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Career Choices
A WebQuest for 12th Grade Adapted English Students
Designed by
Ms. Maze
[email protected]
Introduction | Task | Process | Evaluation | Conclusion | Credits | Teacher Page
Introduction
You are now seniors in high school, and you will be graduating in less than 3 months!
After you graduate, you will be going out into the “real world,” so you must be prepared
for the next chapter of your life! You will either be going to a four-year college, two-year
college, technical school, military, or finding a job. This Career Choices WebQuest is
designed to help you locate information about the choices you have and to assist you in
deciding which path you want to take as you move into the next stage of your life!
This WebQuest will answer:
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



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What careers are going to have an increasing number of job openings?
What are the salaries of certain careers?
What skills do you need for certain careers?
What do you need to do and know to start your own business?
What are some benefits of enlisting in the military?
How much does it cost to go to a post-secondary school?
What types of financial aid are available?
What are the do’s and don’t of social networking?
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The Task

Purpose: You will be graduating in less than 3 months, so you need to answer the
question: Now what?! In order to do this, you will use the PA Career Guide and
other Internet resources to locate information about possible career choices and
post-secondary options so that you have a better idea of which path you want to
take after you graduate.

Objective: You will be gathering information about possible careers and postsecondary plans that you are interested in pursuing after high school.
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Final Project: After you gather all the information about possible post-secondary
plans, you will write a personal reflection mini-essay about what you have learned
about possible career choices during the WebQuest and how this information has
helped you or can help you in the future.
The Process
NOTE: You will be independently completing this project.
1. First, go to the PA Career Zone.
2. Then choose ONE “Job Family” that interests you and click on it.
3. Click on up to four of the occupations on the left and then compare the
occupations by clicking on “Compare Selected” at the bottom of the page.
4. After viewing the comparison of these occupations, the preparation required for
these occupations, the interests common to their occupations, the salaries, and
the projected openings, answer the following questions:
1. The occupation that most interested me in this group was
_________________________________________________________
2. This occupation most interested me
because___________________________________________________
3. I feel like this (circle one):
would
would not
be a good job for me
because __________________________________________________
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4. Then, go to the PA Career Zone Assessment Center.
5. Choose ONE of the assessments and complete the assessment.
6. After you receive your results, reflect on the following questions:
1. Did you agree or disagree with the results?
2. I (circle one) agreed
disagreed
Agree
Disagree
with the results
because______________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
3. These traits or skills results show that I am __________________________
_____________________________________________________________
4. These personality traits or skills could help me get a job as a
__________________________________________________because
_____________________________________________________________
7. Next, go to the PA Career Guide website.
8. After you click on the PA Career Guide, you will use the sections of the Career
Guide to answer the following questions:
Directions: Using the information on the PA Career Guide, answer the following
questions about career choices and opportunities.
The Importance of Finding the Right Job:
1. On average, workers will change jobs about _____________________ times during
their career.
2. Nearly ______________ percent of jobs require some sort of
_______________________________
___________________.
3. Employers often require __________________________________ beyond
________________________
__________________, -either through
_______________________________
________________________________.
or ________________________________
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4. The key to successfully landing jobs will be _______________________________ a
___________________________
_______________________________ of skills.
5. Traditional skilled trades, such as _____________________
_______________________________, plumbers, ____________________________,
and dental hygienists, will still be in _______________________________.
Want to Be a Star?
1. Experts estimate that only _____________________ out of every 1,000 high school
student athletes will make it to the pros.
2. Name at least 4 sports related jobs:
_______________________________
_______________________________
____________________________________
_______________________________
________________________________
3. For men’s basketball, 1 in every _________________________ high school seniors
will make it to the pros.
4. For football, 1 in every _______________________________ high school seniors will
make it to the pros.
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Media Mythmaking and Employment Reality
1. Pick three of these occupations and say the total annual openings, average income,
and typical preparation required:
Occupational Title
Total Annual
Openings in
Pennsylvania
2. Did any of those numbers surprise you?
Average Income
Yes
Typical Preparation
Required
No
3. If they did surprise, explain WHY they surprised you. If they did NOT surprise you,
explain why not:
The Only Constant is Change
1. Because of downsizing, _______________________________, technological
advancement and economic disturbances, workers often have to take on
______________________ duties within their current jobs, or
look for new _____________________ beyond what they’re ___________________ to
doing.
2. Job security now depends on being _______________________________,
adaptable, and willing to continually learn ______________________
_______________________________.
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3. Pick ONE of the “CHANGES” categories, and then explain this category IN YOUR OWN
WORDS!
Category:______________________________________________________________
My explanation:
Have a Career in Mind? Try It Out First
Name 3 ways that you can “try out” jobs. EXPLAIN what each activity is, in YOUR OWN
WORDS.
Activity 1: _______________________________
My explanation:
Activity 2: _______________________________
My explanation:
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Activity 3: _______________________________
My explanation:
Discover and Learn
In the green sections “Discover” and “Learn,” find 3 occupations that interest you.
Then fill in the following chart:
Occupation Description
Projected Openings PA Entry
Total in
per Year (Starting
2020
Wage)
PA
Average
Yearly
Wage
US
Average
Wage per
year
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Starting Your Own Business (page 42)
Name 3 questions you will need to answer before starting your own business:
1.
2.
3.
Military Training and Careers in the Armed Forces (page 45 and 46)
Name 3 benefits of joining the Armed Forces:
1.
2.
3.
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The Costs of College (page 48)
In 2010-2011:
1. ____________________________ was the average in-state tuition for PA community
colleges (DCCC, etc.).
2. ___________________________ was the average total cost for a PA private
college/university (Villanova, Penn).
3. ____________________________ was the average total cost for a PA college of
technology.
4. ____________________________ was the average total cost for a PA state (public)
university.
5. Were you surprised by any of these costs?
Yes
No
6. Explain why you WERE or WERE NOT surprised by these prices:
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7. Name two types of financial aid and explain what they are:
1. ____________________________
My explanation:
2. ____________________________
My explanation:
Online Networking (page 55)
Name 3 precautions to take when you are using social networking sites (Facebook,
Twitter, etc.):
1.
2.
3.
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Personal Reflection: In 2-3 paragraphs, write about:
-The 3 most important things you learned through the WebQuest
-How they have helped you or could help you in the future.
-What you plan on doing after you graduate from high school.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
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Evaluation
-You will be evaluated using the following rubric.
-Please review the rubric ahead of time to make sure that you have included everything on the rubric in the
“Exemplary” category.
Beginning
Developing Accomplished Exemplary Score
1
2
Completion
Of
The WebQuest
Student
leaves most
of the
WebQuest
blank and
incomplete.
Depth of
Thought
Process
Student
answers a few
questions
with in-depth
and
thoughtful
answers.
Personal
Reflection
(Content)
Personal
Reflection
(Conventions)
Personal
Reflection
(Style)
Personal
Reflection
does not
meet length
requirement
and includes
very little
information
required.
3
4
Student
completes
some
sections of
the
WebQuest.
Student
completes
most of the
WebQuest.
Student fully
and
completely
works
through the
entire
WebQuest.
Student
answers
some
questions
with indepth and
thoughtful
answers.
Student
answers most
questions with
in-depth and
thoughtful
answers.
Student
answers all
questions
with indepth and
thoughtful
answers.
Personal
Reflection does
Personal
Personal
not fully meet
Reflection
Reflection
the length
includes
completely
requirement,
some of the
meets
but includes
information
length
most of the
required.
requirement.
information
needed.
Includes 5 or Includes 3more spelling/ 4 spelling/
grammar
grammar
errors
errors
Includes 1-2
spelling/
grammar
errors
There are no
spelling or
grammar
errors
Personal
Personal
Personal
Reflection
Personal
Reflection
Reflection
includes
Reflection doe includes a
includes some
many
not include a
limited
instances of
instances of
variety of
amount of
variety of word variety of
word choice word choice
choice and
word choice
and sentence
and
sentence
and
structure.
sentence
structure.
sentence
structure.
structure.
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Conclusion
After completing this WebQuest, you should have a better understanding of your options
after high school.
What do YOU want to do?
What can YOU do to help prepare yourself for your future?
WHO can help you during this process (teachers, parents, siblings, friends, guidance
counselors, etc.)?
Think about your goals, what you personally can do to achieve them, and who can help
you out along the way.
Best of Luck!!!
Credits & References
Pennsylvania Department of Education (2013). Assess Yourself. Career Zone
Pennsylvania. Retrieved from: http://www.pacareerzone.org/assessments
Pennsylvania Department of Education (2013). Job Families. Career Zone Pennsylvania.
Retrieved from: http://www.pacareerzone.org/clusters
Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry (2013). Career Guide 2012-2013.
Retrieved from:
http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt?open=514&objID=809063&mode=
2
Photographs:
Page 1: Pellissippi State Community College (2013). Photograph. Retrieved from:
http://www.pstcc.edu/counseling/career/index.php#.UUhWEL-WxD8
Page 4: Pinellas County Schools (2009). Photograph. Retrieved from:
http://it.pinellas.k12.fl.us/Teachers5/polizzie/careers.html
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Page 6: Career Insite (2012). Photograph. Retrieved from:
http://careerinsite.alberta.ca/careerinsite.aspx
Page 8: How Stuff Works (2013). Photograph. Retrieved from:
http://money.howstuffworks.com/economics/volunteer/opportunities/becomevolunteer-military-officer.htm
Page 10: Mashable (2013). Photograph. Retrieved from:
http://mashable.com/2013/03/13/facebook-timeline-redeisgn/
Last updated on March 19, 2013. Based on a template from The WebQuest Page