Problem-solving careers
In this lesson for grade seven, students analyze information about various careers to determine how people in those occupations use problem-solving skills.
A lesson plan for grades 6–8 English Language Arts and Guidance
Provided by CareerStart
Learning outcomes
- Students will understand how developing problem-solving skills are important in many careers.
- Students will practice skimming for important information.
Teacher preparation
Time required for lesson
Approximately 50 minutes
Materials needed
- Computers with internet access to access the Occupational Outlook Handbook and the optional article below
- Optional: If you don’t have access to computers, you may print overviews of the careers discussed in this lesson and the article and hand them out to students.
- Career graphic organizer
- Overhead transparency of graphic organizer
- Overhead projector and pens
- Pencils
Activities
- As a class, discuss what students have learned in class so far about the problem-solving process. Have students suggest ways in which they think these skills might be useful in their adult lives and in future careers.
- Put students into pairs and have them skim the information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Outlook Handbook about the careers listed below. These careers are related to the article about Nepal, but can be analyzed on their own if you choose not to use the article:
- Conservation scientists and Foresters
- Travel Agents
- Forest, Conservation, and Logging Workers
- Biological Scientists
As they read, instruct the students to focus on how people in these occupations use problem-solving skills in the course of their work. You may want to do a think-aloud with one of the career descriptions to show students how to skim for important information.
- Hand out the graphic organizer and have the students work in their pairs to fill in the information in the graphic organizer.
- Review as a class, adding information from the class to your overhead to create a complete graphic organizer.
- Parent involvement activity: Have students interview a parent, guardian, or other family member about ways they use problem solving in their jobs. Students should add this information to their graphic organizers.
North Carolina Curriculum Alignment
English Language Arts (2004)
Grade 7
- Goal 2: The learner will synthesize and use information from a variety of sources.
- Objective 2.01: Respond to informational materials that are read, heard, and/or viewed by:
- monitoring comprehension for understanding of what is read, heard and/or viewed.
- analyzing the characteristics of informational works.
- summarizing information.
- determining the importance of information.
- making connections to related topics/information.
- drawing inferences and/or conclusions.
- generating questions.
- Objective 2.01: Respond to informational materials that are read, heard, and/or viewed by:
Guidance (2001)
Grade 6–8
- Goal 4: Acquire the skills to investigate the world of work in relation to knowledge of self and to make informed career decisions.
- Objective 4.01: Develop skills to locate, evaluate, and interpret career information.
