Foundational Objectives:

Awareness and understanding of life career concept.
Awareness of self and knowledge of the value of a positive self-concept.
Awareness of and skills needed to access, understand and use occupational information.

Learning Objectives:

The student will:

• identify academic skills needed in several occupations.
• identify personal interests, abilities, strengths and weaknesses and how they relate to careers.

C.E.L.s: COM, CCT, IL, PSVS, NUM, TL

Materials:

• pen or pencil
• handout No. 1 "My Skills"
• paper
• student journals

Time: Two - three class periods.

Background Information:

People who are successful in their occupations know themselves. They know what interests them and what does not and they look for jobs that reflect their interests. When a job is interesting and enjoyable an individual's chance of success is increased. After all, it is much easier to do well in a job that you love than in one you dislike.

Successful people recognize their own abilities and also their areas of weakness. They look for jobs that will allow them to use their skills and abilities to maximum advantage, all the while working on those areas that need improvement.

Successful people are also self-confident. Because they see themselves as capable people, able to do a number of things well, employers and co-workers also tend to see them in this way.

The first step in choosing an occupation or looking for a job is an honest self-inventory. Students who ask themselves questions such as, "What skills and abilities do I have? What are my interests? What motivates me? How can I increase my self-confidence?" have taken the first step toward life-long occupational success.

Activity:

1. Talk to students about the importance of working at jobs that they enjoy. Explain that work is a way to earn money, but it can also be a source of pleasure and personal growth. This is an activity that will help students identify jobs that reflect their interests.

2. Have students work individually. Ask each student to make a list of 20 things he/she likes to do. The list can include school subjects and activities, leisure activities and part-time jobs. Then have students identify a job that is similar to each activity on their list. Use the following examples for illustrations, if necessary:

   Things I Like to Do Ride my horse Sew Teach Sunday School Listen to music Be outdoors

   Occupations Which Are Similar -  Jockey, Horse-trainer, Horse, Groom -  Seamstress, Clothing Designer, Theatre Costume Designer -  Elementary School Teacher, Day Care Worker, Minister,    Religious Education Consultant -  Professional Music Critic, Disc Jockey, Music Librarian,    Music Therapist, Music Teacher -  Hunting, fishing, farming, trapping

   Some students may have limited knowledge of possible jobs and thus have difficulty identifying ones which are similar to things they like to do. In this situation, students can work in groups to complete this portion of the assignment.

3. Explain to students that there are some basic skills such as the ability to read, which are required in any job. Divide students into groups of three or four. Have each group compile a list of basic skills needed for any job. Some possibilities include:
   • writing
   • speaking
   • following directions
   • solving problems
   • getting along with others
   • using a telephone book and telephone
   • mathematical computation
   • computer literacy

4. Tell students that each of them already has a number of skills that can be used in an occupational situation. This activity will help them identify the skills. Distribute a copy of the handout No. 1 "Skills List" to each student. Have students work in pairs. They should work through the skills list and check those skills they feel they possess. Then each student should select four or five skills that particularly interest her or him and identify one or more careers or jobs in which each of the skills identified are used.

5. As a wind up activity ask the students to complete the following statement in their journals:

   I learned that ...

Additional Activities:

Have students identify a way in which they might help other students build up their skills. Some possibilities include emphasizing people's strengths rather than their weaknesses, offering recognition for work well done, letting people know they do not have to be super athletes or super students to be your friend, etc. Working individually, have students identify one situation in which they contributed to another person's self-confidence and one situation where they may have diminished it.

Evaluation:

Adapted from: Project real world - module 4, Federal/Provincial Publication, Saskatchewan Education, Training and Employment, 1986.

Grade 8 Module: Self-Awareness
Handout No. 1 "My Skills"

Source: Job seekers' handbook, Alberta Career Development and Employment, 1986.

Grade 8 Module: Self-Awareness
Handout No. 1 "My Skills"

Activity 2: Improving My Self-Concept

Foundational Objectives:

Awareness of self and understanding of the value of a positive self-concept.
Awareness of the value of knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to interact successfully with others.

Learning Objectives:

The student will:

• describe personal traits and characteristics.
• demonstrate an appreciation for the similarities and differences among people.
• describe ways to improve self-concept.

C.E.L.s: COM, CCT, PSVS

Materials:

• pencil or pen
• handout No. 2 "Self-Concept Inventory"
• student journals

Time: One class period.

Background Information:

Self-concept is generally considered to be composed of self-perceptions based on interactions with others and the overall experiences from the environment. Someone once suggested that there are three major ways to develop a positive self-concept:

• Be able to accept the uniqueness of self with both positive and negative characteristics;
• focus on positive aspects of experiences; and
• learn to reach out and care for others.

An individual's self-concept may well be the most significant factor in determining the ease with which she or he can live with both self and others.

Activity:

1. Have students complete the "Self-Concept Inventory" handout No. 2.

2. In pairs, discuss responses to the handout. Then discuss personal traits.
   (a) What traits make you like others?
   (b) What traits make you different from others?

3. Have students select three of their own personal traits and describe their relevance to various occupations comparing their own personal traits with those of workers in these occupations.

4. Discuss with the class the importance of a positive self-concept.

5. In pairs, have students construct a banner (to be displayed in the classroom) on ways to improve a persons' self-concept.

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Self-Concept Inventory Name: _________________________________________ Date: ____________________ Indicate the location where you picture yourself with an x. Do not restrict yourself to a particular range on the scale - feel free to place your responses anywhere on the lines. Feel free to make any comments you like in the margins. The scale runs continuously from one labelled extreme to the other with the varying degrees being indicated by spaces //. Place your marks in the middle of the spaces, not on the boundaries. 1. Sensitive to others Insensitive to others / / / / / / / / / / / 2. Self-confident Lack self-confidence / / / / / / / / / / / 3. Critical of others Tolerant of others / / / / / / / / / / / 4. Comfortable with others Awkward with others / / / / / / / / / / / 5. Reserved Talkative / / / / / / / / / / / 6. Value myself highly Little value of self / / / / / / / / / / / 7. Participant Nonparticipant / / / / / / / / / / / 8. Nonassertive Assertive / / / / / / / / / / / 9. Honest Dishonest / / / / / / / / / / / 10. Active Passive / / / / / / / / / / / 11. Likeable Unlikeable / / / / / / / / / / / After completing the inventory, discuss with your classmates appropriate and inappropriate behaviours for specific situations.

Source: Developmental guidance classroom activities, Vocational Studies Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1991. Reprinted with permission.

Grade 8 Module: Self-Awareness
Handout No. 2 "Self-Concept Inventory"

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Activity 3: Personality and Occupational Roles

Foundational Objective: Awareness of self.

Learning Objective:

The student will:

• demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between personality and occupational roles.

C.E.L.s: COM, CCT, PSVS,

Materials:

• paper
• handout No. 3 "Personality and Occupational Roles"
• pen or pencil
• flip chart paper

Time: One - two class periods.

Background Information:

Holland (1973), a famous career psychologist, believed that one's personality relates to certain types of occupations. He categorized people into six distinct personality types and related those types to various jobs.

1. Realistic Type - prefer activities that require order, likes to work with tools, and machines and dislikes educational activities. Example of occupations are mechanic, surveyor, farmer, trapper.

2. Investigative Type - prefers activities that require research and scientific observation and does not like repetitive tasks. Example of occupations are chemist and physicist.

3. Artistic Type - prefers free and creative activities; dislikes ordered and systematic activities. Examples of occupations are artist, musician, architect.

4. Social Type - prefers activities that will help others and dislikes activities involving tools and machines. Examples of occupations are teacher, day-care worker, social worker.

5. Enterprising Type - prefers activities that influence other people and dislikes systematic, routine activities. Examples of occupations are salesperson, politician, business person.

6. Conventional Type - prefers activities requiring routine, such as filing, keeping records, organizing data and dislikes activities that are free and unorganized. Examples of occupations are accountants, clerks, data processors.

Activity:

1. Ask students to assume they have been invited to visit with a best friend for the weekend and that the friend's two aunts and two uncles will also be there. Your friend has never talked about these relatives before so you know nothing about them except that one is a teacher, another a doctor, another a trapper, another a farmer, and the other a welder. After being with these people for an hour, your friend asks you to come to the kitchen for a few minutes to ask you a question.

   Could you answer it: Which one is the doctor? the welder? the teacher? the trapper? the farmer? Solicit students' responses and the reasons. It is anticipated the students who feel they could identify the occupations will provide reasons which reflect personality and/or personal characteristics/mannerisms. Answers which suggest sex-role stereotyping should be discussed.

   Explain that an individual's personality -- and all it encompasses -- is an important consideration in choosing an occupation.

2. After adding or deleting occupational roles to equal the number of students in the class, distribute the "Personality and Occupational Roles" handout. As you do so, advise students they are going to have to think about the personalities of their classmates and match them with occupations -- one classmate for each occupation. Indicate they will be asked to give reasons for their choices and so must focus on the positive personal and personality characteristics that influenced their choices.

   As students complete the exercise, prepare to record the occupational roles, and reasons, suggested for each student. Doing so will provide each student with a written list of the `good' things his/her classmates say as well as a list of occupations to consider. In recording the results, the number of people suggesting the role is not important; the suggestions and reasons for each should be the focus.

3. Record the suggested occupations and reasons for each student. Determine whether any of the suggested occupational roles was one the student had chosen for him/herself and why.

4. Have students add any of the jobs presented in the appropriate columns on the Job Interests page in their notebooks.

Additional Activities:

Have students write a report on personalities.

Have students add similar or related occupations to each of those on the list of suggested occupational roles generated in class.

Have students role play various personality types.

Evaluation:

Resources:

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For printing and copying this template Requires Acrobat Reader (click on the table title)

Personality and Occupational Roles Name: ____________________________          Grade: __________ Date: ___________ Match each person in your class to one of the following occupations. Include yourself. Architect Veterinarian Computer Programmer Lawyer Salesperson Business Manager Doctor Welder Engineer Filmmaker Musician Reporter Biologist Designer Bus Driver Professional Athlete Police Officer Writer Custodian Television Announcer Hotel Manager Singer Trapper Photographer Pharmacist Disc Jockey Artist Mathematician Day-Care Worker Choreographer Real Estate Agent Politician Firefighter University Professor Farmer Professional Coach Recording Engineer _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________

Source: Junior high school career guidance, New Brunswick Department of Education, 1988.

Grade 8 Module: Self-Awareness
Handout No. 3 "Personality and Occupational Roles"

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Activity 4: Discovering My Potential

Foundational Objectives:

Awareness of self and understanding of the value of a positive self-concept.
Awareness of the value of knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to interact successfully with others.
Awareness of the life career concept.

Learning Objectives:

The student will:

• describe positive contributions people make to society.
• describe individual skills required to fulfill different life roles.
• demonstrate an appreciation for the similarities and differences among people.
• demonstrate effective group membership skills.

C.E.L.s: COM, CCT, PSVS

Materials:

• pen or pencil
• handout No. 4 "Discovering My Potential"

Time: One class period.

Activity

1. Have students complete the "Discovering My Potential" Activity handout.

2. After students have completed the activity sheet, discuss their responses emphasizing the potential worth of every person to make positive contributions to society.

3. Ask students to make a list of ways they could use their potential better in the following areas:
   (a) courtesy toward each other
   (b) study habits and class participation
   (c) respect for school conduct rules
   (d) respect for school property
   (e) relationships with school staff

4. Have students select one way in which they will attempt to use their potential in a positive way for the next two weeks. Have students encourage one another during this time.

5. After two weeks, discuss with students their progress and accomplishments.

Additional Activities:

This activity could be done throughout the year and a journal could be kept of progress.

Evaluation:

Adapted from: Developmental guidance classroom activities, Vocational Studies Centre, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1991.

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For printing and copying this template Requires Acrobat Reader (click on the table title)

Discovering My Potential What is potential? Describe it and give examples. ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ Does every person everywhere possess potential for making positive and negative contributions to society? Explain your answers. ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ What are some of the positive ways people could use their potential to enrich life in their communities? ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ What are some of the ways people could use their potential to negatively influence life in their communities? ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ What are some of the positive ways students could use their potential to improve school life? ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ What are some of the ways students could use their potential to negatively influence school life? ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ Do all students have the potential for being a source of encouragement for their classmates? ________________________________________________________________________________ Do all students have the potential to discourage their classmates? Give examples. ________________________________________________________________________________

Source: Developmental guidance classroom activities, Vocational Studies Centre, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1991. Reprinted with permission.

Grade 8 Module: Self-Awareness
Handout No. 4 "Discovering My Potential"