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Future Ready Quest

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Lesson Plan

Session 1 Lesson Plan

Introduce students to essential life skills and show how these competencies support their post-secondary goals through interactive activities and reflection.

Early awareness of key life skills and clear post-secondary goals empowers students to plan effectively for college, careers, and life beyond high school.

Audience

12th Grade

Time

25 minutes

Approach

Interactive presentation, discussion, game, and reflection worksheet.

Materials

Prep

Prepare Session Materials

10 minutes

Step 1

Hook and Overview

5 minutes

  • Welcome students to the "Future Ready Quest" series and outline the 7-session journey.
  • Present today’s objectives: define life skills and explore post-secondary goals.
  • Distribute the Future Ready Project Overview Sheet and review its contents.

Step 2

Slide Presentation

7 minutes

  • Display the Life Skills Intro Slides.
  • Define core life skills (e.g., communication, time management) with real-world examples.
  • Explain how each skill links to success in college, careers, and beyond.
  • Pause for quick clarifying questions.

Step 3

Group Discussion

5 minutes

  • Arrange students into small groups of 3–4.
  • Provide each group with the Post-Secondary Goals Discussion Guide.
  • Prompt groups to discuss their short- and long-term post-secondary goals and note which life skills they believe will support those goals.
  • Circulate and listen for insights to share.

Step 4

Matching Game

5 minutes

  • Hand out sets of Goal Matching Game Cards to each pair/group.
  • Instruct students to match each life skill card with a related post-secondary outcome card.
  • After 2–3 minutes, review matches as a class, discussing any mismatches and reasoning.

Step 5

Individual Reflection

3 minutes

  • Ask students to complete the Post-Secondary Goals Brainstorm Worksheet.
  • Have them list two to three personal post-secondary goals and identify the life skills needed to achieve each.
  • Collect worksheets to inform future lessons and project plans.
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Slide Deck

Future Ready Quest – Session 1

Life Skills & Post-Secondary Goals

• Define core life skills
• See real-world examples
• Connect skills to your goals

Welcome everyone to the Future Ready Quest series! Today is Session 1: Life Skills & Post-Secondary Goals. Introduce yourself and briefly remind students that over seven sessions, they’ll build competencies to thrive after high school. Explain that this deck will define life skills, give examples, and show how they support college and career success.

Today’s Objectives

  1. Define what “life skills” are
  2. Identify key life skills you already use
  3. Understand how these skills support your post-secondary goals

Explain that every lesson will build on the last. Walk through today’s three objectives.

What Are Life Skills?

Life skills are the practical abilities you use every day to manage yourself, your relationships, and your environment.

They help you:
• Communicate clearly
• Solve problems
• Make decisions
• Adapt to new challenges

Read the definition aloud and ask: “Can anyone give me another way to say ‘life skills’?” Sparingly add examples if needed.

Core Life Skills

• Communication: expressing ideas & listening actively
• Time Management: prioritizing tasks & meeting deadlines
• Critical Thinking: analyzing information & solving problems
• Self-Awareness: understanding your strengths & areas for growth
• Collaboration: working effectively with others

Quickly walk through each skill and invite a student to share how they’ve used one of these. Keep it under a minute each.

Life Skills in Action

• Scenario 1: Asking a professor for help and clarifying assignment expectations (Communication)
• Scenario 2: Creating a weekly study schedule to balance classes, a job, and extracurriculars (Time Management)

Questions:
• What went well?
• Which skill made the difference?

Present two scenarios: one college, one workplace. Ask: “Which skill is highlighted here?”

Linking Skills to Your Goals

Think about your own post-secondary goals:
• College/university
• Trade or technical school
• Career directly after graduation

How will communication, planning, and problem-solving help you succeed?

Explain that every post-secondary goal—whether college, trade school, or career—relies on these same skills. Emphasize that practicing now builds confidence later.

Group Discussion Prompt

In groups of 3–4:

  1. Share two short-term and one long-term post-secondary goal.
  2. Identify at least one life skill you’ll need to reach each goal.
  3. Be prepared to share one insight with the class.

Introduce the upcoming group activity. Tell students they’ll discuss their personal goals and note which skills will help them achieve each.

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