Author: Deborah Longland

Lesson plan 1— Introducing Careerpilot

Gatsby 1,2,3

Introducing Careerpilot to Year 9

Students are introduced to the Careerpilot website and how it can be used from Year 7-13 in order to find out more information about careers, courses and options at 14, 16 and 18.

By the end of this lesson, learners should:
Be able to register / sign in to access the Careerpilot website
Know where to find out more about choosing their KS4 Options

Students are asked what the 4 people do in the photographs and what subjects would be useful (on the PPT). Explain that different jobs require different subject knowledge and it is important to choose the correct ones if you have a job / career in mind. Also discuss compulsory subjects and possibly show video.

Students are shown the key areas of the website using the PPT. They are shown how to register and then asked to work through the 5 suggested activities. Students work through the activities, focussing in particular on the GCSE / Choices at 13/14 pages. They should bookmark pages that they are particularly interested in

Any students that finish early could use the Job Sectors part of the site and look at the jobs they are interested in and the subjects / qualifications that are required for each job. Choose upto 3 jobs and compare the subjects that that they are interested in and the subjects that are needed for the job

Feedback from students—Ask students about compulsory subjects and grades needed to avoid having to study them beyond 16.
Ask students what matches they got if they completed the job sector quiz?

Careerpilot—Year 9 Presentation

Lesson plan 2 — Using Careerpilot to research different qualifications

Gatsby 1,2,3

Using Careerpilot to research different qualifications at Level 2 and Level 3

Students use Careerpilot to find out more about the different qualifications available to study at KS4 & Post 16 & the key differences between them (Note: this lesson may need adapting to suit the qualifications that are offered in your school)

By the end of this lesson, learners should:
Know how to use Careerpilot to find out information on different qualifications
Understand how these qualifications can lead onto different jobs / careers / pathways

Students are given a time limit of 10 minutes to complete the Qualifications Wordsearch—Activity 2.1

Students complete Activity 2.2—they use the Qualification Planner to find out more about the different types of qualifications available at Level 2 and 3. They can then look at the qualifications available at school & colleges and learn about the difference between the 3 different pathways—academic, vocational & apprenticeships

Students think of 2 famous people & research their pathways to see what decisions they made —i.e. did they go to college / university / do an apprenticeship etc.

Students have 10 mins in pairs to complete an A-Z of Subjects —Can they think of all 26? Activity 2.3

Qualifications Wordsearch— Activity 2.1 A-Z of Subjects —Activity 2.3 Qualifications Research— Activity 2.2

Lesson plan 3 — What influences your Career choices?

Gatsby 1,2,3

What influences your career choices?

Students consider the outside influences that affect their career choices

By the end of this lesson, learners should:
Know who and what is influencing their own career choices
Know where to find out more information about potential pathways

Ask students to write down 5 potential influences on their career choices. Responses are likely to include parents, family, friends, teachers, careers adviser, organisations, media. Talk about how influential the media is with certain TV shows promoting certain jobs. i.e. increase in number of young people wanting to be vloggers.

Students complete Activity 3.1 to work in small groups to look at various job sectors on Careerpilot and the marketing of these job sectors. Is the marketing fair or biased? Job sectors include: Healthcare / Security / Armed Services / Sports Students think about some of the ways these job sectors are represented in the media

Any students that finish early could be asked to find more information about the how other job sectors are marketed

Show students a clip from Holby City or a similar TV show—are the jobs portrayed realistic or is there an element of bias / dramatization. Alternatively—show a video story from Careerpilot. Ask the students what the best way to find out about a job is? i.e. work experience / ask people who work in these jobs

Activity Sheet (3.1) - Job Sector Marketing Research Task

Lesson plan 4 — What next? - Choosing KS4 options

Gatsby 1,2,3,4

What Next? —Choosing KS4 Options

Students use Careerpilot and their research to date to start thinking about their KS4 options and their preferred pathway.

By the end of this lesson, learners should:
Know where to find information about choosing options
Start to think what their KS4 qualifications will lead onto

Show video:
Either How not to make choices OR How to make your GCSE choices
Have a discussion about some of the factors that might influence KS4 options (build on from previous lesson).

Students complete worksheet 4.1 to identify some of the factors that they have taken into consideration when choosing their Year 9 options. As part of this they can enter their choices in ‘My Qualifications’ - Subject Detail

Students share their thoughts on their KS4 Options— Students could complete a tally chart to see which subjects are the most popular. Is there a reason why? (Maths Link)

Students could be asked to prepare some interview questions so that they can go away and interview an adult or older sibling about their choices. Worksheet available for students who are unable to do this. Ask them to come back to the next lesson with results from their interview

Choosing KS4 Options—Activity 4.1
Interview an adult about their pathway / choices —Activity 4.2

Lesson plan 5 — Careerpilot Quiz Time

Gatsby 1,2,3

Careerpilot Quiz Time

How quickly can students find information on the Careerpilot website?

By the end of this lesson, learners should:
Know where to find out information about choosing options & different qualifications on the Careerpilot website

In groups students are asked to guess what the top 3 GCSE choices were nationally in 2018—A report on the number of GCSE entries in 2018 shows that the top 3 non-compulsory subjects taken at GCSE are: Religious Studies, History, Geography—Source OFQUAL

Students are given the Year 9 Careerpilot Quiz to complete—they need to try to find out the answers to 12 questions using the Careerpilot website. Once finished the answers can be swapped and marked by a different group. Small prize for the winning group or if a draw a decider question can be asked.—Activity 5.1

Any students that finish early can try to come up with 3 x questions of their own to ask the other groups.

Finish off this section of work by finding out if the students have a clearer idea of their preferred pathway than before. Students could complete the Careerpilot Survey to give feedback on the site

Year 9 Careerpilot Quiz—(Activity 5.1)

Careerpilot— Support for choosing KS4 Options Year 9 SOW

Title of lesson
Overview
Learning Objectives
Starter Activity
Main Activity
Extended Activity
Plenary
Resources Required