just based on how they look and what little they know of them. One by one the kids were assigned jobs and wore the sign around their necks. At the end, I told all the kids that had signs with a PURPLE string around it to come to one side, and the GREEN ones to go to the other. Then I asked the class if they'd figured out what this was about. Could they SPOT that this was about gender? It was quite fascinating see which classes stuck to gender-roles and which ones didn't. My only issue is that the lesson listed "Lab technician" as a "girl" job but I don't think anyone sees it that way. I would change that to a more obvious female non-traditional career.
After this opener, we went on to do some internet searches for statistics, as stated in the lesson. Then we looked at the PowerPoint provided that shows some fascinating graphs. The kids really liked that. I also did the 10 Girls Activity, described below. I also have full instructions in the download below if you want printed instructions.
I pulled up 10 girls and told them they represent the entire population of Utah. I pulled 4 out and told them they represent married women who work. Then I pulled three out and told them they represent women who never marry (though they probably work and may have children) Then I pulled one out and said she represents the number of widows in Utah (though it's more like 6%, not 10%). Then I pulled out 1 more girl, and told her she represents the number of divorced women (I was surprised this number is only 10%, but that is what the stats given to us said.) Finally the last girl represents the number of women in Utah that are married and don't work. I wanted to emphasize that an education and training is important--even if you plan to be a stay-at-home mom--because the reality is, most women don't get that. I can't say my numbers are totally accurate, but its gets the point across!
After this opener, we went on to do some internet searches for statistics, as stated in the lesson. Then we looked at the PowerPoint provided that shows some fascinating graphs. The kids really liked that. I also did the 10 Girls Activity, described below. I also have full instructions in the download below if you want printed instructions.
I pulled up 10 girls and told them they represent the entire population of Utah. I pulled 4 out and told them they represent married women who work. Then I pulled three out and told them they represent women who never marry (though they probably work and may have children) Then I pulled one out and said she represents the number of widows in Utah (though it's more like 6%, not 10%). Then I pulled out 1 more girl, and told her she represents the number of divorced women (I was surprised this number is only 10%, but that is what the stats given to us said.) Finally the last girl represents the number of women in Utah that are married and don't work. I wanted to emphasize that an education and training is important--even if you plan to be a stay-at-home mom--because the reality is, most women don't get that. I can't say my numbers are totally accurate, but its gets the point across!
10_girls_activity.docx | |
File Size: | 13 kb |
File Type: | docx |
2nd Quarter Lessons
Lesson 6 - Lifelong Learning Pyramid
I thought this lesson had some good stuff in it, and I liked how it made the kids familiar with the pathway papers from the state--which none of them had ever heard of and which are really important. But I did tweak it a little.
From there, I deviated a bit--or, I should say, I clarified a bit. I made a PowerPoint that has all the pathway sheets cut and pasted into it--so they open up the PowerPoint, choose their pathway, then their program, and it will take them to the pathway sheet. I didn't do this in groups because I really wanted them to think about it for themselves and how they WILL apply this. I also made a slide on the PowerPoint that had a list of all the electives at our school for 7th, 8th, and 9th grade. I revamped the worksheet A LOT, and now they actually choose classes for each grade. For 7-9, they use the list on the PowerPoint so they pick classes that are actually offered in our school that are the most closely aligned with their goal. I also reminded them that, though some of the arts classes may not appear to be directly aligned, they still have a positive affect on their overall education. Below is the PowerPoint I made, which if you use it you will need to update the 7-9th electives page for your school (I just went to the counseling office and go the registration sheets for each grade) |
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pyramid_worksheet_-_updatedbyrees.pdf | |
File Size: | 2632 kb |
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Lesson 7 - Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
Ready to be shocked?
I actually taught this lesson exactly as is. I know. Amazing, isn't it?
The worksheets were good, though I had to add a "name" line to them (who creates a worksheet without a name line???) But honestly, there's not much else to say. We had a nice discussion, the kids did all three worksheets and really enjoyed the "Do you know someone" game. So...it was a good one I guess.
I actually taught this lesson exactly as is. I know. Amazing, isn't it?
The worksheets were good, though I had to add a "name" line to them (who creates a worksheet without a name line???) But honestly, there's not much else to say. We had a nice discussion, the kids did all three worksheets and really enjoyed the "Do you know someone" game. So...it was a good one I guess.
Lesson 8 - The Relationship of Work Values to College and Careers
This one went ok, I guess. I liked the 12 values from the previous lessons a lot better, and I LOVED that game from lesson 10 and so I miss that. But still, it was a good lesson.
I started out by making laminated copies of 10 different bills, which I put up on my board. I had 1000 Columbian Pesos, 10 British Pounds, etc. Then I called up kids to go pick the bill they thought was worth the most. We did this until all the bills had been chosen. Then one by one I went though and told them what the bills are worth in American money. (I have the key for that below.) The winner is the Canadian 50, which is worth more than an American $20. That part went very well. I created a quick PowerPoint to go over each value, adding a slide with the 12 values from the old lessons because I wanted to include them too. Then I handed out the worksheet (which I altered just to give it a name line) and the kids rated their values. Then I put them into six groups and gave each group 20 $5 fake money. (For later class period I omitted the part where they rated it themselves--there just wasn't time. Then I gave out ONE worksheet to each group to fill out together.) They discussed with their groups which ones to bid for--which was actually the most valuable part of the lesson. The auction went ok. It was interesting to see which values they thought were more important. But I think it might be more fun to bid for 12 values rather than 6. |
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3rd Quarter Lessons
Lesson 9 - Identifying Career Interests
I stuck to this lessons somewhat, with a few changes. First, I put them into six groups and gave each group a paper cup with six different kind of candies in it--mini candybars, gummi's, etc. I had them organize them and categorize them how they wanted. We talked about each group and how they did it, and then how we categorize people the same way. We could do it by gender, race, GPA, height, awesomeness...etc. But today we will be doing it by personality type.
Next I had them go to:The Personality Survey here. I created this survey years back for my badge unit, and it came in handy! The kids take the survey and it tells them if they are a Doer, Thinker, Persuader, Helper, Organizer, or Creator. I pointed out who had tested as what. Then I read directly from the lesson about each of the Holland Codes, pointing out the correlation between each (Organizer=Conventional, etc). Then I did a quick overall survey--did that personality type sound like them? I made sure to point out that they might identify with two or three of them, not just one.
Next, I used Google Classroom. Previously I had set up simple Google Slides. I had a slide show for each personality type for each class. Each slide show had the title of one of the Holland Codes, then the definition, Personality traits, careers, and then a blank slide for images. The kids logged in to Google Classroom and each of the six groups was assigned a Code. They all clicked on that one PowerPoint, and so now each group was working on ONE PowerPoint for their team. They worked all period to finish it.
It was fun--the kids like working on the computer and seeing how they could collaborate on one document!
Next I had them go to:The Personality Survey here. I created this survey years back for my badge unit, and it came in handy! The kids take the survey and it tells them if they are a Doer, Thinker, Persuader, Helper, Organizer, or Creator. I pointed out who had tested as what. Then I read directly from the lesson about each of the Holland Codes, pointing out the correlation between each (Organizer=Conventional, etc). Then I did a quick overall survey--did that personality type sound like them? I made sure to point out that they might identify with two or three of them, not just one.
Next, I used Google Classroom. Previously I had set up simple Google Slides. I had a slide show for each personality type for each class. Each slide show had the title of one of the Holland Codes, then the definition, Personality traits, careers, and then a blank slide for images. The kids logged in to Google Classroom and each of the six groups was assigned a Code. They all clicked on that one PowerPoint, and so now each group was working on ONE PowerPoint for their team. They worked all period to finish it.
It was fun--the kids like working on the computer and seeing how they could collaborate on one document!
Lesson 10 - Connecting Interests to Career Pathways in STEM
I'm gonna be honest here. THIS LOOKED SO BORING. I mean total "fill out the worksheet". Not to mention the directions were really vague. I am running out of time and so I skipped it. If I have time I'll come back to it, but my schedule is so crazy right now with all the extra stuff doing (talent show, ballroom team, a huge career day) that I just didn't have time to re-write the whole thing and try to make it remotely interesting. If I end up doing it later in the quarter I will let you know!
Lesson 11 - College, Career, and Financial Responsibility
I have developed a game for this lesson that comes from this site: Peace Child International. I have taken the idea and created cards and a PowerPoint to teach the lesson. This is a great activity to teach the needs vs. wants section of this lesson plan. Make sure to download the PDF file linked above--it has some great discussion sections on some of the items that help in the discussion!
I've created the cards twice--once in small cards like the ones to the left. If you use these cards, print 5 copies of each sheet so that you can divide the students in groups, each with their own set of 45 cards. The other set is with four to a page and it's a larger set. For this one, you would hand out 6-8 cards per group and have them discuss the most important needs from what they got, then have them bring it up to the board and sort from there. Then you only need one set, which is why they are so big.
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Lesson 12 - Positive Employment Traits
I did this lesson before 10 and 11 because, quite frankly, the other two looked really boring. This one was better--it had better resources. But I didn't like the worksheet. So we didn't do one--I may write one later but I didn't have time.
At the start of class, I told the kids to use whatever resources they had to answer this question: What is 46% of 10,436? I gave them a few minutes to solve it. I told them to raise their hand once they had an answer and then just watched the way they behaved as they were figuring out the answer. After confirming the correct answer, I told them that I wasn't that interested in the answer, but I WAS interested in their reaction to the question. Did they try to solve it? Did they give up? If they got it wrong on the first try, did they try again? Did they look at their neighbor's answer to compare? Did the sit and wait for the "smart" kids to solve it? Did they even notice if their answer was wrong?
Next, I had them go to THIS SITE to take a survey on what their level of grit is. I did this BEFORE I showed the video because I wanted more honest answers and I wanted to pique their curiosity as to what "grit" is. After the test I told them not to get too caught up in their score--to remember that it CAN change. Then I showed them the provided PowerPoint about Fixed and Growth mindsets. We had a nice class discussion about it. Then we watched the Ted Talk from the lesson. We had another nice discussion afterwards, talking about what they can do to increase their "grit" score. Again, we didn't do a worksheet--I may add that later but I didn't have time to create one.
At the start of class, I told the kids to use whatever resources they had to answer this question: What is 46% of 10,436? I gave them a few minutes to solve it. I told them to raise their hand once they had an answer and then just watched the way they behaved as they were figuring out the answer. After confirming the correct answer, I told them that I wasn't that interested in the answer, but I WAS interested in their reaction to the question. Did they try to solve it? Did they give up? If they got it wrong on the first try, did they try again? Did they look at their neighbor's answer to compare? Did the sit and wait for the "smart" kids to solve it? Did they even notice if their answer was wrong?
Next, I had them go to THIS SITE to take a survey on what their level of grit is. I did this BEFORE I showed the video because I wanted more honest answers and I wanted to pique their curiosity as to what "grit" is. After the test I told them not to get too caught up in their score--to remember that it CAN change. Then I showed them the provided PowerPoint about Fixed and Growth mindsets. We had a nice class discussion about it. Then we watched the Ted Talk from the lesson. We had another nice discussion afterwards, talking about what they can do to increase their "grit" score. Again, we didn't do a worksheet--I may add that later but I didn't have time to create one.
I made a PowerPoint that makes it easier to teach this lesson with all the stuff above. I do not do a worksheet with this one--just because...does there ALWAYS have to be a worksheet??
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Lesson 15 - 1, 2, 4 or More
I finally taught this one! I've been bad about doing CDA's during 4th quarter, but this time I finally settled down and taught this thing, and I actually liked it! I created a PowerPoint to go with it, which makes it a lot easier to keep it cohesive. So first, I showed the video about The World of Possibilities, then we talked about 1, 2, 4 or More (PPT) and then we watched the Teen Takeover video. Then we made the folding origami thing, which I actually recolored in Photoshop so that there were lots of colors to choose from. And then I created an exit slip in the form of a Google Survey, but we ran out of time and the kids didn't actually do it. But it asked about their own goals and priorities with higher education.
cda_15.pptx | |
File Size: | 890 kb |
File Type: | pptx |
Lesson 16 - STEM and More
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