Elementary Resource Kit
Career Exploration for Students Grades K-6

Member schools of the Alliance For Education Consortium can utilize this kit at no charge by contacting the Career Connection.  Elementary schools in Calumet, Fond du Lac, Green Lake, Outagamie, Waupaca , Waushara and Winnebago counties are also able to borrow this resource, for up to two weeks at a time.

To make your reservation call 920-720-0406 or  e-mail sue@career-connection.com

This kit is available for sale for $750.00.  All the resources listed (subject to availability) are packaged in a large plastic tub, durable and ready-to-use!

Description of Activities/Games
Career Bingo I introduces or reinforces 40 different careers to primary students. Each bingo card contains 24 different careers. Students listen to careers described and cover the career with a marker if it is on their card.

Career Bingo II is a familiar game used to reinforce career awareness. There are three different sets of Bingo cards. Each set focuses on five career clusters. Students learn or reinforce their knowledge of careers as the facilitator uses a calling card to identify the cluster and describe the career.

Dinocards introduce students to 198 occupations grouped into 11 clusters. The front of each playing card-size Dinocard shows a dinosaur in an occupation and the occupation’s name. The back of the card contains an easy to read occupation description. An accompanying leader’s guide contains 52 Dinocard activities.

Dino Future Cards (emerging careers) are similar to the Dinocards except these deal with occupations of the future. Twenty activity suggestions are included.

What’s My Job? career cards provide an interactive way for students to connect job descriptions with job titles. On one card is a basic job description including education needed and helpful school subjects. On another card is one of 74 job titles. The goal is for kids to match job description and job title. Follow-up activities are included in game instructions.

Job Search helps students become aware of different career categories. Each student or pair of students will receive a Job Search Categories Answer Sheet and four Career Name Cards. The purpose of the game is to save three Career Name Cards that belong to the same category. The students will do this by passing or saving cards they have in their hands.

Career Bump is similar to musical chairs. Every student except one will receive a Career Name Card. As the leader reads the Pass Cards the students will pass their cards around the circle. When the leader reads a Stop Card, the one student without a card can try to guess the career of another student. If he/she is successful he/she stays in the game and the other student becomes the leader. If not, he/she is the new leader.

Countdown Blast-Off exposes students to specific job responsibilities and the qualifications different types of work require. The purpose of this game is to guess the names of different careers. This game is similar to 20 questions. Groups of 3 students will be asked 10 yes or no questions about the career they have picked. When a student thinks he/she knows the career, he/she raises their hand and gives the answer when called upon. If they are correct, the team says “Blast-Off!” and a new game begins.

Tic-Tac-Toe Career Riddles will help students learn to recognize careers from descriptions. Draw a large Tic-Tac-Toe grid on the chalkboard. Students will be divided into teams. Students will try to guess a career title based on clues read to them. For each correct answer a team can place an X or O on the Tic-Tac-Toe grid.

What Could I Be?  A set of 8 career games for grades 2-5 to explore career clusters by participating in an interactive classroom game or by playing a board game.  Each game focuses on a particular career cluster.  Careers included: Agriculture & Natural Resources, Business & Marketing, Construction & Production, Creative Arts, Health, Human Services, Science, and Transportation.

Community Helpers contains 26 illustrated flash cards. Students can sort cards into groups such as “people who wear uniforms”, “people who work mostly outside” or “people who work with special tools”. The cards can also be used to play super Sleuth. Tape a card to each student’s back. Students can ask “yes” or “no” questions to determine what career they have been assigned.  (Resource no longer available and will not be included in the kits for sale)

123 Careers for Me is designed for Pre-school through Grade 1 students to become aware of careers while learning numbers. The students will make a booklet with 10 careers and their verses, which the students have learned.

Picture Me This! consists of 26 picture cards illustrating 52 occupations. Each picture card shows a hand doing something that relates to a career. Students try to name careers using the tools they see on the pictures.

Envision Your Tomorrow is a coloring activity book.  One side of the worksheet describes what the occupation is about; the other side gives the children a chance to color the occupation being done. 

Videos
Explore! is a 19-minute video introducing students to the idea of exploring the world of work. Students in the video investigate several career opportunities by visiting five different employment settings. The video is lively, interesting, and motivational. (User’s guide in purple expandable folder.)

Go For It is an eight-minute animated, motivational video designed to help students understand their career dreams and fears. The video’s emphasis is based on the belief that a rewarding future career requires making informed decisions now.

Richard Scarry's Best Busy People Video Ever is a charming, animated, 30 minute video that tries to answer the question, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Children will love learning about all the exciting jobs that keep Busytown bustling every day!

Books
Children’s Dictionary of Occupations - an illustrated reference that introduces students to work and the variety of jobs available. It contains brief descriptions of 300 occupations and is written at an easy reading level. (1999 copyright)

Children’s Occupational Outlook Handbook - Information about 203 jobs are divided into sections: What They Do, Working Conditions, Education and Training, Job Outlook, Average Earnings, Related Jobs, Subjects to Study Now and Later, Getting Ready and Places to Go Observe and Tell Me More.  The information is based on the US Department of Labor Occupational Outlook Handbook.

The Usborne Book of Things People Do is about the work people do in different sorts of jobs. The book's entertaining presentation will delight and fascinate children of all ages! Meet May Naze, Ivor Hose, Penny Sillin, and Honor Toze. Can you tell what they do for a living?

Activity Sheets (included in expandable folder)

Career Cluster – grape cluster graphic and instructions

Careers in Communications - connects jobs and methods of communication

Dot-To-Dot – Judge, Zookeeper, Plumber, Counselor, Politician

Family Career Tree - jobs your family members work at

Hidden Picture – Grocery List, Chemistry Objects

How Much Schooling Does It Take - understand HS/post secondary education

Jobs and School Subjects – match workers to the school subjects they use in their jobs

Jobs are Related to School Worksheet - school subjects related to jobs

My Jobs Worksheet - likes/dislikes for jobs that kids typically do at home

Not All Jobs Fit Into One Cluster - understand that jobs fit into multiple clusters

Recommended Career Clusters – Center of Education and Work, U.W.-Madison

Science Occupations Worksheet - science occupations and clusters

Scrambled Words - Agriculture & Natural Resources occupations, Hospitality & Recreation occupations, Marketing & Distribution occupations

Solving Problems - math activity

The History of Occupations - students write a report on the history of an occupation

What I Might Like to Be-students pick out jobs they might be interested in

Word Find - Communications & Media occupations, Construction occupations, Fine Arts & Humanities occupations, Health occupations, Personal Service occupations, Public Service occupations

Workers Use Special Tools – match a worker to the tool they would use

Workers Wear Hats – match workers to the hat they would wear

Workers Work in Special Places – match workers to the places where they would work