Title of Activity: Career Choices
Grade Level: 7
Time Required: 1 class (90 minutes)
Lesson Designer: Paula Wehner
Curriculum Design: Content Based
Online Resources to be used in the lesson:
Hotlist-(containing 6 websites/some self directed searches) Using the URL box type http://www.kn.att.com/wired/fil/pages/listcareerspw.html
The title
“Choosing A Career For You” will appear with 6 links we will be using. http://www.free.ed.gov/ http://dir.yahoo.com/Education/k_12
Standards: Objective A. Students will use online sites and self-directed sites to search and access information related to questions generated on careers for the purpose of having three careers choices to research for the unit end activity.
Objective B: Analyze online features that contribute to meaning, such as URL’s, hypertext links, sidebars, drop down menus, home pages, site maps, and other features characteristic of online texts.
Materials Needed: “Career Choices” Worksheet/assessment, pencil, Hotlist containing 6 websites, Information Exit Ticket, computer, rubric and answer key.
Introduction: Most people daydream or think about careers they believe they would enjoy. Today we are going to put that daydream to the test. Take a few minutes to relax and think about the career you would enjoy. Keep that career in the back of your mind while we take a journey of career exploration on the computer through a list of interesting sites. First we need to figure what jobs are out there? Well, most jobs are organized into career clusters. What is a cluster you ask? Well, read the “Career Choices” worksheet and lets find out.
We need to log on to our computer and go to the URL box. Type in the following http://www.kn.att.com/wired/fil/pages/listcareerspw.html
. This is my
Hotlist we will be using during our careers journey. Click on “The Free
Dictionary ” and definition for “cluster” will be provided. Please write this on your worksheet so we can discuss it together. After our initial discussion please follow all the steps carefully on you worksheet.
These steps will navigate you towards your perfect career! You will take a personality quiz to see what career would suite you. Then you will take another quiz on a different site to see if your answer as the same.
We want to make sure we have the best career possible and don’t want to base our findings on just one test or site. You are ready to continue on your journey. Follow the self directed search sites and lets see what jobs are out there and waiting for you! At the end, there will be no need to daydream, as we will have the perfect job for you. Maybe it will be the career you are keeping in the back of your mind, or maybe not!

Questions and planning:
What do we know?
We know how to follow The Big 6 method as we research our careers online.
What do we need to know?
We need to know what jobs are out there? What are the qualifications of these jobs? Which job fits my personality the best? What jobs are hiring?
Who is going to do what?
We are going to individually search through the online sites and take 2 personality quizzes to found out what interests us. We will discuss our careers with the class and come up with 3 jobs suited for everyone so we can research these jobs even more for our unit term paper on careers.
What materials do we need?
Miss Wehner’s Hotlist, The “Career
Choices ” assessment, pencil, a computer, Exit Ticket of Information, and rubric.
Outcome: Every student will have 3 top job choices that they are qualified and interested in doing. These jobs will be researched in more detail when we are in the media center for our unit project.
Evaluation : Students will turn in t he “Career Choices” worksheet/assessment with completed answers.
The rubric will be the evaluation instrument for the “Career Choices” assessment.
An answer key will be used for the Information Exit Ticket.

Career Choices
Now that we have finished “The Big 6” strategies of research we are going to pick our career to research. First we will decide what career suites our personality.
Follow these steps to finding a career choice.
1. In the URL type http://www.kn.att.com/wired/fil/pages/listcareerspw.html
“Choosing A Career For You” will pop up. This web site is called a Hotlist. It is a list of Internet sites that will help you choose an occupation that fits your personality. It will be useful for taking notes as well. Now, click on “ The Free Dictionary ” in purple.
The word “cluster” will appear in the search box. Please write down the definition on the line -__________________________________________________________________________________
2. Be prepared to discuss this term with the class. ( students will discuss together)
3. After the discussion go back to the Hotlist. You can do this by clicking on the back arrow at the top of the page. Now click on “Career Clusters”.
Read through each of the career cluster groups. Choose two career clusters that interest you. Example:
Education and Training _____________________________________ _______________________________
4. Return to the Hotlist and click on “ Holland Code Quiz”. The quiz will pop up on.
Read the directions and complete the quiz by clicking on the categories that interest you. At the bottom of the page click “Submit” and your Holland Code will appear.
Write the code here. EX: S A E _______ _____ ______ A list of careers will appear with the code. List the top three careers suited for you. ____________________________________
_____________________________________________ _________________________________________________
5. To understand what your letters in the Holland Code represents means we need to go back to the Hotlist and click on the purple site named “The Holland Code
Assessment”.
The directions state the Holland Code classifies jobs into job clusters or personality environments. Read all the work personalities starting with the letter
“R”-Realistic. Once you have read all the job cluster descriptions then go back and reread your code letters. The first letter is your highest job qualifications. Write down your top three letters and give a description for each. Follow the example:

Letter Cluster Description
S Social likes to work and communicate with people.
____ ________
____ ________
_____________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
_____ ________ ________________________________________________________________________
6. Now compare your Holland Code with the career clusters you chose in #3. Are they the same or different jobs? Explain your answer. __________________________________
7. Go back to the Hotlist and click on the site called “Choices Explorer” . Find the
“ site Id” and click on it, then the color will change. When the color changes click on
“Site Id” again and type in the numbers 0099537. Now, find the word “Password” and click on the word password and type in the word “Bonnie” then hit return. This is the home page for Choices Explorer. Now find Quick Quiz in the first column and click on it. This is another personality quiz but it is much smaller. Click on the categories that interest you and click “Submit”. A list of fifteen careers will come up.
List the first three careers chosen for you.
_______________________________________ _______________________________ _________________________
8. Compare these careers with the top three from the Holland Code list. Are they the same jobs? Why are why not? Explain your answer. _______________________________
9. Which site do you feel accurately describes you, The Holland Code Test or The
Choices Explorer test? Explain you answer. ______________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
10. Write down the top three career choices that you would like to research that best suites your personality. _______________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________ ___________________________________________
11. Now you have three choices to research using The Big 6 method. If your first choice does not have enough information you can move on to choice 2 or 3.

12. Use the Hotlist for your research project. “Careers Explorer” has in depth research information to use. Use the search box and type in your career. Click on
“what they do?” for job requirements, “salary” for money earned each year and
“outlook” to see if this career is increasing in jobs each year or decreasing..
13. For more research click on “ U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics” for more information. This site is located on the Hotlist also.
Sites not on my Hotlist to aid with your research project are: http://www.free.ed.gov/ http://dir.yahoo.com/Education/k_12
14. Explain what you have learned about your career interests through searching the websites.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
15. Turn this paper(s) in when you are finished. It will be returned to you graded to keep in your Big 6 folder. Turn The Informational Exit Ticket to me as you leave the room. Make sure your heading is on the ticket and double check all answers for accuracy.
Make sure you have successfully logged off on the computer!