Careers Crackers - Highflyers Publishing

Careers Crackerscareers activities to stretch more able 11 - 16 year olds

AcknowledgementsIntroductionWe would like to thank Chris Woolley forproducing the cryptic crosswords and Geoff Shawfor producing the illustrations.Written by Jackie Hartley.Illustrations by Geoff Shaw and Steve BayleyPublished by ~HighFlyers Publishing LtdFirst Edition August 2002Copyright ©HighFlyers Publishing LtdISBN: 1-903449-05-7CopyrightThe contents of this pack are copyright material.All rights are reserved by Highflyers PublishingLtd, who grant permission for the contents tobe copied by purchasers, provided that suchcopies are used solely in the purchasing school,college or individual work place. Any copyingand distribution of copies beyond these limits isillegal.ATFEWHighflyers Publishing Ltd,9 Riverway,Stafford,Staffordshire,ST16 3TH.01785 25774401785 228765info@highflyerspublishing.co.ukwww.highflyerspublishing.co.ukThis careers pack contains a range ofstimulating and fun activities designed tostretch more able students in the 11 - 16 agerange. Alternatively they can be used as quick,fun fillers for use on careers and other activitydays or where time is limited and you need tofill a short slot with something which is a bitdifferent.When we began work on this pack we werevery aware that most careers educationprogrammes nowadays are designed to helpstudents achieve the learning outcomeswhich will equip them with the necessaryskills to become good career planners. (SeeLearning Outcomes from careers educationand guidance 1999, available from theQualifications and Curriculum AuthorityOrderline on 01787 884444, order referenceQCA/99/359.) These learning outcomes areequally applicable to talented and more ablestudents.So we were not looking to produce somethingdifferent in the sense of what should becovered with such students. Instead, our focuswas on the classroom and what happensin careers lessons and, in particular, whatsometimes happens to bright and able studentsin careers lessons. In our experience, manycareers lessons are with mixed ability groupswhich can result in more able children quicklycompleting the tasks they have been set andthen becoming bored and possibly disruptive.So we decided to produce a pack of materialswhich might keep these students occupied.Thispack is therefore concerned with how differentaspects of careers education are tackled andoffers some slightly different, slightly moredemanding activities.Criteria for engaging bright and ablestudents in careers workResearch shows us that talented and moreable children are more easily engaged withwork when it is:• not overtaughtthey are given tasks and have to work outwhat is required and are not helped toomuch so you will need to feel comfortablewith leaving them to get on with it andrefusing to respond to too many pleas forhelp! | Careers Crackers

• open endedthe outcome is not pre-determined by theteacher but can go where the learner wants itto go so you will need to feel comfortable notknowing what the final outcome might be!• intellectually challengingthey are stretched or intrigued by it so you willneed to be prepared to take back work thatthey insist is too easy!• funthey enjoy doing it and it often has scope forthe use of humour or playfulness so you willneed to be comfortable letting them enjoythemselves and being playful in what theyproduce!It was with this set of criteria in mind that wedesigned the materials in this pack. In thecase of some of the activities we are not surethat they can be completed, for example Yourjob’s on the line (we would love to see finishedexamples). Others may prove to be just too easy,for example the What Job Am I? riddles. If that isthe case then we apologise but we found that intrying to produce demanding activities that metthe criteria above we too were being pushed tothe edge of our capabilities!The materials within the pack reflect the mainareas of careers work so that users can moreeasily see where they might link into theirexisiting careers programmes, however, there isno need to stick rigidly to the sections identified.Each set of Tutor Notes is coded as follows:self awarenessopportunityawarenessDECISIONmakingSelf Awareness: This sectionincludes activities that are designed toget participants to look at themselvesand others and consider issues suchas their strengths, interests and skills.Opportunity Awareness: Thissection takes a general look at jobs,with materials to stimulate thinkingabout the types and range of jobsavailable and the skills needed to dothem.Decision Making: This sectionencourages participants to think abouthow people make careers decisionsand the consequences that can follow.transition skillsHowever, it must be noted that this pack does notrepresent a complete scheme of work for any ageor ability group, but is rather a pick and mix packof more demanding enrichment activities.Because ability does not develop incrementallyaccording to age we have not indicated a specificage for many of the activities, other than sayingthat we believe that they will appeal to students inthe 11 - 16 age range, depending upon how ablethey are.How to use this packWhen we wrote these materials we envisagedthem being used in the following way. Within acareers lesson an area might be looked at bythe whole class, such as researching jobs, andwhen the more able children had completed theinitial work they would then be given somethingfrom this pack to extend that theme. Therefore,we have not produced individual lesson plansto go with each worksheet. Instead we havegiven some guidance as to how to introduce theworksheet on the page facing the worksheet,under the heading of Tutor Notes. We have alsoleft space for you to include any notes of yourown, which arise from your experiences of usingthe sheets. We felt that this would be the mostflexible way to present the pack.This pack has been a voyage into the unknownfor us and we are very aware that we may havenot got it quite right. If you agree then please getin touch as we would love to hear your views. Wecan be contacted at the address opposite.Thank you.Jackie Hartley and Mike ShawTransition: This sectionencourages participants tothink about the skills neededand the challenges faced whentrying to implement careerCareers Crackers |

ContentsPageself awarenessopportunityawarenessDECISIONmakingtransition skills6 That’s a lie.. isn’t it?8 A style of approach 110 A style of approach 212 A style of approach 314 A style of approach 416 www.me.com18 Interactive personality tests20 If you were a ...22 Batty about Labour Market Information32 What if ...34 Which jobs would be affected?36 A Band of Musicians38 When writing a limerick about jobs40 Fairytale jobs42 Up Titling44 Big Friendly Job Titles46 Down by the Sea48 What can you see down by the sea?50 Down on the farm52 What can you see down on the farm?54 Down Town56 What can you see down town?58 Beware - Puzzles at Work!62 What job am I?64 Is it a BOJ, is it an OBJ, no it’s a JOB!66 Digger makers find hole in middle where sea used to be ..68 This is a CROSSJOBSWORD - a crossword about jobs70 We smashed up bottles, Jay and I, to get a name in work72 It’s a puzzler!74 First a degree and then...?76 Your job’s on the line 178 Your job’s on the line 280 Your job’s on the line 382 Your job’s on the line - Map84 Your job’s on the line - Map key86 Name that business!88 Choosing careers90 Family Job Tree92 A Tale of Two Teapots94 Sophie’s Choice96 A day in the life of a Job Hunter98 Topic tables100 Design a board game102 Magic CVs104 Magic CVs - laying out a CV106 Magic CVs - examples108 Design a Personality Test110 Personality tests112 The Job InterviewCareers Crackers |

That’s a lie ... isn’t it?self awarenessTutor notes:Your notes:=The aim of this session is to encouragestudents to think about their more unusualor unlikely interests or skills (or things intheir backgrounds) and to be proud of thosedifferences and see that they are valuableaspects of themselves.= Talk through the worksheet and stress theword ‘unlikely’ in the instructions at the topof the worksheet. Once each participant hasworked out their three statements, ask themto get into groups of 4 or 5. Each participantshould then tell the rest of the group the 3things about themselves. They should jumbleup the order so that the lie is not always thelast statement. The group then has to decidewhich one is the lie.= When everyone has had a turn, finish bypointing out that we are all more interestingthan we often appear to be and that is a goodthing. The world would be a very boring placeif everyone was the same and there wasnobody out there being different and doingunusual and different things.= Point out that employers often say they wantpeople who will fit in (be the same as the otherpeople in the team) but also offer somethingdifferent or new (be different in some way) soit is important to develop both these aspects inourselves.= You may also want to discuss what theconsequences of lying about our skills andabilities (either making them up or hiding them)might be in the long term. | Careers Crackers

lie That’s a... isn’t it?Sometimes when people apply for jobs they consider lyingabout themselves and their backgrounds in order to get thatjob. But is that as easy as it sounds? Work out 3 unlikelythings about yourself or your background. Two of thosethings must be true and one must be a lie.Fact 1 about me (unusual but true)Fact 2 about me (unusual but true)Fact 3 about me (interesting but untrue)Bet you never realised you were that interesting!Careers Crackers |