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MIDDLE SCHOOL HANDBOOK
Learning Goals
In Visit 5, students will:
- Develop a career interest based on their skills and talents
- Understand the difference between a job and a career
- Gain a broader perspective on the career opportunities available to them
Begin this visit with an explanation about why the visit about careers comes before the visit about education. Tell them that if they have an idea of what careers interest them, it will be easier to choose their educational path in high school and beyond. Discuss the difference between a job (something you have to do) and a career (something you want to do). Talk about the jobs you have had in your life that led to your career. Whether positive or negative, sharing your experience will show your students that the path from middle school to success in a career is not usually a straight one.
Exercide #1: My Perfect Career
Exercise Objectives: Students will be able to select a career that interests them. Students will be able to describe the characteristics and requirements for their selected job.
Preparation: Reflect on your life when you were in middle school. What careers interested you. Is there a correlation between what you wanted to be then and what you have become? Be prepared to share this insight with your class.
Presentation Suggestions:
- Ask a student to choose a career from the back cover of the "Dare to Dream"© workbook. As a class, brainstorm ideas to answer each question. List the ideas on the board. Spend extra time on questions #1 (Why is this career perfect for you?) and #6 (List three things you can do right now to prepare yourself for your perfect careers).
- Ask each student to choose a career that interests them (have them review the back cover of their book if they cannot come up with an answer) and write their answers in the space provided.
- You will have no shortage of questions to answer in this exercise. The students are very curious when it comes to how much education and skill is necessary to attain a job. Take advantage of their interest and emphasize the education component. Highlight that anyone can access higher education.
Exercise #2: A Restaurant all my Own
Exercise Objectives: Students will understand the concept of entrepreneurship and will create a vision for their own restaurant.
Preparation: Create a list of small businesses in the neighborhood near your school.
Presentation Suggestions: Lead a discussion about small businesses in the community. Students may know some of the local business owners or have family members that own a business. Ask students, "If they could own their own business, what it would be?” Talk about the benefits of being “your own boss".
Give the students a few minutes to answer the questions. Then brainstorm ideas for some of the more challenging questions like: "If business were to become slow, what are some ideas you could use to improve business?"
Exercise #3: My Resume
Exercise Objectives: Students will be able to identify and understand the importance of the major components of a resume.
Use this exercise only if time permits or you are presenting The Role Model Program to a leadership or college prep class.
Preparation: Omitting your contact information, make copies of your resume for the class to see.
Presentation Suggestions:
- Discuss the importance of a resume. Stress that a resume is an employer’s first impression of a job applicant and that they often receive more than 50 applications for each job opening. Emphasize that a resume must be clear, concise and honest; and that absolutely no mistakes are allowed.
- Work together as a class to create a resume on the board. Brainstorm ideas to fill in the blanks.
Exercise #4: Interview Questions
Exercise Objectives: Students will be able to identify examples of questions asked in an interview and describe why interview skills are important to obtaining a job.
Use this exercise only if time permits or you are presenting The Role Model Program to a college prep or leadership class.
Preparation: None
Presentation Suggestions:
- Describe the purpose of an interview and the general interview process, e.g., how an interview is obtained, who does the interview, follow-up interview, job offer, etc.
- Come up with a job that the students would like you to apply for.
- Ask a student to interview you in front of the class using the questions from the exercise. Answer the questions poorly. Ask the students what they think was wrong with your answers. Brainstorm ideas on how to better answer the questions. Ask another volunteer to interview you in front of the class and answer the questions based on student’s suggestions.
- Have students work in pairs to answer the exercise questions and practice interviewing each other.
Visit Summary
Recap your visit by asking the students a few questions that reflect their understanding of the visit goals. For example: “What did you learn today about careers?”, and/or “Do you have a better understanding about what you want to be when you grow up?”, and/or “How can you learn more about the career you’re interested in?” Go over your expectations of any assigned homework and let them know when you will see them again.
Thank the students for their time. Collect the books and give them to the teacher to keep in the classroom.
