Date: May 4, 2003

Grade Level: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Subject(s):

• Vocational Education/Careers
• Language Arts/Writing

Duration: 8 class sessions or more, depending on the abilities of the students

Description: It is never too soon to think about the future! Students, in just a few short years, will become life long learners and workers; it is important for them to know themselves, their abilities, and their interests in order to fulfill their working potential. This unit will start young people thinking of jobs they might find satisfying, what they can do now to start to get the skills needed for the job, and what education and skills will still be needed.

Goals:
National Career Development Guidelines :

1. Self-Knowledge competencies
   Develop a positive self-concept through confidence in their abilities to plan for and realize their career, education and life goals; understand how their decisions and actions can affect all areas of their lives and affect attainment of their career and life goals
2. Educational and Occupational Exploration competencies
   See the connections between their educational choices and performance and their chances for success in a desired career
3. Career Planning competencies
   Develop good decision-making skills; place career choices within the context of life goals; create pathways between their current situations and their goals – now and as the get older

• 7. Students conduct research on issues and interests by generating ideas and questions, and by posing problems. They gather, evaluate, and synthesize data from a variety of sources to communicate their discoveries in ways that suit their purpose and audience.
• 8. Students use a variety of technological and information resources to gather and synthesize information and to create new knowledge.

1. Students will find out their interests by taking career interview quizzes.
2. Students will decide on three jobs that they might like to have in the future.
3. Students will use the Internet to research facts about the jobs selected.
4. Students will decide on the skills, training, and education needed to have the job of their choice.
5. Students will fill in a resume.
6. Students will review business letter writing.
7. Students will write an introductory letter explaining to the company of their choice why he/she would be a good candidate for the job chosen.

• computers with Internet access
• paper and pens/pencils
• Job Selection Charts
• Job Task
• Resume Guide and Explanation
• Questions for Thought
• Page Letter Form (for students needing more structure)
• Rubric

Handouts in .pdf format; requires free Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Click the icon to obtain the free Reader.

Teacher Preparation:
Run off copies of the Task, Rubric, Job Selection Charts, Resume Guide Forms, Questions, and Letter Form (for those students needing more structure). Look at the web sites, especially the two that will begin the unit by asking students questions about themselves (Princeton Review Career Quiz and Career Interests Game.) Become familiar with the Task and Resume before handing them out to the class.

Instruction and Activities:

Day 1:
Begin the class discussion by talking about jobs or tasks the students do at home or for others. As the discussion continues, ask students what skills they need to perform these jobs and tasks. (These can be listed on the board or overhead.) Next, ask students if they think what they are doing now will have an impact on their future work. While a few students might already be working towards a goal, most young people will not see the relationship between the skills they are learning and developing now and how these will affect their future careers. It is very important that boys and girls be aware of how important their achievements, their education, and their goals are to the occupations they might want to enter as adults. This first day's discussion should lead students to the study that they are to begin. If there is time, hand out the Task and the Rubric for the lesson. Go over these in detail emphasizing what students will be doing and what is expected of them.

Day 2:
If computers are available, begin the study by letting students take the Princeton Review Career Quiz. This should take the majority of the class period. Bring students back to whole group to let them discuss and share their findings. If computers are not available for the entire class, students can be asked to list everything that they do well and those things that they do not do well. After a few minutes of individual listings, bring the group together to discuss the abilities of the class as a whole. List the skills on the board or overhead. From the list begin a discussion of what jobs might utilize these skills. An example might be the skill of "working with my hands," and the jobs from this skill might be a carpenter, artist, sculptor, typist, etc. Again, list the jobs by the skills that have been recorded. This should take the entire class period. If the Task and Rubric have not been handed out, do so at this time. Review them carefully so that students will know what they will be doing and what is expected of them.

Day 3:
Students should begin by reviewing the web site http://www.scois.org/YourPathwaytoSuccess.pdf that lists 16 clusters of jobs and the amount of money a beginning employee might expect to make in the job. From the list, let boys and girls select three that might be of particular interest to them. They will add these jobs to the Job Selection Chart for further research. If computers are not available for each student, have boys and girls brainstorm any job that they think they might like to have as a future career. Some will list the usual, NBA star or other sports figure. Let them, and then encourage them to think of their likes, their abilities, and what else they might like to do. Most students are not even aware of all of the possibilities. It might even be helpful to list jobs as a whole group. At the end, however, students should be able to add three jobs for the Job Selection Chart.

Days 4-5:
The next two days students will research and complete the Job Selection Charts with the three jobs that they have chosen. The other web sites can be suggested or students can search on their own. Books, encyclopedias, and articles would also be helpful if not all students can work at the computer at the same time. At the end of the class period, come back as a group to discuss any interesting findings. Especially stress the future education that students might need to pursue or the training that they may need to have.

Day 6:
Students will now decide upon the one job that they have researched which most interests them given the data they have discovered. At this point they begin the task of filling in a resume and writing a cover letter explaining why they should receive the job in the future. Begin by going over the Resume Form and how it should be filled in. Then allow students to complete the blank Resume Form. This should probably take the entire class period. Remind students that the Resume will be read by future employers and must use correct spelling, word usage, and punctuation.

Day 7:
After the Resumes have been completed, students will now write a persuasive letter that tells the employer why he/she is the best person for the job. Students should state their qualifications, their talents, their experiences, their knowledge, and their future education plans in the letter. The Questions Page can be used to start their thinking, but some students might feel confident enough to write from their research and resume form. At this time you should review the business letter form with students: heading, inside address, greeting, body, closing, and signature with the correct punctuations. Students should begin to make their first drafts, knowing that editing will need to occur, and rewriting in final form will be necessary. Letters can also be typed on the computer.

Day 8:
Students will edit, revise, and rewrite their resumes and persuasive letters in their final form. As time allows, let students share their letters with their classmates.

Lesson Extensions:
For students who finish early, an elaboration of the lesson would be to have the student create a life from the job they have chosen. For instance, how much would they be able to afford for an apartment or house, what would they spend on food, clothing, health care? While a salary might seem like a large sum to a young person, the realities of living are sometimes shocking.

Assessment: The Rubric, resume, cover letter, class participation, and teacher observation are all forms of assessment.

Useful Internet Resources:
* Princeton Review Career Quiz
http://www.princetonreview.com/cte/default.asp

* Monster.com - Job profiles with details about jobs
http://content.monster.com/jobprofiles/

* Search Job Profiles
http://www.jobprofiles.org/jpsearchfm.htm

* 16 Career Clusters and the amount of money made by the jobs
http://www.scois.org/YourPathwaytoSuccess.pdf

* 10 Steps to Planning for Your Future
http://www.mapping-your-future.org/MHSS/

* Standard Resume Form
http://www.quintcareers.com/resume.html

* Action verbs for filling in resumes
http://www.quintcareers.com/action_alpha.html

* National Career Development Guidelines
http://icdl.uncg.edu/ft/120899-04.html

* NCTE/IRA Standards for the English Language Arts
http://www.ncte.org/standards/standards.shtml