During the whole month of April, we will focus on careers during my classroom visits. I will teach two lessons on careers during the month. If you ask a Kindergarten student or a first grade student, “What do you want to be when you grow up? You’ll most likely get list limited only by their imaginations: princess, doctor, teacher, police, detective, or dancer. Over time, kids will learn about a variety of careers. What they choose to really do may be very different that what they wanted to do in the first grade. However, you have some kids who are adamant in first grade that they want to be a veterinarian and they continue with that passion throughout school. I wanted to be a waitress when I was in the first grade. And I was going to live in a house with a pet goldfish. My parents still have my schoolwork and I just LOVE to look back at what my thoughts were!
As parents, teachers, and counselors, we need to consciously expose children to careers that may lie outside our own experience. How do you do that? Well, it is easy!
For elementary students, interactive online games are a great way to have fun while exploring traditional and non traditional careers.
* Drive of your life, an interactive game from the Indiana Youth Institute, lets students custom-design their own car by answering questions about their personal interests, getting a list of careers that match those interests, and then "taking a drive" through each of those careers. Along the way, they meet real people via video working in those careers—learning about daily work life and the skills and education required.
* Kidswork, from South Carolina's public education station ETV, digs a little deeper into the inner workings for a range of careers. Choosing any business in ETV's cartoon town, students can watch short video interviews with the people who work there; perform related job tasks; and learn some of the history behind various fields. While maintaining its fun factor, Kidswork is great for connecting classroom skills to real-world jobs in small doses. In this game, your student can use math to fill prescriptions as a pharmacist; practice writing slogans as a public relations specialist; and match electrical circuits as a theatrical lighting designer.
* Kids.gov, the US government's official web portal for kids, provides an A–Z listing and links to more than 50 different career videos as well as interviews, games, and general career information. But watch out! This site is so rich in resources that you and your student could spend hours exploring everything from careers in brain imaging to police dog training.
*CareerOneStop, a US Department of Labor site, wins the prize for sheer volume with more than 500 career videos grouped by skills, industry, interest clusters, and educational requirements. Click on the Finance section, for example, and you’ll find links to videos explaining jobs ranging from actuary to teller.
* Virginia Career View is a terrific website for elementary and middle school students. Virginia Career VIEW (Vital Information for Education and Work) is recognized as the Commonwealth's Career Information Delivery System for all students in grades K-8 in Virginia. We are located at Virginia Tech as part of the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences in the School of Education. As part of the Office of Education, Research and Outreach, our mission is to inform, encourage, and support the education and career development of the people of Virginia. Virginia Career VIEW is supported by State funds from the Virginia Department of Education, directly through Virginia Tech.For over 30 years, Virginia Career VIEW has been serving school counselors, educators, workforce development professionals, students, parents, and job seekers through career resources, research, outreaches, and professional development training.
Students are able to take quizzes, watch videos, play games/apps, and learn the career clusters.
When you are out and about, talk with your child about the different jobs you see in your community. Who works in a restaurant? Who works at the port? Who works at the city hall? Who works at the grocery store? When you see things in your community, ask your child, "What job do you think made that? A few examples are billboards, buildings, traffic lights, traffic signs, busses, bridges, computers, boats, and books. Engage with your child so that he/she can learn about the world around them as it relates to work.
Our first career lessons are as follows:
What's happening in Kindergarten?
Kindergarten students will watch a career video from Curious Kids. We usually do not finish the complete show, but they do get to see a marine biologist, an author who writes about sea shells, a man who builds structures out of legos, a veterinarian, a cowboy, and a woman who studies mosquitos. After the video, students will complete a "Timeline of Events" that breaks up their school career (elementary, middle, high, and college). We talk about first jobs (typically in high school) and long term jobs (what we think we want to do forever). I cannot find my PDF file, so I had to upload a picture of the activity.
As parents, teachers, and counselors, we need to consciously expose children to careers that may lie outside our own experience. How do you do that? Well, it is easy!
For elementary students, interactive online games are a great way to have fun while exploring traditional and non traditional careers.
* Drive of your life, an interactive game from the Indiana Youth Institute, lets students custom-design their own car by answering questions about their personal interests, getting a list of careers that match those interests, and then "taking a drive" through each of those careers. Along the way, they meet real people via video working in those careers—learning about daily work life and the skills and education required.
* Kidswork, from South Carolina's public education station ETV, digs a little deeper into the inner workings for a range of careers. Choosing any business in ETV's cartoon town, students can watch short video interviews with the people who work there; perform related job tasks; and learn some of the history behind various fields. While maintaining its fun factor, Kidswork is great for connecting classroom skills to real-world jobs in small doses. In this game, your student can use math to fill prescriptions as a pharmacist; practice writing slogans as a public relations specialist; and match electrical circuits as a theatrical lighting designer.
* Kids.gov, the US government's official web portal for kids, provides an A–Z listing and links to more than 50 different career videos as well as interviews, games, and general career information. But watch out! This site is so rich in resources that you and your student could spend hours exploring everything from careers in brain imaging to police dog training.
*CareerOneStop, a US Department of Labor site, wins the prize for sheer volume with more than 500 career videos grouped by skills, industry, interest clusters, and educational requirements. Click on the Finance section, for example, and you’ll find links to videos explaining jobs ranging from actuary to teller.
* Virginia Career View is a terrific website for elementary and middle school students. Virginia Career VIEW (Vital Information for Education and Work) is recognized as the Commonwealth's Career Information Delivery System for all students in grades K-8 in Virginia. We are located at Virginia Tech as part of the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences in the School of Education. As part of the Office of Education, Research and Outreach, our mission is to inform, encourage, and support the education and career development of the people of Virginia. Virginia Career VIEW is supported by State funds from the Virginia Department of Education, directly through Virginia Tech.For over 30 years, Virginia Career VIEW has been serving school counselors, educators, workforce development professionals, students, parents, and job seekers through career resources, research, outreaches, and professional development training.
Students are able to take quizzes, watch videos, play games/apps, and learn the career clusters.
When you are out and about, talk with your child about the different jobs you see in your community. Who works in a restaurant? Who works at the port? Who works at the city hall? Who works at the grocery store? When you see things in your community, ask your child, "What job do you think made that? A few examples are billboards, buildings, traffic lights, traffic signs, busses, bridges, computers, boats, and books. Engage with your child so that he/she can learn about the world around them as it relates to work.
Our first career lessons are as follows:
What's happening in Kindergarten?
Kindergarten students will watch a career video from Curious Kids. We usually do not finish the complete show, but they do get to see a marine biologist, an author who writes about sea shells, a man who builds structures out of legos, a veterinarian, a cowboy, and a woman who studies mosquitos. After the video, students will complete a "Timeline of Events" that breaks up their school career (elementary, middle, high, and college). We talk about first jobs (typically in high school) and long term jobs (what we think we want to do forever). I cannot find my PDF file, so I had to upload a picture of the activity.
Careers, Part II for Kindergarten:
The second lesson for Kindergarten students is utilizing the book, "Clothesline Clues to Jobs People Do". Students guess the career by listening to the clue and by looking at the clothes and tools needed for the job. Students will then create their own clothesline clues and we will try to guess the job they want to do when they grow up. Kinders love this activity and are really proud of their drawings!
The second lesson for Kindergarten students is utilizing the book, "Clothesline Clues to Jobs People Do". Students guess the career by listening to the clue and by looking at the clothes and tools needed for the job. Students will then create their own clothesline clues and we will try to guess the job they want to do when they grow up. Kinders love this activity and are really proud of their drawings!
I What will First Grade Do?
First grade students will participate in a Career Guessing Game that is on a Powerpoint. The kids have written clues (and even picture clues) to help them guess the job. They love it! They learn a few new ones, but they are so excited to get the jobs correct! So, yes, it may be a little easy, but everyone needs to experience success, right!?!
After the game, we discuss girls and boys can do any job they desire. A girl can build a house just like a boy. A boy can bake a cake just as a girl can bake a cake. Boys and girls can be dancers or gymnasts. A girl can be a plumber. Sure, boys may do the job more, but girls still can, and vice versa. Student complete a writing assignment in which they have to tell me (1) What they want to be, (2) Why they want to do that job, and (3) What is something they will do at their job.
I cannot load the powerpoint here, but I was able to save it to a PDF that you can view. As I was working on creating a guessing game for my kiddos, I stumbled across this gem on the web. The author's screen name is kifissia. It was perfect for what I wanted to do, so instead of reinventing the wheel, I downloaded it to use with my kids.
First grade students will participate in a Career Guessing Game that is on a Powerpoint. The kids have written clues (and even picture clues) to help them guess the job. They love it! They learn a few new ones, but they are so excited to get the jobs correct! So, yes, it may be a little easy, but everyone needs to experience success, right!?!
After the game, we discuss girls and boys can do any job they desire. A girl can build a house just like a boy. A boy can bake a cake just as a girl can bake a cake. Boys and girls can be dancers or gymnasts. A girl can be a plumber. Sure, boys may do the job more, but girls still can, and vice versa. Student complete a writing assignment in which they have to tell me (1) What they want to be, (2) Why they want to do that job, and (3) What is something they will do at their job.
I cannot load the powerpoint here, but I was able to save it to a PDF that you can view. As I was working on creating a guessing game for my kiddos, I stumbled across this gem on the web. The author's screen name is kifissia. It was perfect for what I wanted to do, so instead of reinventing the wheel, I downloaded it to use with my kids.
guess_my_job_pdf.pdf |
Careers, Part II for First Grade: The second part to careers for first grade students involves teaching them the Georgia Career Clusters: Agriculture, Transportation, and Law Enforcement (and other people who protect us). Before we begin the lesson, I'll read the book "When I Grow Up" by Al Yankovic. I always remember him as "Weird Al" from when I was a kid. It's a silly book the the kiddos seem to enjoy. |
The next part of our lessons involves a powerpoint presentation. I found this online which saved me a lot of time! I did change a couple of things, but I cannot take credit for all of it. Georgia requires that all students in 1st-5th grade be presented with certain career categories/domains according to grade level.
1st_grade_powerpoint_ag_food_and_natural_resources.pptx |
What about Second Grade?
We will discuss the cluster STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) and we will discuss now the A (art) is being added, making it STEAM. We figure out jobs that would fit in each category. After our discussion, they will watch the Curious Kids video, STEAM. Although it is not specific to careers, students are able to see people working in science, technology, engineering, art, and math.
We will discuss the cluster STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) and we will discuss now the A (art) is being added, making it STEAM. We figure out jobs that would fit in each category. After our discussion, they will watch the Curious Kids video, STEAM. Although it is not specific to careers, students are able to see people working in science, technology, engineering, art, and math.
There are great resources on the web for parents to enjoy with their children. I have attached a form that lists a variety of websites. Check them out! They are pretty awesome!
career-k8-resources_blog.pdf |
Career, Part II: Second Grade
Students will work together in groups to complete a "Who Am I?" questionnaire. Students will read the clues and try to guess what career it describes. We will address the CCRPI standards of Art/Communication, Health Sciences, and Education. Typically, students have a hard time with the Health Sciences, because there are so many types of doctors and they have no clue what the actual terminology is or as they call it, "the fancy words" for doctors. Afterwards, we discuss the health sciences a little more. Students enjoy working together, and for the most part, stay ON TASK! Below is a copy of the form I created.
Students will work together in groups to complete a "Who Am I?" questionnaire. Students will read the clues and try to guess what career it describes. We will address the CCRPI standards of Art/Communication, Health Sciences, and Education. Typically, students have a hard time with the Health Sciences, because there are so many types of doctors and they have no clue what the actual terminology is or as they call it, "the fancy words" for doctors. Afterwards, we discuss the health sciences a little more. Students enjoy working together, and for the most part, stay ON TASK! Below is a copy of the form I created.
2nd_grade_art_communication_health_science_education_who_am_i.pdf |