South Dakota Teachers As Advisors

6-8th Grades Academic Development-Session 1

Essential Questions:
What are the Career Clusters?

How can I use the Career Clusters to explore careers that match my skills and interests?

STANDARD(S): Revised Bloom’s Level: Understand

C 3.1 Implement interest assessment results to explore career cluster options.

C 1.1 Interpret the knowledge and skills associated within each career cluster.

Introduction

Time: 5 minutes

Give each student 1-2 puzzle pieces (1 puzzle per table). Have groups race to put their puzzle together (each puzzle will make up a career cluster.) Explain that in the same way the puzzle pieces fit together, careers also have a logical way they fit together – a system called Career Clusters which groups similar careers. Today, we will learn what the Career Clusters are and how the clusters are used to help students determine a future career path.

Instruction

  1. Our puzzles make just a few of the Career Clusters, but sixteen clusters exist. Using page 5-6 of the Career Clusters Interest Survey, read aloud about each of the career clusters.
  2. Which career cluster is right for you? Let’s take a survey and find out which of these clusters may be a good match for your skills and interests. Students will take Career Cluster Interest Survey and list the top matches at the end of the survey packet.
  3. Once students know their match, they will read the corresponding pages to the cluster that is the best match for them from the SDMyLife magazine.
  1. Have students create a collage showcasing the Career Cluster that best matches their personality. Collage will contain their name, the name of the cluster they selected, 3 careers within their cluster, and 5 skills or interests related to their cluster. Collage can contain a combination of words and pictures to showcase their cluster.

Closure/Wrap Up

Have each student share one new thing they learned about Career Clusters today. Summarize main ideas related to the clusters.

Extension Activities:

Students can log-on to SDMyLife and explore possible classes to take in high to prepare for careers in the cluster of their choice.

Bring the guidance counselor in as a guest speaker to help students begin thinking about what they can do in high school to prepare for their future careers.

Making the Connection Checking Understanding Higher Order Thinking Handout