Middle school career exploration one unit eight lesson 10
In this lesson, middle school students will continue their exploration of careers by focusing on the skills and attributes needed to succeed in a specific career field.
1. Introduce the concept of transferable skills: Start the lesson by explaining to students what transferable skills are and why they are important in the workplace. Transferable skills are abilities that can be applied to a variety of different jobs and industries. Examples of transferable skills include communication, problem-solving, and teamwork.
2. Discuss specific skills needed for different careers: Have students research and identify the specific skills and attributes needed to succeed in a career field of their choice. This could be anything from computer programming to nursing to design. Encourage students to think about both hard skills (technical skills specific to the job) and soft skills (people skills and personal qualities).
3. Role-playing activity: Divide students into small groups and assign each group a different career field. Have each group create a scenario that demonstrates the skills and attributes needed to succeed in that particular field. For example, if the career field is teaching, students could role-play a classroom scenario where a teacher demonstrates effective communication and problem-solving skills.
4. Guest speaker or virtual interview: If possible, invite a guest speaker who works in one of the career fields students are interested in to talk about their job and the skills needed to succeed in that field. Alternatively, arrange for a virtual interview with someone working in that field. This will give students a real-world perspective on what it takes to be successful in that career.
5. Reflection and discussion: After the role-playing activity and guest speaker interview, have students reflect on what they learned about the skills and attributes needed for different careers. Lead a class discussion on how students can start developing these skills now, whether through extracurricular activities, volunteer work, or part-time jobs.
By the end of this lesson, students will have a better understanding of the skills and attributes needed to succeed in different career fields and how they can start developing these skills early on in their education.