PROJECT H.O.P.E. (Highlighting Opportunities for Potential Employment)

Lesson Procedures:

BEGINNING THE LESSON…
1. Teacher will introduce the lesson using the TV and the Internet website from the SCANS website, which asks students various questions about career planning and decision making.
2. Students will discuss how decision making effects independent living skills
3. Teacher will pass out SCANS pre-assessment survey, students will take the survey and then identify which area they gave the highest scores. These will be placed in their career folders.
4. Teacher will pass out info sheet with the 3 basic skills and the 5 competencies employers want from their employees
5. Students will use INSPIRATION software to visually illustrate the information. It will be placed in their career folders.
6. Teacher will use resources to discuss the following topics: SKILLS EMPLOYERS WANT, IDENTIFY YOUR SKILLS, OCCUPATIONAL CATEGORIES, WHAT SORT OF JOB DO YOU HOPE TO FIND, EMPLOYERS' EXPECTATIONS, SKILLS, AREAS OF EXPERIENCE, LIBRARY SOURCES OF CAREER FORMATION, HOW PEOPLE FIND JOBS, & WHY PEOPLE GET FIRED.
7. Students will be asked to involve their parents in the career exploration unit by asking them to fill out a PROJECT H.O.P.E job inquiry form. Any parent interested in speaking to the class will be scheduled. An incentive award will be given to the class who brings back the most parent inquiries.
8. At the end of the first week, students will decide what they will do for Career Week projects.
9. After participating in several field trips, students will download all interviews and field trip pictures into one or two computers. Students will edit photos, select which ones they will use in presentations, and create folders on the desktop. Teacher will review technology skills before selected students edit pictures. Depending on the number of pictures, the activity may be divided by grades.
10. Students will create POWERPOINT presentations, digital scrapbooks, IMOVIE and electronic job profiles (5th grade) Rubrics will be discussed at the beginning of the second week, so that students will know how they will be assessed.

ACTIVITIES: DREAM JOB---(COMPUTER LAB IF AVAILABLE)
(1. Students will complete 7 questions that ask them to identify their likes and dislikes, most prominent skill, and where they would like to work.
2. Students will then go online to do research and make informed decisions about their “DREAM JOB” using the following sites- Monster.com, Jobsearch.com, & CareerMosaic.com.
3. After completing their search, students will turn their responses into a classified ad like those seen on the web site. Aide will assist those students with reading difficulties, and an alternate assignment will require them to list 3 facts about the jobs they have seen on the web.
4. Students who do not have Internet forms will use the OCCUPATIONAL HANDBOOK CD ROM, to investigate and record 3 facts about 5 jobs.

ACTIVITIES: MY DREAM JOB—SCRAPBOOK (4TH GRADE) week 3-4
1. Students have completed essays about their dream job. They will find research material to match their jobs and illustrate in a scrapbook. Each student must contribute at least one page to the project.
2. Scrapbook will include: My dream job essay, Additional material about that job or a related job, Picture of students, websites for finding jobs.

ACTIVITIES: THE BULLETIN BOARD--- week 3-4
1. Selected students will design and create a bulletin board display that lists the foundation skills, what employers want, and PROJECT HOPE information.

ACTIVITIES: “IT’S IN THE MAIL”- --(4th- 5th grade)
1. Students will review last year’s PROJECT H.O.P.E. mailing list. Teacher and students will edit/adjust mailing list.
2. Students will break into groups and be assigned jobs: STAMPER- stamps the school address on the envelopes, FOLDER- folds the job inquiry letter and cover sheets, STUFFER- puts the letter in the envelope,
RECORDER- writes the address on the envelopes

ACTIVITIES: ELECTRONIC PROFILES
1. Students have completed several activities relating to career exploration and decision-making. Using that information, students will complete a digital scrapbook/CD outlining jobs studied
2. Students will save their presentations to their electronic folders.
3. Students will present profiles in class via ENFOCUS projector and laptop computer.

ACTIVITIES: LET’S MAKE A MOVIE
1. Students will use the data they have collected from field trips and guest speakers (recorded interviews, camcorder movies, digital pictures, etc.) to create movies using IMOVIE software on the MAC. (resource students have access to MAC computers in the classrooms) Other students will use Window Movie Maker or other available software from technology lab to create movies illustrating field trip experiences.
2. Fifth grade students will work with lab technician to create CDs for the school library and the community participants.

ACTIVITIES: CAREER WEEK
1. Students will display their work during Career Week (probably after testing). Students will invite community participants -- if possible, the counselor will assist in setting up a career fair day for the entire school. Younger students will dress as the career of their choice. Selected student photographers will document all activities and add to the digital scrapbook to be housed in the school library.

ALTERNATIVE PROJECTS FOR YOUNGER STUDENTS:
1. Students may create a visual representation of a career they are interested in.
2. Their poster will be judged with a rubric, which the teacher will discuss and review with the student
3. Students may use magazines to create a scrapbook of careers. Students will cut out pictures of persons in various careers, label careers, and find an info sheet to attach to their scrapbook using the OCCUPATIONAL HANDBOOK FOR YOUNG PEOPLE or THE JOB BOX


Reproducible Materials: DREAM JOB WORKSHEET, SCANS survey, multimedia rubrics, poster/scrapbook rubric, PROJECT H.O.P.E job survey form, Quality Plus & Delta assessment form, thank you notes, Career Week invitations.

Assessment Procedures: Multimedia rubrics, final projects, power-point presentations, CD and digital scrapbook, BULLETIN BOARDS, graphs and other visual presentations,essays, and other student work.

Exploration and Extension:

Students could create a newsletter highlighting PROJECT H.O.P.E activities.

If finances were available, students would benefit from more field trips.

Students would like to tape several “interviews” to make a short movie about the right and the wrong way to interview.

Resources and Links:

Lake Charles American Press
Brentwood Elementary School Library
Calcasieu Parish Public Library
La. School-to- Works Agency

***if project is funded by the Digital Wish organization, Tool Factory software, digital cameras, and other multimedia resources will be available for student centered projects.