Middle School Career Development Program

Middle School Career Development (7
th
8
th
Grade)
I will be implementing a program for middle school students and I find that it will be
most beneficial for my students, at their current age, to not focus on helping them understand
specific careers but instead to help them better comprehend their own identity. This can occur by
encouraging personality traits that are universally desired in the workplace. Forbes magazine did
a study to determine what employers are most looking for in an employee and the top five were
empathy, communication, respect, attitude, and confidence. My prerogative as a school
counselor is to be able to build these traits within my students own identity so that they will be
have the utmost preparation when leaving my school and venturing further into their own lives. I
believe this program will be essential for students at this age and developmental level in order for
them to understand how the world works and how they can reach their full potential.
Establishing Strong Traits for the Working World School Year Themes:

Empathy*
Communication*
Confidence
Respect
Good Attitude

For my lesson plan examples I will focus on the themes of empathy* and
communication*. These traits are crucial tools for students to have as they leave school and enter
into the working world. Developing and mastering these abilities early on in ones pre-teen years
will help students reach their greatest potential in life. This can happen because empathy is
related to social competence and academic achievement. Being able to identify, understand, and
react to how someone is feeling provides the foundation for helpful and socially responsible
behavior, friendships, cooperation, coping and conflict resolution. Research shows that young
children with higher levels of empathy tend to be less aggressive, better liked, more socially
skilled, and have a better future in the professional field than those children with lower levels
(Arsenio, Cooperman, & Lover, 2000). Communicating skills, such as listening and responding
respectfully to others, are also required for success both in and out of the classroom. Throughout
the school year it will be my professional goal to help better establish these personal qualities
into each and every individual student through a series of lesson plans with the hope that they
can get a head start with their preparation for high school, college, and their future career. All
students in 7
th
and 8
th
grade will be split up into carefully selected diverse groups and be paired
with these other students for the remainder of the year for each lesson. Specific time will be
allotted throughout the year to bring each group down in organized fashion so that all students
have the same opportunities to achieve what the program can give them. Before the lessons
begin, students will be given a survey to show how much they understand themselves in the
areas of empathy, communication, respect, attitude, and confidence. At the end of the year the
students will be given the same test to see how much improvement they have achieved
throughout the year long career guidance program.

Lesson #1: Working in Groups Mix-and-Max Challenge
Students will be introduced to my program and their groups they will be in for the year and will
identify and practice skills for successful communication. Students will be able to:
Identify behaviors involved in listening and respecting others ideas
Apply group communication skills
Define Empathy
Apply empathy skills while identifying feelings
Individuals, on their own, will identify hopes, plans, and challenges they face in life. They will
then form into groups and match feeling words with faces showing those same emotions. The
group will then be asked to notice listening and respect behaviors that helped the group work
together to figure out which face matched with which feeling word. We will then explore how
this will be beneficial to understand when you leave middle school and enter high school and
beyond.
This lesson will be done in two parts: After the first above part is finished the group will come
back the next week and review how the group went the week before. Then we will discuss how
the first part of the group affected their previous weeks relationships. What interesting things
came to mind? How was the group work relatable? Were there any relationships that were
benefitted by what was learned? Students will then write down two hopes and challenges
regarding what they have learned.

Lesson #2: Networking Developing Friends and Allies
Students with more friends tend to have greater success in school and life. In this lesson, students
will learn to work together to learn how to make it easier to make friends. Students will do this
by thinking about ways to make new friends and be an ally to those who may be more isolated
than themselves. This lesson requires the previously learned ability of empathy to be integrated
into the activity. Students will be able to:
Apply newly learned empathy skills
Apply active listening skills
Identify ways to make friends and join groups
Define the term ally and identify ways that they can network now and in the future
Students will be shown a video clip of two students talking about making friends in middle
school. The group will then discuss and analyze those students in the video. Students will then
break into their groups and brainstorm different ideas that they could introduce to those students
in the video about better ways to make friends or empathizing on the abilities that they were
already showing. Students will then write down, individually, what is important to them about
friendship. A week later, in the second part of the lesson plan, the students will come back and
talk about what was learned in the previous session. The video will then be shown again of the
two students discussing how to make friends. The class of students will then be asked to split up
into their groups and discuss new ideas that may have come up that they could use to help those
same kids out if they were present in the classroom today. Students will come back and talk
about what they have discovered about connecting with others and what can be so beneficial for
attaining allies in life. How can this be used when they are done with school. What are the
advantages of networking? These questions can used to further discussion in the classroom into
how to see the rewards one can have for learning how to make friends.

Lesson #3: Considering Perspectives
Perspective taking is required to understanding empathy. Students can learn how to build healthy
relationships by learning to think about other peoples feelings and experiences. This lesson will
be just one part with the students being shown a YouTube video clip presenting two girls who
are taking part in a talent show. The students will be shown this video clip in order to identify
different perspectives that each of the girls have regarding their part in the talent show. Students
will be able to:
Understand that peoples perspectives are based on their feelings, experiences, and needs
or wants
Recognize the value in being able to consider anothers perspective
Apply perspective taking skills
After the video is shown there will be a group exchange where students discuss each girls
perspective. Then with a partner, each individual student will seek to explain to the other partner
what assumptions each girl made. The class will then watch another part to the video clip about
the feelings behind each of the girls true story. The students will then get into their groups and
talk about what things changed on how they viewed the girls and what things stayed the same. A
further group discussion is likely to develop from this. After that is over then the students will go
back to their partners and practice considering possible experiences, feelings, or needs or wants
as reasons for someones perspective.
Lesson #4: Exploring Careers
In this lesson we will take a break from personality traits that can help build a better success in
each individual student. Students will acquire the skills to investigate the world of work in
relation to knowledge of self and to make informed career decisions. They will also work on
building a portfolio that will be completed by the end of the year that includes resume building
and information on what careers they want to further explore. Students will be able to:
State which occupations they feel are most valuable
Acquire skills to build a resume
Understand which careers have which salaries
Learn that the compensation for work is not always equal to the value of work
Students will be given a list of jobs and services. The students will then rank the jobs according
to the amount they feel should be paid to the profession. A group discussion will take place about
how the students lists compare to others. The students will then choose one of those careers to
further explore and take steps toward building a resume geared toward attaining that specific job.
Lesson #5: Being Assertive
This lesson is great to transfer the theme of empathy and communication toward the theme of
having confidence. Practicing being assertive can help students express themselves healthily. It
also gets them ready to take a stand against those who come across them in a negative situation,
such as dealing with a bully to how to handle risky situations such as drugs and violence.
Students can learn to be more assertive by practicing appropriate body language, facial
expression, tone of voice, and choice of words. Students will be able to:
Distinguish differences between passive, assertive, and aggressive communication styles
Identify and assume the physical and verbal characteristics of assertive communication
Apply assertive communication skills
In partners, students will identify communication styles using cartoon situations. They will then
come into the big class discussion dealing with understanding characteristics of passive,
aggressive, and assertive communication styles. After that, students will break into their groups
and, using video vignettes, identify characteristics of passive, aggressive, and assertive
communication. The class will then come back together to talk about the benefits of assertive
communication. This lesson will require me to make three signs for the video vignettes with the
words of passive, assertive, and aggressive and place them on the wall about 5 or 6 feet apart so
that the students can easily distinguish between each of them.

I will make sure that all three tiers on the RTI scale will be included in each one of my
lessons. The 80% of the students who typically respond to core curriculum will take part in the
normal lesson plans. For those other 20% of students in the top two tiers who need more intense
interventions I will have strategies ready to help accommodate them such as:
Getting families involved
Adapting to culturally diverse students
Preparing for those students with disabilities
Planning for those students who are do not speak English as their first language
Families play a critical role in the development of their children and so to keep families
up to date on my program I will send a family letter home with the each of my students detailing
each theme switch that I will be applying to the career guidance program. Keeping families
informed will help to create better relationships with the students and the parents as well as the
parents with the school. These letters will also encourage parents to ask questions or even
volunteer in the program. I will aim to make sure that there is no ambiguity between, myself,
students, parents, and the program.
Adapting my program to fit the needs of all students will be of utmost concern
throughout the year. To do this in my lessons for a culturally diverse class I integrate each
students own story into the lesson plan and ask questions about students unique cultural
background. I will also form groups heterogeneously for all the activities in order to broaden all
students cultural awareness. The most important aspect of providing my program to culturally
diverse students is just being aware of each students differences and realize that different
cultures and different interpretations of social behaviors. What may be right for one culture may
not be right for another.
How I will accommodate for those students with disabilities is to be very specific in my
instructions. I can do this by breaking down each lesson plan until it is very clear to each student
by repeating and practicing each new skill. What will be a priority of mine is to encourage
others, such as special education teachers, to join me in teaching my lesson plans so that I am
better prepared to fit the needs of all my students, including those with difficulties learning new
school concepts.
Going further with students with special needs I will include instructions for those with
language barriers. To help these students I will make an effort to speak clearly with an even pace
and allow plenty of time for questions. I will also employ many lessons that include visual aids
that can bring thoughts to the point where it can be understood without knowing English. Along
with co-teaching with special education teachers, I will also bring ELL teachers on board so that
they can clarify anything potential confusion that I may not understand.
ASCA Cross-walking Tool
Lessons
CAREER DEVELOPMENT DOMAIN

#1

#2

#3 #4 #5
STANDARD A: Students will acquire the skills to investigate the world of work in
relation to knowledge of self and to make informed career decisions.

Competency A:1 Develop Career Awareness
X X X

X
C:A1.1 develop skills to locate, evaluate, and interpret career information
X
C:A1.2 learn about the variety of traditional and nontraditional occupations
X
C:A1.3 develop an awareness of personal abilities, skills, interests, and motivations X X X

X
C:A1.4 learn how to interact and work cooperatively in teams X X X

X
C:A1.5 learn to make decisions X X X

X
C:A1.6 learn how to set goals X
C:A1.7 understand the importance of planning X X
C:A1.8 pursue and develop competency in areas of interest X X X

X
C:A1.9 develop hobbies and vocational interests X
C:A1.10 balance between work and leisure time X X X
x

Competency A:2 Develop Employment Readiness

C:A2.1 acquire employability skills such as working on a team, problem-solving and X X X
X X
organizational skills
C:A2.2 apply job readiness skills to seek employment opportunities x X X
X x
C:A2.3 demonstrate knowledge about the changing workplace
C:A2.4 learn about the rights and responsibilities of employers and employees x X X
X x
C:A2.5 learn to respect individual uniqueness in the workplace x X X

x
C:A2.6 learn how to write a resume
x
C:A2.7 develop a positive attitude toward work and learning x X X
X X
C:A2.8 understand the importance of responsibility, dependability, punctuality,
integrity, and effort in the workplace
X X X

X
C:A2.9 utilize time and task-management skills X X X

x
STANDARD B: Students will employ strategies to achieve future career goals with
success and satisfaction.

Competency B:1 Acquire Career Information

C:B1.1 apply decision making skills to career planning, course selection, and career x x
x
transition
C:B1.2 identify personal skills, interests, and abilities and relate them to current
career choice
x X X

x
C:B1.3 demonstrate knowledge of the career planning process
x
C:B1.4 know the various ways in which occupations can be classified
x
C:B1.5 use research and information resources to obtain career information
x
C:B1.6 learn to use the internet to access career planning information x
x x
C:B1.7 describe traditional and non-traditional occupations and how these relate to
career choice
x
C:B1.8 understand how changing economic and societal needs influence
employment trends and future training.

x

Competency B:2 Identify Career Goals

C:B2.1 demonstrate awareness of the education and training needed to achieve
career goals
X X X
X x
C:B2.2 assess and modify their educational plan to support career x
C:B2.3 use employability and job readiness skills in internship, mentoring,
shadowing, and/or other work experience.
X X X
X x
C:B2.4 select course work that is related to career interests
x
C:B2.5 maintain a career planning portfolio x

STANDARD C: Students will understand the relationship between personal qualities,

education, training, and the world of work.

Competency C:1 Acquire Knowledge to Achieve Career Goals

C:C1.1 understand the relationship between educational achievement and career X X X
X x
success
C:C1.2 explain how work can help to achieve personal success and satisfaction x X X

x
C:C1.3 identify personal preferences and interests which influence career choice and x X X
X x
success
C:C1.4 understand that the changing workplace requires lifelong learning and
acquiring new skills
x
C:C1.5 describe the effect of work on lifestyle X X

x
C:C1.6 understand the importance of equity and access in career choice
x
C:C1.7 understand that work is an important and satisfying means of personal X X

x
expression

Competency C2 Apply Skills to Achieve Career Goals

C:C2.1 demonstrate how interests, abilities and achievement relate to achieving X X X

x
personal, social, educational, and career goals
C:C2.2 learn how to use conflict management skills with peers and adults x X X

x
C:C2.3 learn to work cooperatively with others as a team member x X X

x
C:C2.4 apply academic and employment readiness skills in work-based learning x X X

x
situations such as internships, shadowing, and/or mentoring experiences

School Year Calendar
LEGEND:

Responsive Services- Activities designed to
help individual students establish personal goals
and develop future school plans.

School Counseling Curriculum- The
instructional program that facilitates the
systematic delivery of guidance lessons or
activities.

Individual Student Planning- Activities
designed to help individual students establish
personal goals and develop future school plans.

System Support- Programs that establish,
maintain, enhance, and support the school
counseling program.
September:

Responsive Service:
Daily- Parent phone calls/e-mails
Daily-New Student Registrations

Counseling Curriculum:
New Student Orientation
7
th
& 8
th
Grade Classroom Orientations

Individual Student Planning:
Finalize the Master Schedule
Counseling Staff Assignments/Caseload Review
Daily-Academic planning and adjustment for all students
Complete Student Email Set up

System Support:
7
th
Grade Orientation
Weekly Counseling Meetings with Administration
Weekly Consultation with Teacher
Monthly Administration Meeting
October

Responsive Service:
Weekly-Parent Conferences
Daily- Individual Counseling
Daily-Parent Phone Calls/e-mails

Introduce Empathy Theme
Form Groups
Prepare for state testing
Parent Night
Complete Lesson #1 with newly formed
groups
October

Individual Student Planning :
Daily-Academic planning and adjustment for all students
Weekly High School Scheduling Representative Visits

System Support:
Schools Curriculum Night
Weekly Consultation with Teachers
Monthly Administration Meeting
-Professional Development

November

Responses Services:
Weekly-New Student Registrations
Weekly Parent/ Teacher Conferences
Daily- Parent Phone Calls/ e-mails

Continue Empathy Theme
Lunch day with Counselor
Lunch and Learn- High School and Academic
Preparation
-Complete Lesson #2

College Representative Visits
College Applications and Recommendations
Letters
Daily Academic planning for all students
Student Evaluations

System Support:
Weekly Counseling Meetings
Crisis Intervention Training
Counselor meetings

December

Responsive Services:
Weekly-New Student Registrations
Weekly-Parent Conferences
Daily-Parent Phone Calls/ e-mails

Introduce Communication Theme
-Complete Lesson #3
-send out letters to parents
Financial Aid Workshop
State Testing

High School preparation
Daily-Academic planning and adjustment for all
students

System Support:
Weekly Counseling Meetings with support staff
Administration Meetings
-Professional Development
January

Responsive Services

Counseling Curriculum
Newsletter Sent out to students and parents
Lesson #4
State Testing
Student of the Semester Awards
Begin Lesson #5

Scheduling for 2
nd
semester
Daily-Academic planning for students
February

Responsive Services

State Testing Results Presentations 8
th
Grade
Finish Lesson #5
Lunch and Learn- College and Academic
Introduce Confidence Theme
Send Out Confidence Theme letters to homes
Virtual Courses Registration
7
th
and 8
th
grade Classroom Guidance
Daily-Academic planning for students students
System Support:
Weekly Counseling Meetings with Support Staff
Vertical Teaming/8th Grade Transition
Crisis Intervention Planning
System Support:
Professional Development
March

Responsive Services

Introduce Respect Theme
-Send Respect Theme Letters home
Annual Course Registration
Classroom Guidance
-Career Guidance Lesson #6

Individual Student Planning
7
th
and 8
th
grade Failure Letter
High School Visits

System Support:

April

Responsive Services

Registration for 6
th
grade schools
Classroom Guidance
Parent Night
Lesson #7 for Career Guidance
Newsletter

Individual Academic planning for advance 8
th

grade students for High School

System Support:

May

Responsive Services

Introduce New Theme for Career Guidance
-Send letters home about new theme
Lessons #8 & #9
Summer School Registration (Traditional and
Virtual)

Individual Academic planning
Master Schedule, course request entry

System Support:
Failure Letters all grade levels
June

Responsive Services

7
th
grade Progress Presentations
8
th
grade Progress Presentations
Summer Registration
State Testing Score distribution

Individual Academic planning
Master Schedule

System Support:
Honors Night

CALENDAR WEEK 1

Monday:
6-6:30: Emails and voicemail (responsive services)
6:30-7: Daily academic planning (individual student planning)
7-8: Individual counseling (responsive services)
8-9: Weekly counseling meeting (system support)
9-12:30: Lunch day with counselor Academic planning for high school (counseling curriculum)
12:30-1: Student schedules (individual student planning)
1-2: New student registrations (responsive services)
2-4: Parent/Teacher conferences (responsive services)

Tuesday
8-9: Counselor meetings (system support)
9:10: Introduce future groups for career guidance with 7
th
& 8th graders (counseling curriculum)
10-11: group counseling on anger management (responsive services)
11-12: IEP meetings with students (individual planning)
12:30-1: Send out theme letters to parents (counseling curriculum)

Wednesday
6:00-6:30: Emails and voicemail (responsive services)
6:30-7: Student meeting about high school with 8
th
graders (individual student planning)
8-9: Administration meeting (system support)
9-11: Lesson #2 part 1 with 7
th
grade: Developing friends and allies (counseling curriculum)
11-30-12: Deal with teacher referrals (responsive service)
12:30-1: Weekly consultation with teachers (system support)
1-2: Anger management class with 7
th
students (responsive services)
Thursday
6:30-7: Daily Academic planning (individual student planning)
7-10: State testing (counseling curriculum)
th
grade: Developing friends and allies (counseling curriculum)
12-1: Deal with crisis (responsive services)
Friday
6-9: Crisis intervention training (system support)
9-10: Daily academic planning (individual student planning)
10-12: Financial aid workshop for 7
th
graders (counseling curriculum)
12-1: Conflict resolution for 8
th
2-4: Professional Development (system support)

CALENDAR WEEK 2
Monday
6- 6:30 Emails and voicemails (responsive services)
6:30-7: New student registration (individual student planning)
8-9: Weekly counseling meeting (system support)
9- 12: Go over feedback and results from lesson #2 for 7
th
& 8
th
12-2: Anger management for 8th grade (responsive services)

Tuesday
8-9: Student scheduling and registration (individual student planning)
9-12: Financial aid workshop for 8
th
12-1: Conflict resolution class with 7
th
1-2: Data entry (system support)
Wednesday
6:00-6:30: Emails and voicemail (responsive services)
9-10: IEP meetings with students (individual student planning)
10-12: Lunch and learn High school preparation (counseling curriculum)
12-1: College bound student group (counseling curriculum)
1-2: Administration meeting (system support)
2-4: Parent/Teacher meetings (responsive services)
Thursday
8-11: Tier 2 & 3 student meeting about current guidance lessons (counseling curriculum)
th
graders: Networking (counseling curriculum)
1-2: Weekly consultation with teachers (system support)

Friday
8-11: Field trip to local high school to explore potential coursework for their future (counseling
lesson)
th
graders: Networking (counseling curriculum)
2-4: Professional development (system support)

References

Arsenio, W.F., Cooperman, S., & Lover, A. (2000). Affective predictors of peer acceptance.
Developmental Psychology, 36, 438-448.
Niles, S.G. & Harris-Bowlsbey, J. (2009). Career development interventions in the 21
st
century
(3
rd
Ed). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education Inc.

Middle School Career Development Program

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