Madison Public Schools
Career Readiness and Awareness
Grades 6-12
Written by:
Brooke Mascia
Kathy Siso
Reviewed by:
Matthew A. Mingle
Director of Curriculum and Instruction
Brett Levine
Director of Guidance
Approval date:
October 14, 2014
Members of the Board of Education:
Lisa Ellis, President
Kevin Blair, Vice President
Shade Grahling, Curriculum Committee Chairperson
David Arthur
Johanna Habib
Thomas Haralampoudis
Leslie Lajewski
James Novotny
Madison Public Schools
359 Woodland Road
Madison, NJ 07940
www.madisonpublicschools.org
Course Overview
Description
The purpose of the 6 - 12 College Career Readiness Program is to provide students with awareness
of the different types of careers and vocations that exist and the 6-12 academic preparedness that
correlates to each career. Throughout this course students will reflect upon their own choices,
preferences and ethics as they relate to career interest and choice.
Goals
This program aims to:
● Identify students’ personal and academic strengths and interests.
● Explore various careers and vocations that correlate to their interests and strengths.
● Develop a list of secondary courses and strategies that would help them achieve their career
goals.
● Provide a correlation between the students’ choices (academically, socially, etc.) and their
career goals.
Resources
Suggested activities and resources page
Unit 1 Overview
Unit Title: Grade 6, Personal Interest Inventory
Unit Summary:
Students will use a variety of personal interest inventories to gain a better understanding of their
personality traits and how they apply to potential careers.
Suggested Pacing: 3 lessons
Learning Targets
Unit Essential Questions:
● What are my strengths and interests and how do they relate to the career world?
● How can I foster my interests and strengths?
Unit Enduring Understandings:
● My personal strengths can be connected to my goals.
● A deeper understanding of ourselves helps us to make better decisions for academic and
future planning.
● Decisions that I make today can affect my future.
Evidence of Learning
Unit Benchmark Assessment Information:
Personality Inventory
Rubric for Action Plan
Objectives
(Students will be able to…)
Essential
Content/Skills
Suggested
Assessments
Complete and
understand the
results of a
personality
inventory.
Content:
Explanation of
different personality
types.
Personality Inventory
Use their results to
identify their skills
and abilities and
apply them to goals
and careers.
Content:
Goal setting strategies
Create an action plan
narrative to outline
the necessary steps to
achieve the goal.
Standards
(NJCCCS CPIs, CCSS, NGSS)
2.1.6.E.1
Examine how personal assets and
protective factors support healthy
Pacing
1 lesson
social and emotional development.
2.2.6.B.1
Use effective decision-making
strategies.
W.CCR.4
Produce clear and coherent
writing in which the
development, organization, and
style are appropriate to task,
purpose, and audience.
2 lessons
Unit 2 Overview
Unit Title: Grade 7, Career Exploration
Unit Summary:
Students will use a variety of resources, including Naviance and NJ CAN, to explore and familiarize
themselves with the 16 career clusters/pathways as outlined by the US Department of Labor.
Additionally, students will choose a handful of careers that interest them.
Suggested Pacing: 3 lessons
Learning Targets
Unit Essential Questions:
● What are the 16 career clusters and which ones are a match for my personal interests?
● What do I need to do between now and the day of my interview to prepare me for this
career?
Unit Enduring Understandings:
● Students will have a deeper understanding of the various careers that exist, what the jobs
entail and the preparation/school performance required for careers of interest.
● Students will have a practical understanding of what coursework correlates to their fields of
interest.
● Decisions that students make today can affect their future.
Evidence of Learning
Unit Benchmark Assessment Information:
Career interest inventory
Action plan outlining mini-objectives to attain overall goal (desired career readiness)
Objectives
(Students will be able to…)
Complete and
understand the
results of a career
interest inventory.
Essential
Content/Skills
Content:
Familiarity with the
16 career
clusters/pathways.
Suggested
Assessments
Online career interest
inventory.
Standards
(NJCCCS CPIs, CCSS, NGSS)
9.3.8.B.2
Identify common knowledge,
skills, and abilities needed within
the federal 16 Career Clusters.
Pacing
1 lesson
9.3.4.A.3
Appraise personal likes and
dislikes and identify careers that
might be suited to personal likes.
9.3.4.A.5
Locate career information using a
variety of resources.
Use their results to
identify careers of
interest and required
coursework/training.
Content:
Knowledge of
education and
training required for
job readiness and
success.
Oral/written
presentation of the
preparation required
to obtain various jobs.
(i.e., mock job
interviews)
9.3.12.C.4
Use online resources to examine
licensing, certification, and
credentialing requirements at the
local, state, and national levels to
maintain compliance with
industry requirements in areas of
career interest.
9.3.4.A.4
Identify qualifications needed to
pursue traditional and
nontraditional careers and
occupations.
9.3.4.A.6
Explain why knowledge and skills
acquired in the elementary grades
lay the foundation for the future
academic and career success.
Use knowledge
obtained during
career exploration to
devise a plan for
grades 7-12.
Content:
Applying knowledge
of career preparation
to personal action
plan.
Create an action plan
that outlines the steps
they must take in
grades 7-12 to qualify
for careers of interest
(i.e., minimum gpa,
courses they must
take, helpful
extracurricular
activities to confirm
interest).
9.3.12.C.2
Characterize education and skills
needed to achieve career goals,
and take steps to prepare for
postsecondary options, including
making course selections,
preparing for and taking
assessments, and participating in
extracurricular activities.
9.3.12.C.3
Develop personal interests and
activities that support declared
career goals and plans.
2 lessons
Unit 3 Overview
Unit Title: Grade 8, Exposure to Careers
Unit Summary:
Students will revisit their 7th grade career action plans and choose 2-3 career clusters to further
explore in the 8th grade. Students will select 2 clusters to learn about on Career Day and following
that day of presentations, students will update their action plans. Revisions to their action plans will
include 9th grade course and activity selections that will enhance their career readiness.
Suggested Pacing: 3 lessons
Learning Targets
Unit Essential Questions:
● What information did I receive that either reinforced or changed my career interest?
● What action(s) do I plan to take in the next year as a result of what I heard today
(volunteering, school club, online courses, internships, work experience)?
Unit Enduring Understandings:
● Students will have a deeper understanding of the various careers that exist, what the jobs
entail and the preparation/school performance required for careers of interest.
● Students will have an understanding of non-academic ways to further career
interest/readiness and build a network.
● Students will understand that the activities they engage in now will dramatically broaden
their awareness of what careers exist and what they can do to prepare for careers that excite
them.
Evidence of Learning
Unit Benchmark Assessment Information:
Pre and post career day surveys which include Likert scales to assess career understanding and
change(s) in preferences
Revised action plan that includes 9th grade course and activity planning
Objectives
(Students will be able to…)
Essential
Content/Skills
Suggested
Assessments
Standards
(NJCCCS CPIs, CCSS, NGSS)
Pacing
Students will be able to
prioritize preferred
careers for more
in-depth exploration.
Narrowing the 16 career
clusters/pathways to 3
preferred clusters.
Students rank top three
career
clusters/pathways.
9.3.8.B.3
Evaluate personal
abilities, interests, and
motivations and discuss
how they might
influence job and career
selection.
1 Lesson
Students will enhance
their understanding of
preferred careers by
observing
presentations by
industry professionals.
Content:
Presentation by
professionals in each
career cluster through a
career day.
Pre and post career day
surveys.
9.3.8.B.5
Use workplace readiness
skills and career
information learned
from job shadowing,
high school visits,
speakers, volunteering,
or other career
exploration activities to
assist with career
exploration.
1 Lesson
9.3.8.B.7
Explain what is meant
by “jobs” and “careers,”
and examine how each
tends to be distributed
regionally, nationally,
and globally.
9.3.8.B.12
Explain how personal
behavior, dress,
attitudes, and other
choices can impact the
success or failure of a job
applicant.
Students will
re-evaluate and reflect
on their career
preferences based on
information gathered
on career day.
Students will create
next steps to build on
knowledge of preferred
careers.
Content:
Students will engage in
written reflection to
articulate changes to or
reinforcement of their
career preferences.
Additionally, students will
be able to identify
activities they will pursue
in/outside of school to
further career knowledge
and readiness.
Written assignment in
the format of a narrative
that answers
predetermined questions
from the instructor.
9.3.12.C.3
Develop personal
interests and activities
that support declared
career goals and plans.
9.3.12.C.7
Pursue a variety of
activities related to
career preparation (e.g.,
volunteer, seek
employment, and/or
apply for training
grants, higher
education grants, and
loans).
1 Lesson
Unit 4 Overview
Unit Title: Grade 9, Choices and Consequences; Stereotyping and Gender Bias
Unit Summary: The students will examine the topics of choices and stereotyping/gender bias as
they relate to their own behavior and decision making processes.
Suggested Pacing: 2 lessons
Learning Targets
Unit Essential Questions:
● What is stereotyping and gender bias?
● How do I contribute to stereotyping and gender bias and how can I ensure that I am not
perpetuating these patterns of behavior in the way I interact with my peers, teachers, etc.
● How can I be more responsible in the area of digital citizenship?
Unit Enduring Understandings:
● Choices I make have a lasting effect on me and my life circumstances.
● Choices made by those around me can having a long-lasting effect on me.
● The way I view myself is influenced by the way others view me.
Evidence of Learning
Unit Benchmark Assessment Information:
Lesson 1: Written reflection
Lesson 2: Group discussion
Objectives
(Students will be able to…)
Articulate the risks
involved with making
poor choices.
Essential
Content/Skills
Content:
Students will apply
knowledge of widely
publicized news
stories involving
misuse of technology
by adolescents
including the
circumstances that
led up to the decisions
and the lasting effects
caused by those
decisions.
Suggested
Assessments
Students will be
prompted to find a
recent news article on
the topic of adolescent
misuse of technology
and write a
reflection.
Standards
(NJCCCS CPIs, CCSS, NGSS)
R.CCR.10
Read and comprehend complex
literary and informational texts
independently and proficiently.
Pacing
1 lesson
W.CCR.7
Conduct short as well as more
sustained research projects based
on focused questions,
demonstrating understanding of
the subject under investigation.
W.CCR.9
Draw evidence from literary or
informational texts to support
analysis, reflection, and research.
W.CCR.10
Write routinely over extended
time frames (time for research,
reflection, and revision) and
shorter time frames (a single
sitting or a day or two) for a range
for tasks, purposes, and audiences.
9.1.8.E.4
Determine the undesired
consequences of unethical uses of
media.
9.3.8.B.17
Recognize that an individual’s
online behavior (e.g., social
networking, photo exchanges,
video postings) may impact
opportunities for employment or
advancement.
Students will be able
to recognize real-life
examples of gender
bias and stereotyping
as it relates to them,
their peers, their
families and members
of their community.
Students will be able
to identify the ways
individuals exercise
bias as well as
systematic bias in
society, as it relates to
their career selection.
Content:
Students will
participate in a
debate such as
whether or not
women’s career
choices are narrowed
by society and
traditional gender
roles. Likewise, are
men shut out of
non-traditional
careers such as
teaching/nursing.
SL.CCR.1
Prepare for and participate in a
range of conversations and
collaborations with diverse
partners, building on others’ ideas
and expressing their own clearly
and persuasively.
SL.CCR.4
Present information, findings, and
supporting evidence such that
listeners can follow the line of
reasoning and organization,
development, and style are
appropriate to task purpose and
audience.
9.1.12.C.5
Assume a leadership position by
guiding the thinking of peers in a
direction that leads to successful
completion of a challenging task
or project.
1 lesson
Unit 5 Overview
Unit Title: Grade 10, Self and Career Exploration
Unit Summary: Students will learn the Holland Career Typology (which is a Trait and Factor
theory) as a framework for their own career exploration. Students will take a Holland based career
interest inventory in Naviance and participate in a group activity to reflect on their knowledge and
share their gained knowledge with their peers.
Suggested Pacing: 3 lessons
Learning Targets
Unit Essential Questions:
● What do I love to do (what are my interests) and what does this mean for the types of jobs I
may want to pursue or avoid?
● What is my type (according to Holland)?
Unit Enduring Understandings:
● Students will understand the type of work environment that is a fit for their personality and
interests.
● Using the Holland hexagon students will understand what careers are closely related to their
code and which careers are the most incongruent.
Evidence of Learning
Unit Benchmark Assessment Information:
Career Interest Profiler in Naviance
Survey of top 3 careers of interest with 1 related college major
Objectives
(Students will be able to…)
Understand the
Holland typology as a
framework for their
own career
exploration.
Have an in-depth
understanding of
careers that match
their Holland Code.
Identify top 4 careers
of interest and at least
one related college
major for each.
Essential
Content/Skills
Lesson outlining
Holland’s Career
Theory and the
resource available in
Naviance to examine
their own Holland
Code. Students will
know their Holland
Code.
Career Interest
Profiler taken at
home.
Content:
Students will work in
groups based on
closely-related codes
to research potential
careers using the
Naviance Database.
Presentation that
demonstrates
knowledge of the
different aspects of the
handful of jobs the
group researched.
Students will develop
a list of positive and
negative attributes of
the job as it relates to
preparation,
activities and wages.
To end the unit
following the group
presentations
students will populate
a survey in Naviance
in which students
provide their top 4
careers of interest and
college majors they
are considering that
relate to the careers of
interest.
Suggested
Assessments
Standards
(NJCCCS CPIs, CCSS, NGSS)
9.3.8.B.3
Evaluate personal abilities,
interests, and motivations and
discuss how they might influence
job and career selection
Pacing
1 lesson
9.3.8.B.9
Inventory the requirements for
entering different career areas of
interest using online job
information, such as the federal
Occupational Information
Network (O*NET) or the New
Jersey State Career Development
Website, and determine why those
requirements are needed for
success in a chosen career.
Survey in Naviance
as homework
assignment.
9.3.12.C.4
Use online resources to examine
licensing, certification, and
credentialing requirements at the
local, state, and national levels to
maintain compliance with
industry requirements in areas of
career interest.
9.3.12.C.5
Identify transferable skills in
career choices and design
alternative career plans based on
those skills
9.3.12.C.23
Determine job entrance criteria
(e.g., education credentials,
math/writing/reading
comprehension tests, drug tests)
used by employers in various
industry sectors
2 lessons
Unit 6 Overview
Unit Title: Grade 11, Career Education
Unit Summary: Students will rank their top 4 career choices. They will then see a presentation by a
professional in 2 of their choice areas during career day.
Suggested Pacing: 2 lessons
Learning Targets
Unit Essential Questions:
● Where do I want to be in 10 years?
● How do I get there?
Unit Enduring Understandings:
● What I need to do between now and the day I apply for the job to make it possible (classes,
internships, training, college major, graduate school).
Evidence of Learning
Unit Benchmark Assessment Information:
List of ranked careers
Worksheet following Career Day
Objectives
(Students will be able to…)
Essential
Content/Skills
Suggested
Assessments
Standards
(NJCCCS CPIs, CCSS, NGSS)
Create a list of top
four career choices in
rank order.
Content:
Based on information
gathered in 10th
grade students will
rank their top 4
career choices for the
purpose of signing up
for Career Day
presentations.
List of ranked careers
9.3.8.B.9
Inventory the requirements for
entering different career areas of
interest using online job
information, such as the federal
Occupational Information
Network (O*NET) or the New
Jersey State Career Development
Website, college web sites and
determine why those
requirements are needed for
success in a chosen career.
1 lesson
Identify what
training/courses are
necessary for career,
wages for the career,
and other options if
the career was not
what he/she expected.
Content:
Students will listen to
and takes notes on 2
presentations
(regarding what the
job entails,
training/education/li
censure required)
given by professionals
in the areas of their
top career choices.
Graded assignment
for 11th grade PE class
shortly following
career day.
9.3.4.A.4
Identify qualifications needed to
pursue traditional and
nontraditional careers and
occupations.
2 lessons
(One for
Career
Day and
one for
the
post-Care
er Day
activity).
Follow-up during PE:
Students will go into
the lab and fill out a
worksheet answering
questions:
What grades do you
need in your
academic classes for
the college/training
for this career?
What are the average
wages for this career
in the state in which
you plan on living?
What are related jobs
if this one is not what
you expected?
9.3.8.B.4
Identify high school and county
career and technical school
courses and programs that
support career or occupational
areas of interest.
9.3.8.B.5
Use workplace readiness skills and
career information learned from
job shadowing, high school visits,
speakers, volunteering, or other
career exploration activities to
assist with career exploration.
9.3.12.C.4
Use online resources to examine
licensing, certification, and
credentialing requirements at the
local, state, and national levels to
maintain compliance with
industry requirements in areas of
career interest.
9.3.12.C.5
Identify transferable skills in
career choices and design
alternative career plans based on
those skills.
9.3.12.C.23
Determine job entrance criteria
(e.g., education credentials,
math/writing/reading
comprehension tests, drug tests)
used by employers in various
industry sectors.
Pacing
Unit 7 Overview
Unit Title: Grade 12, Workplace Readiness
Unit Summary: Integrated into the 12th Grade Health modules, students will examine topics
related to workplace readiness. Such topics will include workplace ethics, employment trends, and
personal choices and their impact on employability.
Suggested Pacing: 4 lessons
Learning Targets
Unit Essential Questions:
● What do I value most?
● How do I balance achieving my goals with maintaining personal integrity?
● What will the “hot-jobs” be for my generation?
● In what areas are jobs dwindling?
● What are industry substance and alcohol abuse policies?
● How are employee substance abuse policies similar/different than school substance abuse
policies?
Unit Enduring Understandings:
● The content and quality of my digital citizenship is a reflection of my character and can have a
lasting effect on obtaining a job.
● Depending on the sector, my future employers could have the right to drug test me.
● Market trends have a direct effect on how competitive the job market will be for me at
various times in my life.
● There are general steps I can follow when faced with ethical dilemmas in my professional
setting to ensure I make the best decision possible.
Evidence of Learning
Unit Benchmark Assessment Information:
Health class group discussions and informal presentations
Job market analysis worksheet
Student produced company substance abuse policy or a recent article on the topic.
Objectives
(Students will be able to…)
Identify examples of
personal choices
and/or behaviors that
could result in job
ineligibility.
Essential
Content/Skills
Content:
During Health
module students will
learn what is
involved in a personal
background check.
Suggested
Assessments
Students will list three
behaviors/choices that
could prevent them
from securing a job in
a particular sector (ie.
drug arrests, drunk
driving, sexual
offense, or other
non-misdemeanor
charges).
Standards
(NJCCCS CPIs, CCSS, NGSS)
9.3.12.C.18
Determine how an individual’s
driving record (e.g., tickets,
points, penalties for driving while
intoxicated) and/or credit score
may impact opportunities for
employment, job retention, or job
advancement.
Pacing
2 lessons
9.3.12.C.19
Compare and contrast employee
substance abuse policies (e.g.,
tobacco, drugs, and alcohol) by
industry sector.
9.3.12.C.21
Determine the extent to which an
individual’s online behavior (e.g.,
social networking, photo
exchanges, video postings) may
impact opportunities for
employment, job retention, or job
advancement.
Use a framework to
solve ethical
dilemmas students
may have to face in
the workplace.
Identify the industry
sectors that are on the
rise and those that are
declining.
Content:
Instructor will define
ethics and review
what “ethics in the
workplace” looks like
and provides
suggested steps for
ethical decision
making. Students are
given an opportunity
to practice the steps
for decision making.
Case scenario and
informal
presentations.
Content:
Instructor will
provide students with
the Bureau of Labor
Statistics’
Employment
Projections website for
students to study and
interpret.
Analysis worksheet
(list sector(s) with the
largest
growth/decline)
9.1.12.F.5
Formulate an opinion regarding a
current workplace or
societal/ethical issue based on
research.
1 lesson
9.1.12.F.6
Relate scientific advances (e.g.,
advances in medicine) to the
creation of new ethical dilemmas.
9.3.12.C.20
Analyze employment trends by
industry sector to determine how
employment and training
requirements change over time.
9.3.8.B.10
Evaluate employment trends
(including job outlook and wage
trends) in areas of career interest
using online resources, such as
the federal Occupational
Information Network (O*NET) or
the New Jersey State Career
Development Website.
1 lesson