CAREER AWARENESS FOR TOMORROW’S SUCCESS
EDUCATION
SUCCESS
CAREERS
SEVENTH GRADE TEACHER’S GUIDE La Joya Independent School District
To:
Counseling Colleagues:
We take great pride in working together to provide career awareness lessons for all of our students district-wide. Your efforts in ensuring the implementation of these lessons is sincerely appreciated. Upon completion of the lessons for the school year, keep the career lesson logs on file at the counselor’s office for auditing purposes. Please note that a career portfolio for each student must be maintained at your campus and they are to be transferred to the next grade level counselor each year. The data that is to be maintained in the portfolio includes the Individual Student Career Log and any career interest/aptitude surveys that have been administered to the student.
Thank you for your support and should you have any questions, feel free to call Mr. Ruben Treviño at (956)323-2283.
“Career Awareness for Tomorrow’s Success” Table of Contents
I.
Rationale
II.
District Timeline
III.
Classroom Career Log Individual Student Career Log
IV.
Lessons
V.
Sources
Career and Technical Education Rationale Federal and state guidelines for Career and Technical Education (CTE) formerly known as vocational education mandate that academic and career and technical education programs be integrated. Examples of integrated instructional materials and activities may include the following: curriculum guides, lesson plans, projects, and multidisciplinary curriculum planning. La Joya I.S.D. has adopted the School to Career Connections Curriculum. The district will implement strategies to promote the CTE state goals. Goals:
1. Managing the dual roles of the family member and wage earner. 2. Gaining entry-level employment in a high skill, high wage job or continuing the students education at the post secondary level.
The School-to-Career Curriculum will be implemented in the classroom. In order to facilitate implementation, five lessons have been provided to be taught as scheduled on the timeline.
School to Career Connections Curriculum will: Promote Self-Awareness Enhance Career Exploration Develop Career Decision Making Building Interpersonal Skills Be aligned with District Plan Expectations Implementation of SCANS Skills Five copy ready Lessons.
La Joya I.S.D.
Career Awareness For Tomorrow’s Success District Timeline
Lesson #:
Week of:
I
1st Six Weeks
II
2nd Six Weeks
National Career Development Guideline: Understanding the relationship between educational achievement and career planning. Understanding the need for positive attitudes toward work and learning.
III
3 Six Weeks
Skills to locate, evaluate, and interpret career information.
IV
4th Six Weeks
Skills to prepare to seek, obtain, maintain and change jobs.
V
5th Six Weeks
Understanding how societal needs and functions influence the nature and structure of work.
rd
Skills in career planning.
Classroom Career Log 7TH Grade
Teacher: _________________ Grade Level- 7TH Grade La Joya ISD Campus:________________ Period: __________________
Title: Life Roles and The Media Date Taught:___________ SCANS: Basic/Thinking Skills
5th Six Weeks Lesson 5
Title: SCANS Skills in the Workplace Date Taught: __________ SCANS: Basic/Thinking Skills-
4th Six Weeks Lesson 4
Title: College Pays Off Date Taught:___________ SCANS: Basic/Thinking Skills
3rd Six Weeks Lesson 3
Title: Importance of a Good Job/Career Date Taught: ___________ SCANS: Basic/Thinking Skills
2nd Six Weeks Lesson 2
Title: Life Roles Date Taught: ___________ SCANSBasic Thinking – Personal Qualities
1st Six Weeks Lesson 1
Student Name
Student Initials
Student Initials
Student Initials
Student Initials
Student Initials
ID
After all lessons are completed, please keep this documentation on file at the campus.
Individual Student Career Log 7TH Grade
Place this in your career portfolio. Initial under the lesson when you complete the work.
Title: Life Roles and The Media Date Taught:___________ SCANS: Basic/Thinking Skills-
5th Six Weeks Lesson 5
Title: SCANS Skills in the Workplace Date Taught: __________ SCANS: Basic/Thinking Skills-
4th Six Weeks Lesson 4
Title: College Pays Off Date Taught:___________ SCANS: Basic/Thinking Skills-
3rd Six Weeks Lesson 3
Title:Importance of a Good Job/Career Date Taught: ___________ SCANS: Basic/ThinkingPersonal Qualities
2nd Six Weeks Lesson 2
Title:Life Roles Date Taught: ___________ SCANSBasic Thinking Skills
1st Six Weeks Lesson 1
Student Name
Student Initials
Student Initials
Student Initials
Student Initials
Student Initials
ID
Teachers: This sheet is also located at the end of the student workbook. Please have students initial after each lesson. * Once all lessons are completed, please keep this documentation on file at the campus. * When all lessons have been completed, please make sure each student places a copy of this form in their career portfolio.
Grade Level: Seventh Lesson I
Title:
Life Roles
Directions: Activity: Life Roles Ask students to think about a member of their family and pretend that they had to take care of them for the whole day. Using the handout “Family For A Day”, have students discuss what their experiences and problems/solutions might be like.
1.
2.
3.
The purpose of this lesson is for students to understand the importance of life roles. They should discover that relationships exist between family, occupation, and leisure time. Decisions will need to be made that relate to those three areas. Start the lesson by asking students if they have younger brothers and sisters. Are they partly responsible for caring for them? Do their siblings participate with them during their leisure time? The students are responsible for the whole 24 hours. Students can use the worksheet entitled “Family for a Day” to record their experiences. Remind them that their current occupation is student, which has demands of its own.
Wrap-Up:
Discuss with the students what types of problems they encountered, solutions, employed, and decisions they had to make regarding their responsibility to their “family member”. What kinds of relationships did they discover between family, occupation, and leisure?
Materials:
Family For A Day Worksheet
Time: 1 session
Family For A Day – Student Guideline Sheet
Name: _______________________________________________________________ Step 1:
Step 2:
Describe problems you encountered trying to balance family, being a student (your current occupation), and leisure time.
What types of decisions did you need to make to help solve problems listed in Step 1?
Step 3:
What solutions did you use to solve the problems listed in Step 1?
Step 4:
Describe any other thoughts or observations you feel are important that you discovered during this activity.
Grade Level: Seventh Lesson II
Title:
Importance of A Good Job/Career
Directions:
1.
2.
3.
Wrap-Up:
The purpose of this lesson is to demonstrate to students that if they want a higher quality of life (i.e., can afford higher quality goods and services) they must secure good jobs/careers. Further, in order to secure a well paying job, they must know what types of jobs pay well and are in demand, as well as what skills and attitudes they will need to get and keep those jobs. Start the lesson by describing a current purchase that you made. Describe the decision-making process that you used and what the trade-offs were in terms of quality and cost. Have students research an item for purchase. They must get the specifications and prices for three items. This can be done as homework (e.g., in the mall) or you may have catalogs and newspapers available in the classroom. Students can use the worksheet entitled “Shopwise Consumer” to organize their information.
Discuss with students what types of jobs would allow them to continuously purchase higher quality and more costly goods and services. Discuss with students what types of skills, abilities, attitudes, and training are necessary for those higher paying jobs/careers. What can they start doing now to help them prepare for those types of jobs?
Materials:
Shopwise Consumer Worksheet, Students can “shop” at the mall or from catalogs.
Time:
1 session
Shopwise Consumer
Lesson II
Use this form to compare prices, quality and name brands on the same items bought in different stores.
Item: __________________________ Purpose/use for item: _____________ Top price
$_______
Purchased at: _____________________________
Quality/Features: _______________________________________________________________________ Middle price
$ ______
Purchase at: ______________________________
Quality/Features: _______________________________________________________________________ Lowest price
$______
Purchase at: _______________________________
Quality/Features: _______________________________________________________________________ Item: __________________________ Purpose/use for item: _____________ Top price
$_______
Purchased at: _____________________________
Quality/Features: _______________________________________________________________________ Middle price
$ ______
Purchase at: ______________________________
Quality/Features: _______________________________________________________________________ Lowest price
$______
Purchase at: _______________________________
Quality/Features: _______________________________________________________________________ The education you choose after high school will determine the kind of job/career you will have and how much money you will earn. The amount of money a person earns will determine the quality of items a person may be able to purchase.
College Pays Off Grade Level:
Seventh Lesson III
Title:
College Pays Off
Directions:
Divide your students into groups and pass out the handout Going to College Pays Off. Have the groups read the information provided and to dialogue about the benefits of getting a higher education. Students are to make mental or written notes regarding the benefits. Inform students that they will present to the class their findings based on their discussions.
Wrap-Up:
Have group member(s) share their findings based on their group evaluations . Remember to review and discuss the Tip provided on the handout.
Materials:
Handout: Going to College Pays Off
Time:
1 Session
U.S. Department of Education Office of Postsecondary Education
Grade Level: Seventh Lesson IV
Title:
SCANS Skills in the Workplace
Directions:
See Attached
Wrap-Up: Lead a discussion with the students on the importance of the SCANS competencies and foundation skills in preparing for the world of work. Ask them if they know someone who has recently had training in any of these areas at their workplace. Emphasize that these competencies and skills are only part of the complete education they will receive in school. They should be made aware that they may not currently have some of these competencies and skills, but that they should be sure they pursue them between now and high school graduation in order to be competitive for good, high paying jobs. Additional materials and information can be acquired about SCANS by contacting: U.S Department of Labor Secretary’s Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills 200 Constitution Avenue, N.M. Washington, D.C. 20210 1-800-788-SKILL
Materials:
SCANS Skills Information Sheets
Time:
1 session
Lesson Plan: SCANS Skills in the Workplace 1.
This activity is intended to introduce students to the five competencies and three basic skills foundations that are required in today’s workplace. They have been developed by the Secretary’s Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills(SCANS), through the Department of Labor. The activity will help students outline and define the competencies and basic skills, which they will use in subsequent activities. Lead a discussion on how the world of work has changed over the past 40-50 years. The requirements of obtaining and keeping a job are now different from when the students’ parents entered the workforce. Emphasize that today’s employers require and seek people who are adaptable and able to learn and work in teams. Today’s workplace is now globally competitive and requires extensive use of technology. Share with your students the following chart that compares the traditional workplace with that of today and tomorrow. *The high performance model is used by today’s most successful companies, and will be used by companies that can compete in the future.
2.
3.
Traditional Model Mass production Long production runs Centralized control
Strategy
High Performance Model Flexible production Customized production Decentralized control
Production
Fixed automation End-of-line quality control Fragmentation of tasks
Labor-management confrontation Minimal qualifications accepted Workers as a cost
Hiring and Human Resources
Flexible automation On-line quality control Work teams, multi-skilled workers
Labor-management cooperation Screening for basic skills, abilities Workforce as an investment
Limited internal labor market Advancement by certified skills
Job Ladders
Internal labor market Advancement by seniority
Training Minimal for production Training sessions for everyone workers Broader skills sought Specialized for craft workers *From “Completing in the New International Economy”. Washington Office of Technology Assessment, 1990.
4.
Provide students with the handouts on SCANS competencies and three-part foundation skills. Make sure they understand the definitions of all the information. They should be made aware that the competencies and foundation skills are usually not used in isolation in the workplace. They are often integrated, with each work task drawing a several or many of the competencies and skills simultaneously. The competencies and foundation skills have been identified as the minimum that is required to obtain and keep a good, high paying job.
SCANS Skills in the Workplace
SCANS: Three-Part Foundation Skills
Basis Skills: Reads, writes, performs arithmetic and mathematical operations, listens, and speaks. A. B. C. D. E.
Reading – locates, understands and interprets written information in prose and documents such as manuals, graphs, and schedules. Writing – communicates thoughts, ideas, information, and messages in writing, and creates documents such as letters, directions, manuals, reports, graphs, and flow charts. Arithmetic/Mathematics – performs basic computations and approaches practical problems by choosing appropriately from a variety of mathematical techniques. Listening – receives, attends to, interprets and responds to verbal messages and other cues. Speaking – organizes ideas and communicates orally.
Thinking Skills: Thinks creatively, makes decisions, solves problems, visualizes, knows how to learn, and reasons. A. Creative Thinking – generates new ideas. B. Decision Making – specifies goals and constraints, generates alternatives, considers risks and evaluates and chooses the best alternative. C. Problem Solving – recognizes problems and devices and implements plan of action D. Seeing things in the Mind’s Eye – organizes and processes symbols, pictures, graphs, objects, and other information. E. Knowing How to Learn – uses efficient learning techniques to acquire and apply new knowledge and skills. F. Reasoning – discovers a rule or principal underlying the relationship between two or more objects and applies it when solving a problem. Personal Qualities: Acquires and uses information A. Responsibility – exerts a high level of effort and perseveres towards goal attainment. B. Self-Esteem – believes in own self-worth and maintains a positive view of self. C. Sociability – demonstrates understanding, friendliness, adaptability, empathy, and politeness in group settings. D. Self-Management – assesses self accurately, sets personal goals, monitors progress, and exhibits self-control. E. Integrity/Honesty – chooses ethical courses of action.
SCANS Skills in the Workplace
Five Competencies
Resources: Identifies, organizes, plans, and allocates resources. A. Time – Selects goal-relevant activities, ranks them, allocates time, and prepares and follows schedules. B. Money – Uses or prepares budgets, makes forecasts, keeps records, and make adjustments to meet objectives. C. Material and Facilities – Acquires, stores, allocates, and uses materials or space efficiently. D. Human Resources – Assesses skills and distributes work accordingly, evaluates performance and provides feedback. Interpersonal: Works with others A. Participates as a Member of a Team – contributes to group effort. B. Teaches Others New Skills C. Serves Clients/Customer – works to satisfy customers’ expectations. D. Exercises Leadership – communicates ideas to justify position, persuades and convinces others, responsibly challenges existing procedures and policies. E. Negotiates – works toward agreements involving exchange of resources, resolves divergent interest. F. Works with Diversity – works well with men and women from diverse backgrounds. Information: Acquires and uses information A. Acquires and Evaluates Information B. Organizes and Maintains Information C. Interprets and Communicates Information D. Uses computers to Process Information Systems: Understands complex inter-relationships A. Understands Systems – knows how social, organizational, and technological systems work and operates effectively with them. B. Monitors and Corrects Performance – distinguishes trends, predicts impacts on systems operations, diagnoses deviations in systems’ performance and corrects malfunctions. C. Improves or Designs Systems – suggests modifications to existing systems and develops new or alternative systems to improve performance. Technology: Works with a variety of technologies A. Selects Technology – chooses procedures, tool or equipment including computers and related technologies. B. Applies Technology to Task – understand overall intent and proper procedures for setup and operation of equipment. C. Maintains and Troubleshoots Equipment –prevents, identifies, or solves problems with equipment, including computers and other technologies.
Grade Level: Seventh Lesson V
Title:
Life Roles and the Media
Directions: 1. The purpose of this lesson is for students to examine various life roles and opportunities for men and women as represented in various media (TV, magazines, etc.) They will also expose any stereotypes, biases, or discriminatory behaviors used in advertising. 2. Start the lesson by asking students if men and women are equal in categories that include the following: physical, intelligence, grades in school, going to college, athletics, and legal system. Lead the discussion on their perceptions. 3. Have students examine advertisements in magazines, newspapers, radio, and TV. Ask them to examine how men and women are treated or represented in the media. Ask them to look for stereotypes, biases, or discriminatory behavior. Students may use the worksheet entitled “Examining Advertisements” to record their observations. They will need to research at home or in the library.
Wrap-Up:
Lead a discussion on the observations of the students. Discussion should focus on items on the student worksheets. Help them appreciate the similarities and differences between people, advantages and disadvantages of various life roles, and how stereotyping and biases can be eliminated to allow more opportunities for men and women in non-traditional career roles.
Materials:
Examining Advertisements Worksheet, Students examine materials/media on their own
Time: 1 session
ADVERTISEMENTS
Look for advertisements to see how males and females may be given different opportunities.
Check the one you reviewed:
____________ newspaper
____________ television
___________ ____________ radio magazine
Describe the article: ____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ Did you find any of the following: (describe situation) Stereo types: ___________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ Biases: ________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ Discriminatory behavior: _________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ How could the article be rewritten to give equal opportunity to females as well as males: ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
Suggested Additional Activities/Resources
Online Career Planning System Career Videos Career Day College Day Classroom Speakers Career Aptitude Survey Career Interest Inventory Survey Internet Resource http://www.bls.gov/ooh/ Career Portfolios Fieldtrips SCANS Skills in the Workplace U.S. Department of Labor Secretary’s Commission for Achieving Necessary Skills 200 Constitution Avenue, N.M. Washington, D.C. 20210
SOURCES RGV LEAD Online Career Planning System SCANS Skills in the Workplace
