Exploring Career Opportunities
                                                                   By:  Denise Smyk

Project at a Glance :

This project involves students investigating the need for career exploration opportunities at the elementary level.  Students engage in a variety of activities involving ELA standards,  such as interviewing and script writing.        
 
Driving Question:

How can we create opportunities to get kids excited about career exploration?             

Standards:

• CCSS-ELA Writing 5.1 - Write informational pieces to convey ideas and information clearly.
• 5.2 Write opinion pieces to support view with reasons and information.
• 5.4, 5.5. 5.6,  ELA Writing Production-Revise, produce and distribute cohesive writing.  Utilize technology
• 5.7, 5.8, 5.9, 5.10-Research- Build knowledge through resources, extend, connect, and use evidence to communicate.
• Informational Reading 5.1, 5.2, 5.3-Read critically to find key ideas in a variety of texts
• 5.4, 5.5, 5.6- Analyze and learn from a variety of text structures
• 5.7,5.8,5.9-Draw, explain, and integrate information
• Communication 5.4, 5.5, 5.6
• Employability Skills:  Teamwork

Team / Culture Building:

• True Heroes
• Collaboration Tower
• Hopes, Fears, and Norms

​Entry Event:

• Career visitors, CTC speakers, and visit the Careerline Tech Center
• Explore career websites
• Career questionnaire
• Student Council Day - dress up as your favorite career, various video​

Stakeholders:

• Students
• Teachers
• Community members
• Careerline Tech Center staff

Empathy Building:

• Empathy maps for all stakeholders
• Survey questions
• Reflections

Inquiry / Need to Knows:

• ​Taking notes from speakers
• Empathy maps
• Jigsaw research of career pathways
• Surveying the school
• Writing Informational papers
• Explore CTC website​

• Michigan.gov poster
• Career Notebook reflections

Incubation:

•  Idea Quota protocol​​

• What if . . . protocol​​​

• ​Reflect on past projects
• Reflect on fun activities
• Brainstorm ways in which we like to learn.
• Ask stakeholders how they like to learn.

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Solution Building:

• Storyboard
• Turn and talk
• Jigsaw share out and pluses and deltas feedback
• Index card voting
• Pitching to our group
• NUF test​

Authentic Audience:

• Careerline Tech Center employees

Final Presentation:

• Jigsaw- students will work within their discovered favorite pathway to build their final decision, research their pathway, and write scripts for their presentation, and prototype final idea.  
• Students will brainstorm presentation modes that they think the stakeholders will like.  
• Speaking rubric 
• For each curricular component a rubric will be developed.
• Each group practice pitches to each other through Flipgrid or in person.​

Click here for teacher's full plan.

​Reflection and Feedback:

• Speaking/presentation rubric/checklists for audience
• Reflection discussions daily
• Turn and Talk
• Revisit Hopes and Fears
• Rating of productivity daily- Show me with your hand . . .​
• ​Informational writing rubric

Click here to follow the teacher's Journey through PBL on Padlet . . .

Meet the Educator:

​Denise Smyk teaches Advanced ELA and is a PBL Facilitator at Lakewood Elementary, West Ottawa Public Schools.

     "The PBL journey invigorates and motivates both my students and myself.  The enthusiasm, curiosity, and growth in academics, personal characteristics, and employability skills ignites beyond the classroom to the school, home and community."