May Howard Elementary Career Portfolio Assignment
Dear Parents,
This year your 5th grader is going to be provided the opportunity to conduct research and to
present information about a career that interests them. We want our students to learn the
requirements necessary to pursue a career in a chosen field. Each students “portfolio” will consist of
two major components: an essay and a project.
First students will research careers and choose a career they are interested in pursuing. Next,
students will take the knowledge they have gained and will write an essay discussing the training,
education, work environment, salary, and job outlook. After completing the essay, students will be
asked to make a project. Students can choose to do a poster, brochure, or PowerPoint presentation.
The essay will be evaluated using the attached 5th grade writing rubric. The essay will count as a
Language Arts test grade. The “presentation” will be counted as a Social Studies test grade. There is
also a rubric attached for this portion of the assignment. The essays and projects are due December
13th. The 5th grade teachers are really excited about this project. When we are finished, we will have a
“mini” Career Fair showcasing the projects for the younger grades. If you have any questions about this
assignment, please do not hesitate to ask.
Sincerely,
The 5th Grade Teachers
ESSAY Directions
Attention 5th Graders!!
Let’s Learn All About Careers!!
Step 1: Read about, talk about, and investigate different careers you might be
interested in pursuing.
Step 2: After reading about careers, choose the career that you think is best for
you.
Step 3: Research specifically the career that you think is right for you.
Step 4: Answer the following questions as you research.
1. Why did you choose this career? What is involved in the work?
2. What specific training and/or education is required to enter the field? Do you
have to have a college degree? Do you have to do an internship or on the job
training? Do you have to have a high school degree? Be specific.
3. Describe the work environment for your career. Where does the work take place?
Do you have to wear a uniform? Do you need special equipment? Is it indoors or
outdoors?
4. What is the salary for your job? What are the possiblilties for moving up the
career ladder? Can you advance in your job? What is the job outlook for your
career? How many people currently work in this occupation?
Step 5: Take your research and put it in an essay format. A sample outline is
provided. There is not a required length for this essay, just be sure you include
the answers to the questions above. Use the writing process.
Step 6: Cite your source. A great site to learn how to cite sources is….
http://education.bluevalleyk12.org/KidBib/
ESSAY- Sample Outline
I.
II.
III.
Introduction- Name your career. Explain why you chose your career.
Body of the Paper
A. What is involved in the work?
1.
2.
B. Training and Education
1.
2.
C. Work Environment
1.
2.
D. Salary, Growth Opportunities, and Job Outlook
1.
2.
Closing/Conclusion
Essay Resources
GACollege411 (N/A) www.gacollege411.org
This is the primary source of information to complete the career research
Career Cruising Website (1300L)
You will need a username and password to log in. However, career research can also be done
on GACollege411 website
Top 10 Careers Needed for the Future (1430L)
http://www.ehow.com/list_5481635_10-needed-jobs-future.html#page=0
A current list of “hot” careers
25 Rewarding Careers (1100L)
http://money.usnews.com/careers/best-jobs/rankings/the-25-best-jobs
This list from US News may surprise students. US News has selected careers with good growth
potential, worker satisfaction, and social status. Each career is linked to a brief overview that
will help students begin their research. If you use this resource, print copies of the articles
about specific careers, but do not include the blog responses from readers
The Best Job for You
U.S. News & World Report (3/19/2007)—Nemko, Marty
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/biztech/articles/070311/19intro.htm
This article introduces a section which describes career choice as the Internet becomes
ubiquitous, and Americans seek richer, simpler lives. Among the careers that this section
discusses are librarians, still needed in the digital age, website developers, management
consultants and bi-lingual translators. Optometry is mentioned as it offers a career in medicine
with a fairly predictable work schedule
Georgia Department of Labor
www.dol.state.ga.us/ this website provides students with specific Georgia labor market
information
Project Directions
Now that you have researched and leaned about a career you
are interested in, it is time to share what you have learned.
1. Choose a Presentation Style
a. Poster
b. Brochure
c. PowerPoint Presentation
2. Present a Summary of Your Information.
3. Gather pictures to include in your presentation.
4. Put It all Together in an organized visually appealing
project.
5. Edit your Project to make sure there are no spelling or
grammatical errors.
Project Rubric
4
3
2
Title
Title Defines the
Project and readers
can easily tell what
career your project is
about.
Title does describe
the content, but it
does not stand out
as a title.
The title is too small There is no title with
and/or does not
the project.
describe the content
of the poster well.
Graphics Relevance
All graphics are
related to the topic
and make it easier to
understand. All
borrowed graphics
have a source
citation.
All graphics are
related to the topic
and most make it
easier to understand.
All borrowed
graphics have a
source citation.
All graphics relate to Graphics are not
the topic, but are
included in the
very sloppily
career project.
presented.
Knowledge
Gained
Student can
accurately answer all
questions related to
facts in the poster
and processes used
to create the poster.
Student can
accurately answer
most questions
related to facts in the
poster and
processes used to
create the poster.
Student can
accurately answer
about 75% of
questions related to
facts in the poster
and processes used
to create the poster.
Grammar
There are no
grammatical
mistakes on the
poster.
There is 1
There are 2
grammatical mistake grammatical
on the poster.
mistakes on the
poster.
Mechanics
Capitalization and
punctuation are
correct throughout
the poster.
There is 1 error in
capitalization or
punctuation.
CATEGORY
1
Student appears to
have insufficient
knowledge about the
facts or processes
used in the poster.
There are more than
2 grammatical
mistakes on the
poster.
There are 2 errors in There are more than
capitalization or
2 errors in
punctuation.
capitalization or
punctuation.