Career Awareness, Exploration, and Planning

Activity 1: Jobs and Roles

Foundational Objectives:

Awareness and knowledge of the interrelationships of life roles.

Awareness and knowledge of different occupations and the skills needed to
access, understand and use career information.
Awareness and knowledge about changing gender roles.

Learning Objectives:

The student will:

 identify the physical activities associated with various jobs and roles.
 describe the changing life roles of men and women in work and family.

C.E.L.s: COM, CCT, PSVS,

Time: One class period.

Activity:

1. Explain to the class that different members will be asked to demonstrate

activities in different job roles. They are not allowed to use any verbal
cues.
2. Secretly give each student an occupation to perform. Suggested
occupations include teacher, farmer, banker, truck driver, fast food
worker, trapper, salesperson, professional athlete, etc.
3. Students then take turns acting out the worker's duties, while the rest of
the class will guess what jobs are being acted out.
4. Have the student discuss the physical activities of the job they just
performed.
(a) Is there a lot of activity or little activity?
(b) Is there a great deal of heavy lifting or very little?
(c) Can the job be performed by both men and women. Why or why not?
5. In pairs, have the students discuss whether they would like a job that is
physically demanding. Why or why not?
6. Brainstorm a list of changing roles of men and women and discuss the
impact on occupational choices.

Additional Activities:

Invite a construction worker to class as a guest speaker to discuss his/her job. If

possible, invite both a female and a male construction worker.
Evaluation:

Activity 2: Roles and Behaviours

Foundational Objectives:

Awareness and knowledge about changing gender roles.

Awareness of the value of knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to interact
successfully with others.

Learning Objectives:

The student will:

 describe how gender-role stereotypes influence behaviour and reactions to

life role situations.
 demonstrate healthy ways of dealing with conflicts, stress, and emotions
in self and others.

C.E.L.s: COM, CCT, IL, PSVS

Materials:

 small pieces of paper

 two containers

Time:  One class period.

Activity:

1. Explain to the class that you have prepared a game for them which is very
similar to charades. You have prepared a number of pieces of paper each
of which has either "boy" or "girl" written on it. You have also prepared
a number of situations.
2. Have students draw two slips of paper. One slip tells them to be a boy or a
girl. The other slip tells them about a situation. (Students may choose to
work in pairs or groups.)
Some possible situations:
(a) Two employees get into a hot argument.
(b) A co-worker is cheating the employer.
(c) You lost your company uniform.
(d) An employee under your supervision is regularly late for work.
(e) Your co-workers plan a birthday celebration for you.
(f) You receive an "Outstanding Employee Award."
 3. Have students act out the ending of the situation they picked. Discuss
issues from the role-playing experience.
4. The class then tries to guess whether they are acting as a boy or a girl and
identify the situation.
5. After students have completed the game, ask them to discuss what took
place. Was it easier to guess the situation or the sex they were portraying?
Do boys and girls act differently in similar situations? Are boys and girls
treated alike or differently in similar situations? Are males and females
treated differently in various jobs?
6. Follow up: Have boys brainstorm ideas and develop a list of ways girls
are treated unequally. Have girls do the same but why they feel boys are
treated unequally. Share list.

Additional Activities:

Collect articles about related issues from the newspaper. Divide the class into
groups. Each member of the group is given a different article to read and present
to the rest of the group (jigsaw strategy).

Evaluation:

A self-assessment rating scale may be used as an assessment tool for students to

assess how gender-role stereotypes influence their behaviour.

Resources:

Adapted from Developmental guidance classroom activities, Vocational Studies

Centre, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1991.

Activity 3: Getting Occupational Information

Foundational Objective:    Awareness and knowledge of occupations and skills to

access, understand, and use occupational information.

Learning Objectives:
The student will:

 identify sources to obtain information about occupations, including self-

employment.
 describe knowledge and skills needed in a variety of occupational groups.
 identify various occupations.

C.E.L.s: COM, CCT, IL, PSVS, TL

Materials:

 chalkboard
 chalk
 paper
 pencil or pen
 student notebooks

Time: Two class periods.

Activity:

Session 1 -

1. Have students identify resources for obtaining occupational information.

List on the chalkboard:
(a) resources in the library
(b) resources in the counsellor's office
(c) Canada Employment Centre
(d) Community Bulletin Boards
(e) newspapers, magazines, computer programs, etc.
2. Have students discuss the kinds of information they may need to make an
occupational choice:
(a) abilities, aptitudes, interests
(b) requirements of the job
(c) education and training needed
(d) other important information
3. Have students identify, discuss, and list in their notebooks, the variety of
places (agencies and institutions) where one can obtain information about
occupations.
4. Have students identify five occupations that they would like to know more
about.
5. Have students develop an interview questionnaire for homework, then
interview individuals who are in occupations that interest them (if
individuals are not available in the community then use other career
sources to obtain the information).

Session 2 -

1. Review the previous session and discuss the interviews.

2. Have students report their findings from the interview back to class.
 3. Make a list of occupations that students have obtained information about
during their interviews.
4. Identify differences of male and female occupational choices.
5. At the end of the session, have students individually write a list of
occupational information resources and write a description about one
occupation that is of interest to them. The lists and descriptions could be
inserted in a class scrapbook.

Additional Activities:

Evaluation:

See Appendix C for sample Student Self-assessment for Preparing and

Conducting an Interview.

Resources:

Prospects (distributed to schools)

Saskatchewan Education, Training, and Employment

Activity 4: Businesses and Occupational Opportunities

Foundational Objective:   Awareness and knowledge of different occupations

and skills needed to access, understand, and use occupational information.

Learning Objectives:

The student will:

  identify sources to obtain information about occupations, including self-
employment.
 identify contributions of businesses within the community.

C.E.L.s: COM, CCT, IL, PSVS, NUM

Materials:

 pens
 paper
 graph paper
 telephone books

Time: Two class periods.

Activity:

Session 1 -

1. Use the Yellow Pages of a local or regional telephone directory to have

students locate and list businesses in the area.
2. Assign each student two or three businesses to find out what they do.
3. Have students share their descriptions of these businesses with the class.
4. Have students discuss these businesses with emphasis on the question,
"Were you aware these businesses were in your community and sources
for career opportunities?".

Session 2 -

1. Divide the class into seven groups. Provide each group with a telephone
book.
2. Assign each group to count the number of businesses represented by one of
the following categories:
(c) food service
(a) construction (b) health care (d) transportation
(g) communication
(e) manufacturing (f) law (h) sports
(i) arts (j) recreation (l) misc.
(k) consumer
3. Using the results, make a large graph showing the number of businesses
in each category.
4. Discuss which category has the largest number of businesses and which
has the least number of businesses.
5. Have students discuss what the community would be like without one of
these categories.

Additional Activities:

Have students interview local business people. Share results.

Activity 5: Technology and Its Impact on Occupations

Foundational Objectives:

Awareness and knowledge of different occupations and the knowledge and skills
needed to access, understand and use occupational information.
Awareness of change and skills needed to cope with Life Transitions.

Learning Objective:

The student will:

 describe the effects that societal, economic and technology change have on
occupations.

C.E.L.s: COM, CCT, PSVS, TL

Materials:

 chalkboard
 chalk
 student journals
 material for mobiles

Time: Two class periods.

Background Information:

Rapid and continuous technological changes are occurring that directly influence
occupational choices and the world of work. The increase in technology brings
new occupations and different types of jobs. The microcomputer explosion has
lead to the creation of a great number of jobs ranging from software and
hardware design to business opportunities.

Activity:

1. Write the following definition on the chalkboard.

Technology: Scientific method of achieving a useful design.
2. Write on the chalkboard the following six occupational clusters. Have students
discuss the useful designs under each of these occupational cluster headings.
Health Transportation Communication
Lasers Supersonic Aircraft Satellites
CAT Scan Bullet Trains Fiber Optics
Computers Computers Computers
Consumer &
Construction Business & Office
Homemaking
Solar Heat Computers
Microwave
Computers Word Processors
Computers
3. Have students discuss how computers have had a profound effect on
every occupational cluster.
 4. Have students discuss, in small groups, how computers have changed
their lives and will continue to change their lives.
5. Have students write about these changes in their journals.
6. Have students design a creative career technology mobile.

Additional Activities:

Show a film about pioneer life in Saskatchewan. Discuss the differences,

advantages, and disadvantages between then and now.

Have students predict future career opportunities.

Evaluation:

Resources:

Adapted from Developmental guidance classroom activities, Vocational Studies

Centre, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1991.

Activity 6: Career Development Record

Foundational Objectives:

Awareness of change and skills needed to cope with Life Transitions.

Awareness and understanding of the career planning process.

Learning Objectives:

The student will:

  develop an individual career plan that integrates educational plans with
tentative career goals.
 describe the importance of career planning.
 identify how a person changes during a lifetime.

C.E.L.s: COM, CCT, PSVS

Materials:

 pen or pencil
 handout No. 1 "Career Development Record"

Time: One class period.

Activity:

1. Have students discuss career development. (As students learn more and
become familiar with a variety of careers, they develop more interests in
careers.)
2. Have students describe a Career Development Record.
(a) What is it?
(b) What should it contain?
(c) What is its purpose?
(d) Why is keeping one important?
3. Explain to students that their Career Development Record is a history of
individual student career aspirations including aptitudes, interests,
attitudes, and achievements.
4. Ask students to complete the "Career Development Record" activity
sheet.
5. Have students share Record in small groups.
6. Teacher should keep each student's "Career Development Record" and
show them to the students after they have completed another Career
Development Record in Grade 7.

Evaluation: For printing and copying this template Requires Acrobat Reader
(click on the table title)

Career Development Record - Grade 6

Student's Name:   _________________________________                  Date: 

_________________

High Interest Subjects: 

____________________________________________________________

Low Interest Subjects: 

____________________________________________________________
 Prefers Activities: Outside ___
Inside ___
Both ___
Active ___
Physically: Average ___
Sedentary ___

Achievements: 
__________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________
__________

____________________________________________________________________
__________

____________________________________________________________________
__________

Hobbies/Interests: 
_______________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________
__________

____________________________________________________________________
__________

____________________________________________________________________
__________

Wants to be a: 
__________________________________________________________________

Comments:  
____________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________
__________

____________________________________________________________________
__________

____________________________________________________________________
__________

____________________________________________________________________
 __________

____________________________________________________________________
__________

Source: Developmental guidance classroom activities, Vocational Studies Centre,

University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1991. Reprinted with permission.

Grade 6 Module: Career Awareness, Exploration, and Planning

Handout No. 1 "Career Development Record"