Lesson 1: Collecting Your Information
This lesson focuses on the first step of career development - identifying personal skills and strengths to assist in the development of career goals.
Objectives
- Identify some of the reasons people work.
- Recognize some of their personal strengths and interests.
Materials
- Instructor Presentation: Lesson 1 Collecting Your Information (Powerpoint)
- Student Workbook: My Job Exploration Workbook Lesson 1 (Powerpoint)
- Knowledge Check: Lesson 1 Pre-Check and Post-Check (PDF)
Expanding Your Knowledge
These optional activities and resources can reinforce lesson objectives in the home, engage families, or supplement classroom instruction.
Student Interview: Ask a Friend or Family
Have students interview someone who knows them well to identify their strengths, interests, hobbies, and how they can help others. Ask students to share Page 6 (My Strengths) of their Lesson 1 Job Exploration Workbook and compare responses.
I'm Determined One Pager
Use the I'm Determined One Pager and activities to help students identify their strengths, preferences, interests, and needs. Provide opportunities for students to present their One Pager to others.
Hobby/Job Match Up
Using picture cards, have students match pictures of hobbies (such as drawing, cooking, or playing sports) with jobs that utilize those same skills (such as artist, chef, coach) to make learning about careers more hands-on and personal.
Additional Resources
These additional resources support the content in the Pre-ETS Toolkit and provide even more ways to help students plan for the future.
Academic and Career Planning Video Scribe
This animated video is an effective way to introduce the broader topic of career planning for students.
My Next Move O'NET Interests Profiler
Sponsored by the US Department of Labor, this tool helps you identify your career interests and points you towards career paths that might feed those interests.
Reinforcement Assessment
This assessment can assist students who struggle with speaking or expressing their thoughts. It reveals what the student enjoys in a given situation. While it won't provide complete answers about jobs, it is a good starting point. An adult will need to help collect this information outside of class.
Who Are You?
This free self-assessment tool helps students examine their strengths and interests.