Lesson Plan
What's Your Superpower Career?
Students will explore diverse career paths and begin to connect their individual strengths and interests to potential future professions.
Understanding personal strengths and interests is crucial for students to envision a fulfilling career path, fostering self-awareness and motivation for future planning.
Audience
8th Grade Students
Time
30 minutes
Approach
Discussion and self-reflection.
Materials
What's Your Superpower Career? Slide Deck, Career Reflection Worksheet, and Career Exploration Journal
Prep
Review Materials
10 minutes
- Review the What's Your Superpower Career? Slide Deck and familiarize yourself with the content.
- Print copies of the Career Reflection Worksheet (one per student).
- Review the prompts in the Career Exploration Journal for optional extension.
- Ensure projector and computer are working properly.
Step 1
Introduction & Hook
5 minutes
- Begin with the question: "What's Your Superpower Career?" displayed on the first slide.
- Engage students with a brief discussion about what a 'superpower' means to them and how it relates to real-life skills or passions.
- Use the What's Your Superpower Career? Slide Deck to guide the introduction.
Step 2
Exploring Strengths
10 minutes
- Transition to discussing different types of strengths (e.g., creative, problem-solving, empathetic, analytical).
- Distribute the Career Reflection Worksheet and instruct students to complete the 'My Strengths' section.
- Facilitate a brief partner share or whole-class discussion about identified strengths.
Step 3
Connecting Strengths to Careers
10 minutes
- Use the What's Your Superpower Career? Slide Deck to introduce various career clusters and examples that align with different strengths.
- Guide students to complete the 'Career Connections' section of the Career Reflection Worksheet.
- Encourage students to think broadly and creatively about how their strengths can be applied in different professions.
Step 4
Wrap-up & Extension
5 minutes
- Reiterate that understanding their superpowers is the first step in exploring exciting career paths.
- Assign the Career Exploration Journal as an optional homework or independent reflection activity.
- Conclude by emphasizing the importance of continuous self-discovery in career planning.
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Slide Deck
What's Your Superpower Career?
Discover your unique talents and how they can shape your future!
Welcome students and introduce the exciting topic of careers. Start by asking what they think a 'superpower' means in a personal or skill-based context.
What Makes You, YOU?
Think about something you're naturally good at.
What do you enjoy doing?
What comes easily to you?
Engage students with a thought-provoking question. Encourage a few students to share their initial thoughts on what makes someone good at their job.
Uncovering Your Strengths
Your 'superpowers' are your natural talents and skills!
- Are you a Problem Solver? (Math, Science, Logic)
- Are you Creative? (Art, Writing, Music, Design)
- Are you a Helper? (Caring, Teaching, Teamwork)
- Are you Organized? (Planning, Detail-oriented)
- Are you a Leader? (Motivating, Guiding)
What other superpowers can you think of?
Introduce the idea of different types of strengths. Give examples beyond just academic skills, such as creativity, empathy, problem-solving, or organization.
Careers Need Superpowers!
Every job needs different skills and talents.
- A scientist needs to be a Problem Solver.
- A graphic designer needs to be Creative.
- A nurse needs to be a Helper.
- An event planner needs to be Organized.
- A team manager needs to be a Leader.
How do your superpowers fit into the working world?
Explain that these strengths aren't just for hobbies; they're valuable in the professional world. Prompt students to think about how different jobs require different 'superpowers'.
Matching Your Strengths to Careers
Let's explore some career areas:
- Arts & Communication: Writing, designing, performing
- Business & Finance: Managing, accounting, investing
- Health Sciences: Nursing, therapy, research
- STEM: Engineering, coding, scientific research
- Human Services: Teaching, counseling, social work
Which areas spark your interest based on your superpowers?
Introduce the idea of broad career clusters and how they align with different strengths. Encourage students to start making mental connections.
Your Career Journey Starts Now!
Understanding your strengths is the first step to finding a career you'll love!
Keep exploring, keep learning, and keep developing your superpowers!
Encourage students that this is just the beginning of their journey. Highlight that careers evolve and self-discovery is ongoing.
Worksheet
Career Reflection Worksheet
My Superpowers (My Strengths)
Think about what you are naturally good at, what you enjoy doing, and what comes easily to you. List at least 3-5 of your personal strengths or "superpowers."
How I Use My Superpowers
For each strength you listed, describe a time you used it, either in school, with friends, at home, or in a hobby.
Connecting Superpowers to Careers
Now, think about different jobs or career fields. For each of your strengths, brainstorm one or two careers where that strength would be really important.
- Strength:
Possible Careers: - Strength:
Possible Careers: - Strength:
Possible Careers: - Strength:
Possible Careers: - Strength:
Possible Careers:
Dream Job Snapshot
If you could have any job right now, what would it be? What superpowers would you use in that job?
Journal
Career Exploration Journal
Prompt 1: Beyond the Obvious
Think about a job you know very little about but sounds interesting. What makes it intriguing? What skills or "superpowers" do you think someone would need for this job? How could you learn more about it?
Prompt 2: My Ideal Workday
Describe what your ideal workday would look like in the future. What time would you start? Where would you work (office, outside, home)? Who would you interact with? What kind of tasks would you be doing? Focus on the activities, not necessarily the job title.
Prompt 3: Learning and Growing
What is one "superpower" or skill you would like to develop further in the next year that you think would be valuable for your future career? How could you start working on developing that skill now?
Prompt 4: Impact I Want to Make
If you could choose a career path primarily based on the positive impact you want to have on the world or your community, what kind of impact would that be? What type of job might allow you to make that difference?