Careers That Keep You Moving

Learning Objectives

Students will:

• Research a career.
• Work with peers to create a job fair station and presentation about a career with peers.
• Speak to peers about the career they researched.

Resources:

Materials

For the whole group:

• Chart paper
• Marker
• Hat or container
• Career slips (see resources section)
• Tape

For each group:

• Computer, tablet, or other device with internet access
• Pencils
• Notecards
• Poster paper
• Colored pencils, markers, or crayons
• Desk or table

Resources:

Career slips

Preparation

• Read through and familiarize yourself with the entire activity and gather all the needed materials.
• Print out the career slips and cut them apart. Fold them in half and place them in a container.
• Set up seven desks or tables in a large circle around the room like a job fair. These desks or tables will be job fair booths.
• At each of the seven desks have the following materials: 
  
  • Computer or tablet 
  • Pencils 
  • Notecards
  • Poster paper 
  • Coloring materials
• On the piece of chart paper, make a bulleted list with the following questions:
  
  • What do people do in this career?
  • What are some interesting facts about this career?
  • What are some benefits and disadvantages of having this job?
• Familiarize yourself with the careers being researched in the activity. Below you will find a list of careers and the websites students will be using for their research.

Resources:

Flight Attendant

Airline and Commercial Pilot

Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers

Wholesale and Manufacturing Sales Representatives

Water Transportation Workers

Meeting, Convention, and Event Planners

Geoscientists

Activity Steps

1. Ask the students to raise their hands if they like to travel. Have them raise their hands again if they think that one day they might like to travel for their job. Ask the students if anyone they know, including someone in their family, travels for work and what they know about traveling for work.
2. Tell the students that traveling for work can be very exciting, especially if it fits your lifestyle. Explain that some types of careers are heavy on travel. That means traveling every week or month or taking very long trips, not just an occasional brief trip.
3. Tell students that today they will be working in groups to prepare a job fair focused on careers that require travel. For the fair, each group will give a presentation and prepare a poster about a different career.
4. Break the students into seven groups. Have each group choose a slip from the container. They will research the career on the slip using the website on the slip.
5. Send each group to one of the seven job fair booths. Have students go to the website on their slips. Tell students that they should look for information to answer these questions on the chart paper. They should include that information in their presentation.
6. As students find information to answer the questions, have the students fill out note cards with related information for their presentation. Have groups practice their presentation and determine how they will distribute the information they share. Make sure all group members have a part. Circulate the room and offer assistance as needed.
7. Have each group create a poster with the name of their career and some relevant designs or decorations. If they have time, students may add key facts to their posters as well. Finally, have groups hang the posters off the front of their booth using tape.
8. Hold the job fair. Have students gather around the first group’s booth to hear their presentation. Allow time for one or two questions after the presentation. Then move around the circle until all of the groups have given their presentations.
9. When all of the presentations have been given, have students gather as a whole group. Lead a discussion using the following questions:
   
   • Overall, what are the benefits to having a job with a lot of travel?
   • What are the disadvantages?
   • If you had to choose one of the careers you heard about today, which one would you choose, and why do you think it would be a good fit for you?
   • After hearing about all of the different careers with travel today, do you think you would want a career with a lot of travel? Why or why not?

Resources:

Variations

1. If you have a very large group, consider adding more careers that require travel, such as a traveling nurse, English teacher abroad, or auditor.

Resources: