Use pictures to teach students about different occupations and create a bulletin board dedicated to occupations. Provide students with a wide variety of magazines and newspapers. Ask students to find and cut out pictures of people engaged in different occupations. Next, take students to the library to find out more about the occupations they chose by researching in encyclopedias, non-fiction books and on the Internet. Ask each student to write a short paragraph about each occupation. Attach the picture to the corresponding paragraph, and hang each completed paper on a bulletin board in the classroom.
Give students an opportunity to experience a day on the job. Dramatic play allows preschool and kindergarten students to pretend to work in different careers; this process helps them decide what they might enjoy as a future career. Each week, focus on a different career or set of careers; for example, one week might be devoted to careers in health care, such as nursing. Provide props and tools to make play more realistic.
Give students an opportunity to talk to professionals in a variety of occupations. Invite parents or members of the community to speak to your class during a career day. Before the event, help students think of questions to ask presenters. If possible, ask presenters to bring tools or pictures to share with the class. Ask presenters to share not only what they do in their occupation, but the steps they took to enter into their chosen career, including subjects studied or assessment tests. If students are interested, set up job-shadowing opportunities with presenters.
Help students learn about occupations they might enjoy. Ask students to brainstorm about things they enjoy. Create a worksheet that asks students questions about their favorite subjects in school or their favorite thing to do in their free time. Ask students to fill out the worksheets, then share their results with the class. Next, work as a class to think of different occupations that match students' interests. Next, ask students to conduct research to determine the subjects they need to focus on in high school and beyond to pursue their chosen careers.