South Carolina ETV

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Columbia, SC 29201-4761
Phone: 803-737-3545

Career Quest (Grade 9-11)

Master Teacher

Kathryn Goerig

Time Allotment

Two 90-minute blocks

Overview

Career planning in a comprehensive high school is a frequently discussed idea that is rarely given much attention. Most students say that they plan to attend college. We know that, the reality in some geographic areas is, few who say they will attend actually apply or even finish. The purpose of this lesson is to provide a useful unit lesson in career planning for guidance, vocational or regular classroom use.

Through this lesson using video and the Internet, students will have a better understanding of careers that "fit" their personalities based on Holland types. They will also discover important information to consider when choosing a career and important occupational information. Finally, students will project themselves into the future and be encouraged to imagine attaining a career goal.

Subject Matter

Vocational Planning or Career Exploration

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to:

Create a personal job options list-that "fits" their personality type;
Discover specific occupational information about two chosen careers;
Identify the most important factors to keep in mind when choosing a career;
Create a personal business card that identifies students with their career titles.

South Carolina Standards

Visit SC Standards Web site

English Standard

C2 The student will use listening skills to comprehend and analyze information received in both formal and informal situations.

Research Goals: The student will access and use information from a variety appropriately selected sources to extend his or her knowledge.

E1, E2, E3 & E4: Demonstrate the ability to use note-taking strategies to record facts and opinions from sources.

Desktop Publishing Standards (Technology)

51760405: Generate a variety of documents such as . . .business cards . . . .

51760402: (Technology) Plan printed presentations of text by determining appropriate typography, spacing elements and emphasis features.

Media Components

Video

Career Cluster Decision, "How to explore and make career cluster decisions."
(Tape 3 of 5)

This tape may be purchased from

The Cress Company
10 W. Elm, Suite 1706
Chicago, IL 60610
1-800-637-2449

Web Sites

Your choices-the career key This Web site measures how similar a student is to six personality types and displays results.

America's Career InfoNet

This Web site provides career videos for 300 occupations. (Real player plug-in is needed to access the videos.)

Materials

Per student:

"Why People Work" handout
Career Key Test Scores/"Career Information" sheet (Activity Sheets 1-A
and1-B)
Business Card Planner (Activity Sheet 2)
Microsoft Publisher software

Equipment

TV and VCR
computers

Prep for Teachers

Prior to teaching this lesson, bookmark the Web sites used with Portaportal.com, a Web-based bookmarking utility that lets you store links to your favorite Web sites online. Also, load the Real Player plug in if you don't have it on your computer.
Make copies for each student of Activity Sheet 1-A: Career Key Test Scores, and Activity Sheet 1-B: "Career Information." Copy them both on the same sheet of paper.
Make a copy of Activity Sheet 2: Business Card Planner for each student.
When using media, provide students with a Focus for Media Interaction, a specific task to complete and/or information to identify during or after viewing of video segments, Web sites or other multimedia elements.

Introductory Activity

Step 1: Divide your class into groups of 3-4 students. Ask each group to list answers to the question, "Why do people work?"

Step 2: Let the students discuss and debate the list of reasons. After about 5 minutes, ask each group to give one reason.

Step 3: E-mail or place in an electronic folder the handout "Why People Work?" for students to access

Step 3: Permit students to discover if all of the reasons on this list were mentioned in the class discussion earlier. Ask the class if there is any reason listed here that was not mentioned at the beginning of the discussion. Acknowledge their discovery.

(Guide students to discover these reasons: personal satisfaction/fulfillment, contact with other people, feeling of importance, interesting and intellectual stimulation, and money. Most people work for a combination of these reasons.)

Learning Activities

Activity 1

Step 1: Direct students to log on to Portaportal.com and key in kgoerig(user name) and creek (password). Then tell students to click the Career Key link (http://www.careerkey.org/cgi/ck.pl) in the Careers Folder.

Step 2: Instruct students to read and select the first option (link) on the blue screen: "Take the Career Key Measure." Provide students with a Focus for Media Interaction by telling them to select at least three careers and click "continue" at the bottom of this first screen.

Step 3: Instruct students to answer the questions on the next four screens and click continue at the bottom of each one.

Step 4: Instruct students to stop when their Career Key Test Scores appear on the screen. Make sure everyone is finished before moving on.

(Note to Teacher: Have students read the top of this screen together or you might read it aloud alone.)

Step 5: Pass out the Activity Sheet 1-A/1-B and direct students to record their scores on the "Career Key Test Scores" side.

Step 6: Then tell students to click the yellow "next" button to the right, on the same screen and read the information. Tell students to click the yellow "next" button a second time. Have students set a bookmark at this page and then read and follow the steps as directed.

Step 7: Instruct students to select the link with the highest score.

(Note to Teacher: If a student has two areas with the same score, tell him/her to click one score and follow the prompts. Then go to his/her bookmarked page and follow the second area.)

Step 8: Students are now at a screen that lists jobs in five different work groups. Provide them with a Focus for Media Interaction by telling them to read and follow the directions and at the bottom of the page select: DONE.

Step 9: Students will arrive at a screen that is titled: your personal job options list.

Tell students DO NOT PRINT. (Note to Teacher: There is no place for them to insert their names and you will not be able to tell to whom the printouts belong.)

Step 10: Have the students write down on their Career Key Scores handout their score for each personality type and at least four careers listed under the personality type.

(Note to Teacher: Some areas may not list careers especially if the student scored very low in this personality area.)

Activity 2

Step 1: Ask your students what should they consider before making a career choice. Is it important that people be happy about the work they will do? Should people make career choices based on what their best friends choose?

Step 2: Insert Career Cluster Decision (tape 3 of 5) into your VCR. Provide your students with a Focus for Media Interaction asking them to identify items to consider before making a career decision.

START the tape at the frame showing a teenage boy in a pink shirt sitting by a computer and looking directly into the camera. He is saying, "There is no right or wrong way to make a career cluster decision." PAUSE the tape when the teen says, "Find out what makes you happy, not how does this career compare to my classmates'?"

Step 3: Check for comprehension. Ask the students: "What should someone consider before making a career decision?"

(The best decision is based on what makes you happy not the money. If you capitalize on your talents and work hard the money will follow. If you base a career on money and you do not like the work, you will not be very good at it. Also, you should have a backup plan and be realistic.)

Activity 3

Step 1: Ask students if they were going to do a report on a career area, what questions would they like answered about the career? Or, before making a final decision about going into a career, what information would they like to know?

(Note to Teacher: Guide students to realize they need to know the answers to the following: what is the nature of the work; what are the qualifications and responsibilities; what training is required; what are the most satisfying parts of the job.)

Step 2: Have the students turn their activity sheet over to the "Career Information" side.

Step 3: Tell students to go to Portaportal.com and under the Careers category select Career Information.

Step 4: Instruct them to select one of the career titles at this Web site that matches one on their personal job option list completed during the first activity. Provide students with a Focus for Media Interaction by asking them to listen to the person in the video clip as he/she explains a job and record the information on their Career Information sheet. They are to listen to at least two people.

(Note to Teacher: Some of the career titles will not match exactly. You will need to help each student select a match that is closest to his/her list.)

Culminating Activity

Step 1: Provide students with a Focus for Media Interaction by telling them that they need to think about a business card for a minute. Pass out the "planning sheet" (Activity Sheet 2: Business Card Planner) for the business card process.

Step 2: Ask students if they have ever looked at a personal business card. Identify the specific information usually found on a typical business card. (Person's Name, Title, Name of Company, Address, Phone, E-mail and perhaps a logo or picture. Encourage students to write down these general categories on their Business Card Planner sheets.) If possible, pass out a few business cards of local business people for students to see.

Step 3: Inspire students to think ahead, maybe 5-7 years from today. What careers do they believe they will be enjoying? Ask some students to share their job titles with the class.

Step 4: Have the students fill in their business card planning sheet with all of the information. Tell them that this card will be used to introduce them to other people in their business world.

Step 5: Have the students open Microsoft Publisher program on their monitors.

Step 6: Instruct students to select the Business Cards link on the left hand side. Tell the class that they may select any template except those that require special paper.

(Note to Teacher: The words: Paper Direct are found under the template. DO NOT choose these templates. Students have a choice of 15 other templates from which to choose.)

Step 7: Instruct students to double click their selections and to fill in the information that is requested keeping in mind their career visions made earlier. The business card should identify each student with his or her career title.

Step 8: Have students print out their business cards. Display these on a bulletin board labeled "Career Decision 2002."

Assessment

These completed Activity Sheets could be used as a starting point for students' career planning and career counseling. These sheets could be put into their personal career portfolio and used by guidance for future course selection.

Cross-Curricular Extensions

Technology: Have students create a PowerPoint presentation explaining the career information found in the video clips.

Have students create a personal time line using the MS Excel program with career projections 3/5/10 years after graduation.

Language Arts: Have each student write a five-paragraph report about his or her career choice.

Geography: Have students expand their research using the Web sites given here to discover the availability of jobs in South Carolina and create a state map labeling the career projections.

Community Connections

Send students out to survey local businesses. Tell them to ask the employer for the projected employment outlook. Assess if the career selected continues to be a favorable choice based on this new information.

Have students invite speakers to the class to discuss their career choices. Give extra-credit to those students that arrange all the details of the visit.

Student Materials

computers
software
pencil/paper
Activity Sheets