Career Webquest Middle School

Introduction

How many times have you been asked, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Probably countless.  Now here you are an 8th grader about to register for your 9th grade year...HIGH SCHOOL!  Reality is starting to set in that you will no longer be in middle school next year.  Life is about to get very real, very fast.  Nobody ever you said that you have to have it all figured out right now, but it is never too early to start exploring options.  

This webquest will take you to some excellent websites that you can use today and throughout school.  At the end of this journey, you will have gained invaluable knowledge that will help you get well on your way to a successful and happy future:)

Bon voyage!!

Task

You will go through a series of steps for this career quest.  You will be taking assessments and surveys to find out what kind of student you are and how you learn best.  You will also find out what careers match your interests, skills, and personality.  These steps will help you pick your most suitable career.  Your final task will be to create a product that presents information about your chosen career in a way that can be shared with other students. 

Process

Step 1:  When people, especially young people, think about what kind of career they want, usually the first thing to come to mind is money $$.  There is so much more to consider about a career than money.  Click on the link below to rank the work values that are most to least important to you. 

Work Values Matcher

After you click "See My Results" write your top five on your Career Packet Handout. 

Then list three careers that highlight your top value. 

Step 2: It is also important to know more about yourself, such as what kind of student you are, your learning style, and your character, to increase your chances of having a career that will have long term success. Click on the link below, take the assessments then answer the sections on your Career WebQuest Handout. 

Self-Assessments

 

Step 3:  It is never too soon to start planning, even in middle school.  There are steps that you can take in both middle and high school that can help you be more prepared for your future.  Click on the link below and answer the corresponding questions on your handout. 

Career Planning Checklists

 

Step 4:  This step will assist you in narrowing down the career you want to research and present.  Click on each part and answer the corresponding section on the handout. 

            Part I:    Career Clusters 

                          For brief descriptions of your top three career clusters click here.

            Part II:   Skills Match

            Part III:  Find Careers:  Make sure to get thorough information in this section.  You can have more information than the handout                asks for if you wish, but at the minimum, you should have what is asked for.  You will use this information on your visual for your                presentation.

            Part IV:  School for Your Career  Name & location, type of degree, number of years to receive degree, average yearly tuition,                  note in-state or out-of-state tuition)

            (Military- What is the average ASVAB score needed for your particular job interest? Where might you go for basic training? How                long will basic training last? Are there any sign up bonuses available, and if so, how do you qualify? How do you advance in                      rank?)

            Part V:  Getting Experience and Exploring Salary and Pay Go to these sections and answer the questions on your handout.

You will notice that there are other links that you can go to in this website.  You are not required to give information on these areas right now, but they are very good resources for you going forward, especially the section about "Paying for School." 

Step 5:   After you finish researching your topic, you will make a presentation for other students.  You can choose one of the following ways below to make your presentation visual. You will also present this in class.  If you wear a uniform that goes with your career, you will receive extra credit points. 

  • Canva
  • Google Slides
  • Posterboard
  • Tri-fold board

What do you need to include on this?  Career information:  job duties or responsibilities, work environment, training or education, salary and benefits, job outlook, and list your three related jobs.  You also need to include the information that you found about your school or college or military. Make sure that it is "viewer friendly." In other words, the viewer can read it easily and it is appealing visually. 

Evaluation

Career Webquest Rubric

Criteria

Description

Possible Points

Career WebQuest Handout

All sections of the handout are completed with the information requested.

1       2        3

Visual Presentation

  • Includes all required information

  • Is colorful, neat, reader/viewer friendly has an appropriate amount of  pictures/images

  • Has few to no grammatical errors

  • Appropriate medium for the content presented

1       2        3

1       2        3

 

1       2        3

1       2        3

Oral Presentation

  • Knowledgeable about content

  • Speaks clearly and at an appropriate volume

  • Maintains eye contact

  • Prepared, organized, and able to answer questions from the audience. 

1       2        3

1       2        3

1       2        3

1       2        3

Extra credit

Wore a uniform or dressed how a person does in that career or brought in a prop or props that the career would  use (if appropriate)

 1       2        3

Conclusion

I hope you have a better understanding of what needs to be considered when thinking about a career and a better understanding of yourself as a student.  I hope you also have a better understanding about the career you chose and careers in general.  Continue to use educationplanner.org or other websites that are available to help you on your journey to the perfect career for you and future success!! 

Teacher Page

Standards Covered:

ELAGSE8W7: Conduct short research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question), drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused questions that allow for multiple avenues of exploration.

ELAGSE8W8: Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using search terms effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.

ELAGSE8SL4: Present claims and findings, emphasizing salient points in a focused, coherent manner with relevant evidence, sound valid reasoning, and well-chosen details; use appropriate eye contact, adequate volume, and clear pronunciation.

ELAGSE8SL5: Integrate multimedia and visual displays into presentations to clarify information, strengthen claims and evidence, and add interest.

ELAGSE8SL6: Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate.