Teachers' notes

TimeOne hour

Purpose

To obtain some insight into themselves and other ESL learnersin their class group, and to see the relevance of these types of activities to the career development process.

Rationale

The self awareness aspect of career development is about identifying your own interests, abilities and values. The activities in this lesson serve as an introduction to this self analysis. They will also allow students to get to know each other better, so that they can work more effectively together through all the career development activities.

Activities

  1. Explain to the students that these activities are to help them find out about other people in their class. The more they know about each other, the more they will be able to work effectively together and help each other in the exploration of careers and future pathways.
  2. In pairs students take it in turns to ask each other questions, then answer questions about themselves. The student handout questions can be used, or other questions and open ended statements can be developed by the teacher and/or students. If students know each other well, develop questions that probe more deeply, rather than sharing information they already know.
  3. Students use the information they have gathered to introduce their partner to the rest of the class.
  4. Using the Find someone who… worksheet, students move around the class trying to find someone who meets the criteria and fill their name in on the sheet. The same person cannot be used for more than one item. Students may need assistance to understand the sheet and may need to write their own answers before the activity.

Further activities

  • Students write down four statements about themselves, three of which are true and one of which is false.Students then say these statements to the class. The rest of the class asks 'lie detector' questions about each of the statements to help them work out which statements are true and which is false. The class guesses which statement is incorrect (using an informal show of hands or a more formal vote.) This can be done as a whole class or in smaller groups. Depending on the level of your students, teachers should do an example modelled on themselves.

Resources

  • One copy of the Getting to know you (or other prepared questions) & Find someone who…handouts
  • Identifying step in the My Guide section of the myfuture website at

Victorian Essential Learnings (VELS)

Level 5 and 6

Strand / Domain / Dimension
Physical, Personal and Social Learning / Interpersonal Development / Building social relationships
Working in teams
Interdisciplinary Learning / Thinking Processes / Reflection, evaluation and metacognition

Questions

What is your name?______

How old are you?______

Where were you born?______

What countries have you lived in?______

______

How long have you lived in Australia?______

Who do you live with?______

What do you really like to do at school?______

______

What do you do when you are not at school?______

______

What would you like to do when you are not at school?______

______

What are you really good at?______

______

What are you not so good at?______

______

What is the best thing about the country where you were born?______

______

What is the best thing about Australia?______

______

What do you want to do when you finish school?______

______

What does your family want you to do when you finish school?______

______

Describe what your ideal life will be in ten years time?______

______

Find someone who......

Find someone who…… / First Name
…has the same name (1st, middle or last) as you
....wants to do an Apprenticeship
…is wearing the same coloured shirt as you
…likes Asian food
…likes playing sport
…plays a musical instrument
…is good at the same school subject as you
…wants to go to University
…lived in the same country overseas as you
…doesn't like chocolate
...works part-time
…wants to do the same job as you
…does something you don't do outside school
…has a birthday in the same month as yours
…likes to cook
…goes bushwalking
…enjoys the same school subject as you
…writes stories or poetry
…takes photographs
…likes the same band as you

© Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, Victoria, Australia, 2009