Career & College Readiness Lesson Plans
What’s Next?
Career Planning
Grade Level 12
Overview
Students will finish creating their California Career Center Career Action Plans
describing what they plan to do after high school. They will incorporate into their plans
content from their previously completed Career and College Readiness Lesson Plans.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

Identify an initial occupational goal and describe the steps necessary for pursuing
that goal.
Language Objectives
At the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

Verbally explain why they selected the steps identified in their Plan of Action
section of their Career Action Plan.

Verbally and in writing clearly describe their occupational goals.
Standards Alignment
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California Common Core State Standards: College & Career Readiness
Anchor Standards:
o RI. 4, 7; W. 3
California Career Technical Education Anchor Standards:
o 1, 3
California Standards for Career Ready Practice:
o 1, 3
National Career Development Guidelines:
o PS3, ED1, CM1, CM2, CM3, CM4
International Society for Technology in Education Standards:
o 3
English Language Development Standards:
o Part I: 6, 10
o Part II: 1, 3, 4, 6
California Career Resource Network, California Department of Education
Career Planning
What’s Next?
Materials
1. Computers with Internet access for students
2. Computer with Internet access and projection capability for instructor
3. Projector and screen
4. Instructor Resources

California Career Center Account Setup Instructor Resource (p. 6)

Career Action Plan—When Did I Complete This? (p. 7)

Career Action Plan Rubric (p. 8)
5. Handouts

Print out of students’ Career Action Plan from their California Career
Center My Stuff account

California Career Center Student Account Setup (p. 9)

Career Action Plan Outline (p. 10)
6. Online Resources

Interest Profiler and Work Importance Profiler, California CareerZone
http://www.cacareerzone.org/assessments

Career Action Plan, California Career Center
https://www.calcareercenter.org/Portfolio
7. Content for the Career Action Plan may have come from the following previously
completed Career & College Readiness Lesson Plans:
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Grade 9: What Skills Do I Need?
Grade 10: What Matters to Me?
Grade 10: What Are My Options?
Grade 11: What Occupation Interests Me?
Grade 11: Due Dates, Deadlines, and Decisions
Grade 12: Learn to Reach Out
Grade 12: Writing Right
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Career Planning
What’s Next?
Academic Vocabulary

Career: is the body of work—all jobs and occupations—and life experiences that
a person has during his or her lifetime.

Career Action Plan: is a dynamic planning document used to reach short-term
and long-term career goals; a roadmap that identifies the steps or necessary
requirements to get you from point A—choosing an occupation—to Point B—
becoming employed in that occupation.

Job: is a paid position with specific duties, tasks, and responsibilities in a
particular place of work (e.g., photographer at Best Pictures).

Occupation: is a cluster of jobs with common characteristics that require similar
skills (e.g., engineering occupations).
Activity
Students will complete their Career Action Plans as a culminating experience of the
Career and College Readiness Lesson Plans series. Completion of prior lessons is
highly recommended. See the Materials section for a list of relevant lessons.
Lesson Procedures
You may wish to prepare for this lesson by:
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Reviewing the previous lessons students needed to complete in order to have
the information necessary to finalize their Career Action Plans. If students
have not completed the previous lessons, they will need time either in- or outof-class to complete them.
Or, in lieu of relying on content generated in the previous lessons, the Career
Action Plan can be developed by using the California CareerZone (link in
Materials section) to provide information related to identifying an occupational
goal and the education and/or training required to pursue that goal. Students
can be assisted in completing any remaining elements of their plan through
classroom discussion.
1. Introduction. Tell students this lesson will result in a completed Career Action Plan
that describes both short- and long-term goals related to their career choices. A
completed plan does not mean it will not be revised in the future; it means the plan
includes the latest decisions students have made regarding life after high school.
Distribute the “Career Action Plan Outline” handout and review all the elements of
the plan.
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Career Planning
What’s Next?
2. Confirm that students understand what is required to complete every section by
asking individuals or small groups to summarize what is required for each section.
The Additional Research section is designed to introduce students to the concept of
having fall back plans. Ideally, Plan C should support Plan B which should support
Plan A. For example:
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Plan A: Attend an elite four-year university.
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Plan B: Attend a local community college for two years, then transfer to the
elite four-year college.
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Plan C: Join the military and use military resources to attend the elite fouryear college.
3. Verify each student has a “My Stuff” student account on the California Career
Center. If any do not, distribute the California Career Center Student Account Setup
handout. Refer to the Account Setup Instructor Resource.
4. If a student already has a Career Action Plan, have her/him print it and use as a
resource for completing this assignment.
5. Direct students to work independently to complete all the sections of their Career
Action Plans.
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This could be done with a partner if it is helpful for students to talk through
their decisions. Check with students as they work to confirm they are on
track and understand how to get the information necessary to complete
their plans.
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You can use the instructor’s “Career Action Plan—When Did I Complete
This?” resource to help students identify when and in which lesson they
may have completed each section of their Career Action Plan.
6. Allow students time to complete their plans during the class session or assign as
homework. To complete this lesson students will save their plans in their “My Stuff”
student accounts. They will submit a copy to you and keep one for their files.
Encourage students to share their plans with their family.
7. Use the Career Action Plan Rubric to evaluate the Career Action Plans.
Estimated Time
One class session (could require more if previous lessons were not completed)
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Career Planning
What’s Next?
Evaluation

Students must meet the minimum requirements of a completed Career Action
Plan.
Additional Resources

Make Money Choices, California CareerZone, can be used to enable students to
explore future lifestyle options which will help them identify the occupations that
will support their chosen lifestyle. The URL is
http://www.cacareerzone.org/budget/.
Adaptation
 Students can use the Career Action Plan handout (posted with this lesson) in lieu
of working online.
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Career Planning
What’s Next?
California Career Center Account Setup
Instructor Resource
If your students do not have a Career Center Student Account, the step-by-step account
setup instructions are in the student handout. As the instructor, it is important for you to
know that:

Students can complete various activities on the Career Center using the PDF
handouts instead of the online forms. However, students must be logged in to
create and save their Career Action Plans.
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A student account can be deleted by selecting “Delete My Profile” on the
student’s Profile page. This removes all information related to the account.

To help your students remember their passwords, you may wish to establish a
password convention. Here are a few examples:
o student initial + class period + lesson title [tsperiod2highschoolplan]
o student initial + year + class period [ts2015period1]
o student initial + school’s initials + year [tsDSH2015]
IMPORTANT: State and Federal laws govern the conditions and
limitations for Internet usage by children under the age of 13.
Before using the Internet, check your district policies and/or State
and Federal regulations.
California Career Resource Network, California Department of Education
Career Planning
What’s Next?
Career Action Plan—When Did I Complete This?
Instructor Resource
The following may serve as prompts to help students recall when elements of the
Career Action Plan would have been completed in previous Career & College
Readiness Lessons.
Career field & specific occupations

Occupations could have been identified by completing assessments on the
California CareerZone, or by completing the following lessons:
o Grade 9; What Skills Do I Need
o Grade 10: What Matters to Me?
o Grade 11: What Occupation Interests Me?
Related occupations
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Same as above
Degree/Certification needed
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Every California CareerZone occupational profile includes
preparation necessary to enter an occupation.
Education and/or training after high school
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Grade 10: What Are My Options?
Accomplishments
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Grade 9: What Skills Do I Need?
Future Experiences
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Grade 9: What Skills Do I Need?
People or Organizations that could help me
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Grade 12: Learn to Reach Out
Grade 12: Writing Right
Plan of Action
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Grade 11: Due Dates, Deadlines, and Decisions
Additional Research for education, training, national/military service
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Grade 10: What Are My Options?
Bibliography
California Career Resource Network, California Department of Education
What’s Next?
Career Planning
Career Action Plan Rubric
Student name: _____________________________________ Date: _______________
Required
components
Evidence
Format Standards
All sections completed
Correct grammar and punctuation used
Correct spelling used
Career field and
specific
occupations
Specific career field/occupations identified
Described why this is a good choice
Includes overview of what people in the profession do
Related
occupations
Degree/Certification
needed
Education and/or
training after high
school
Accomplishments
Another career field/occupation identified
Future
Opportunities
Jobs
Volunteer experiences
High school and college courses
People or
Organizations that
could help me
Plan of Action
Two or three people identified
Two or three organizations identified
Additional
Research
Plan A
Plan B
Plan C
Bibliography
At least two resources are identified
Completed
Skills, training, education and/or required licensing
identified
Colleges or training programs identified
_____ Courses taken identified
_____Extracurricular activities identified
_____Awards earned noted
_____Certifications identified
Initial three steps described
Detail provided
Chronological order
_____ Requirements Met _____ Requirements Not Met, additional action necessary
California Career Resource Network, California Department of Education
Career Planning
What’s Next?
California Career Center Student Account Setup
Below are the instructions for setting up your “My Stuff” account:
1. Go to the Career Center at https://www.calcareercenter.org/.
2. Click on the “My Stuff” button in the left hand navigation bar.
3. You will be on the “My Stuff” page. Click on “Create an Account”.
4. You will be on the “My Profile” page. Fill in the requested information:
 E-mail address
 Password
 First Name
 School name
 Zip Code (of the school)
 Grade level
5. In the “Why did you come to California Career Center” box, check the
reasons you came to the Web site. Be sure to check, “It was an
assignment”.
6. At the bottom of the page, click on “Submit”.
If at some point you want to delete your account, go to your Profile page and
select “Delete My Profile”.
California Career Resource Network, California Department of Education
Career Planning
What’s Next?
Career Action Plan Outline
Career field & specific occupations: Based on your exploration of the California CareerZone
or other career exploration Web site, what specific career field/occupations looks the most
interesting to you? Why is this a good choice for you? What do people do in these occupations?
Related occupation: Are there other career fields/occupations that look like a good match for you?
Degree/Certification needed: What skills, training, education, certification and/or license will
you need in order to be successful on the job?
Education and/or training after high school: What colleges or training programs could you
attend to prepare for your preferred occupations?
Accomplishments: Use the following categories to list things that you have done in the past to
prepare you for the workforce.
 Courses taken at high school, community college or other setting
 Extracurricular Activities
 Awards earned
 Certifications you have earned (examples: Driver's License, CPR or First Aid Card,
Micropace Record, Lifeguard Certificate, Welding Lessons, CareerSafe, ServeSafe, etc.)
Future Experiences: Use the following categories to list things that you should do in the future
to prepare for the world of work.
 Jobs that will prepare me for my preferred occupation
 Volunteer experiences that will help me prepare for my preferred occupation
 Courses
People or Organizations that could help me: Name two or three people who you can count
on to help you; describe your relationship to them in parenthesis. Example: Mrs. Smith (English
Teacher)
List two organizations that may be able to help you, include contact information- name, address,
phone number, e-mail. Examples are Rotary Club, Chamber of Commerce, unions, etc.
Plan of Action: Identify the steps you need to take between now and high school graduation to
prepare for the transition from school to either additional education, training, or work. Make this
list as detailed as possible and put the items in chronological order.
1.
2.
3.
Additional Research for college, training, national/military service: It is possible that your
initial post-high school goal needs additional research or cannot be immediately pursued. In
addition to identifying information needed to implement your post-high school Plan A, consider
other options that could be researched as Plan B and Plan C.
1. Plan A goal
2. Plan B goal
3. Plan C goal
Bibliography: List of resources you used, may want to use again, or want to share with others.
California Career Resource Network, California Department of Education