How Does Who I Am Relate to High School and Beyond?
GRADE8SESSION1UNIT 1
Lesson Title:Putting It All Together (Part 1)
Time Required: 50 minutes
Content Standards:
Career Development
A: Students will acquire the skills to investigate the world of work in relation to
knowledge of self and to make informed career decisions.
C: Students will understand the relationship between personal qualities, education,training and the world of work.
Indicators:
- Students will develop an educational and career plan based on current interests, strengths,and limitations.
- Students will identify and explore a variety of resources to aid in career exploration andplanning now and in the future.
- Students will compare personal interests with career and educational information.
- Students will evaluate personal, ethical and work habits as they relate to achieving thestudent’s educational career plan.
X / Goal 1: Gather, analyze, and apply information and ideas.
Goal 2: Communicate effectively within and beyond the classroom.
X / Goal 3: Recognize and solve problems.
X / Goal 4: Make decisions and act as responsible members of society.
Activity Statements:
Enter the classroom with an enlarged topical map of California and a puzzle box filled withdisparate puzzle pieces. Say something like: “Who can help me get to Tarrytown, NewYork? I have a map and a puzzle that, I hope, will make a picture of Tarrytown. I don’tknow why I can’t figure out how to get where I want to go…I’ve looked at the map overand over and tried to put the picture puzzle together—I still can’t get to Tarrytown, NewYork!(Hide a roadmap of the United States and a picture puzzle of a New England community(A “Legend of Sleepy Hollow” puzzle would be ideal).
Materials:
- A geologic map of California (the map may be any kind [climatic, hydrologic, topographic]anything but a highway map; the State may be any state EXCEPT New York)
- A highway map of the United States and a puzzle with a picture of a New England community(A puzzle of “Sleepy Hollow” would be ideal in relationship to Tarrytown, New York)
- Students’ Personal Plan of Study/Career Portfolios.
Throughout the Comprehensive GuidanceCurriculum Units, students have been asked to save completed Activity Sheets, assessmentresults and reflection “papers.” The availability of this cumulative information is a key tothe effectiveness of the strategies in this Unit. If students do not have information
collected in one place (e.g. a portfolio), help them gather together as much information aspossible, e.g., results of interest inventories, job shadowing reflections, worker interviews.
Procedures:
Instructor Procedures / Student Involvement1. Arrange for students to have their PersonalPlan of Study/Career Portfolios accessiblethroughout this unit.
2. Introduce this Unit to students by askingfor help getting to Tarrytown, NY. Ifnecessary, lead conversation to studentstelling you that you have the wrong kind ofmap and the puzzle pieces are fromdifferent kinds of puzzles and they won’tfit together.
3. Make the following points via a
conversation with students.
• When planning a trip to an unknown
destination, how do you know where to go?
• What are some places or ways you canget that information?
• Which methods and/or sources seem
better than others FOR YOU?
• No matter where you are going, the keyto arriving at your destination is planning.
• People often spend more time planninga 2 week vacation than they do planningtheir lives.
4. Continue: This Comprehensive GuidanceUnit will help you become a proactiveparticipant in your own life planning.During the next three lessons, I am goingto be your guide and you will be theexplorers – Together we are going to bring
the pieces of your life’s puzzle together
into a meaningful picture for you – and
then you will develop a Personal Plan ofStudy that will guide your way on towardthe ideal picture you want your pieces tomake.
5. The final event will be your presentation ofyour Personal Plan of Study to a smallgroup of your greatest supporters: peoplesuch as, your parents, your favorite aunt, agood friend, a favorite teacher and your
counselor. On the first page of your
portfolio, write the names of people youMAY want to include in your cheeringsection.
6. ARE YOU READY?? Then LET’S GET
ON THE ROAD AND GO—toward your
ideal life. Be sure to bring your puzzle
pieces … you will need them to help youreflect/refine/revise your choices as wetravel!
7. Leaf through your Portfolio – it contains awealth of information about what you havebeen thinking and feeling along yourjourney. All of this information willcontribute to your decision-making aboutcareers and courses of study. For example,when considering what career path you
want to follow or what classes you want totake in high school, planning is important.Having information from assessments suchas a career interest inventory andachievement test scores, can be a startingpoint for planning. You have those resultsin your Portfolio.
8. We are going to review those pieces ofyour puzzle, create some new ones andgradually put them all together so you canenvision you living your ideal life—ANDdeveloping a Personal Plan of Study that will take you there!
9. The first step is “kinda” boring for some ofus… but we have to do it …ORGANIZE.Review your portfolio pieces and makesure that you have the followinginformation readily available: The Resource: “Portfolio Checklist” will helpyou identify and organize into categoriesinformation about yourself based onassessment processes developed by others
and your own assessment of yourself viareflections.Take about 10 minutes to begin the processof reviewing and organize the currentcontents of your portfolio now.
10. Distribute Activity Sheet “Back to theFuture ….” Another important part ofplanning for the future is thinking about thepast. The Activity Sheet “Back to theFuture: Pick up the Pieces of Your Past andBring them Forward: From then to Now tothe Future” will help you remember someof the activities you loved doing earlier…but perhaps have forgotten! Give students
time to read the “prompts” on the ActivitySheet.
11. Explain each section of the Activity Sheet.Encourage students to thoughtfully reflecton their lives at each grade level and to beas thorough as possible when capturingtheir memories --- Ask: What questions
came to your mind as we were going
through the Activity Sheet?
12. Work through the first column
(Kindergarten) with students – Help
students have fun with their memory
scanning. Tell students that between thisguidance lesson and the next guidancelesson, complete the “Memory Magnifiers.During our next lesson we will continuethe journey! / 1. Students will have Personal Plan of
Study/Career Portfolio available for use throughout this unit.
2. Complete the career interest inventory.
3. Students will sit in a circle or anotherconfiguration that will allow them toengage in conversation. The
conversation is intended to involve
everyone and everyone is expected to
contribute ideas, questions, opinions …
4. Students will be provided the opportunityto contribute their ideas and to askquestions.
5. Students will develop a tentative list ofpeople they will include in their cheeringsection.
6. Students will respond with “I’m Ready –Let’s Go!” or some other chant todemonstrate the liveliness of the process.
7. Students will look through the materialsin their Portfolios.
8. Students will ask questions and/or
contribute ideas/opinions about using theinformation.
9. The Resource: “Portfolio Checklist” willguide the organization of the students’portfolios. Students will work at desks ortables and begin sorting the materialsthey have (some students are born“organizers” and will have their materialsorganized – use their expertise to helpother students).
10. Students will read the “prompts” on theActivity Sheet and ask questions orcontribute comments that will help
clarify the items.
11. Students will follow the counselor’s
explanation and ask questions to
strengthen understanding of the task.
12. Students will explain what they will bedoing before the next guidance lesson(organizing the information in theirPortfolios and completing the ActivitySheet).
Discussion:
Life is a puzzle – A puzzle we create and put together for ourselves.
Picture Your Ideal Life! What picture do you want the pieces of YOUR life’s puzzle tocreate?How can YOU shape and put together the pieces of your life’s puzzle to make your ideallife?
Additional Resources:
Adapted from .
Extension Activities:
When discussing grades, test scores, etc. with students, point out the benefits that come fromcertain grades or scores. Encourage classroom teachers to allow students to work on “MemoryMagnifiers” during “discretionary” class-time as appropriate.
Additional Lesson Information:
Enduring Life Skill(s)
Perseverance / X / Integrity / X / Problem-SolvingX / Courage / Compassion / Tolerance
X / Respect / X / Goal-Setting / Responsibility
This lesson supports the development of skills in the following academic content areas.
Academic Content Area(s) Specific Skill(s)
X / Communication Arts / Reading and writing skillsX / Mathematics / Math skills; data analysis
Social Studies
X / Science / Science skills; scientific inquiry
Health/Physical Education
Fine Arts