 |
 For Ages 11–14
Create a Career Blog
No child escapes the question What do you want to be when you grow up? This activity invites children to explore various careers and then answer that age-old question in a personal blog. Children will hone their research skills by searching career websites to find the information they need: How does someone become a dentist, a preschool teacher, a farmer? Next, they’ll sift through their research to pull out what’s important. And finally, they’ll create the blog—an online journal they can share with family and friends.
Time
Two hours and 30 minutes (plus additional time to add more blog entries and review comments)
What You Need
Why This Is Helpful
Good writers make smart decisions throughout the entire process—from research to finished product. This activity offers children a chance to practice making those choices independently (with a little guidance). They’ll decide which Internet sites to visit and which links to pursue. The note-taking form will help children zero in on exactly what they need. And finally, they will use their notes to organize their thoughts and communicate career information clearly. Using a blog format also opens the door to self-expression.
Here’s What To Do
| 1. |
Before beginning this activity, familiarize yourself with the career sites listed under “What You Need.” You also might visit Blogger or Wordpress to see how to create an account. But be sure to let the child do the fun stuff, such as selecting a color scheme. You also might want to check out a few blogs that you can share as examples. The child’s favorite athlete or author might have one.
|
| 2. |
Print copies of the Careers Note-Taking Form and the Blog Entry Publishing Checklist.
|
| 3. |
Start by choosing a career. Discuss the idea of a career. What does it mean to have one and is there a difference between a career and a job? Which careers has the child always been interested in?
|
| 4. |
Explain the activity—that the child will be researching three or more careers, collecting information about each, and posting the findings on a blog. Suggest the child start thinking of careers he or she might be interested in, especially unusual ones.
|
| 5. |
Share the Careers Note-Taking Form. Discuss the four aspects of each career detailed on the form: basic description, educational requirements, necessary skills, and other interesting details. Ask which type of information the child believes is most important to include in the blog. Specifics may include daily tasks, pay rates, demand in the job market, and famous people in this field.
Because the end result will be a personal blog, invite your child to also explore why each career is appealing. The blog may be shared with family and friends, so what would that audience want to know about these career possibilities? For instance, “Anyone who’s ever tried my cheesecake knows that I’ve always been interested in being a professional baker.”
|
| 6. |
Share career websites with your child and visit them together. Use these sites to help the child select the careers to be researched. The most common ones—doctor, lawyer, teacher—will come to mind first, but suggest your child broaden the search by considering less common careers, such as jewelry makers, physicists, and airplane mechanics.
|
| 7. |
Spend time exploring blogs together. Ask if the child has read a blog or has a favorite blog. Share your favorites if you have some. What does your child notice about blog format? What’s the writing like? What about the use of photos and other images? How does a blogger make a blog unique? The audiences for blogs vary. Some are intended for a broad audience, such as a sports figure who blogs for fans. Other blogs may be more personal and intended only for a few close friends.
|
| 8. |
Once you have chosen a few blogs to read and selected several careers, encourage the child to work independently, doing research and taking notes.
|
| 9. |
When the child’s research is done, it’s time to create the blog (you may choose to complete this part of the activity at a different time. Visit the blogging site where you have chosen with the child. When selecting the settings, you might consider allowing only blog members (family or friends) to make comments. Your child can then invite these members to comment on the blog. You can also choose to use “comment moderation,” which means your child will get to review any comments and approve them before they appear. As you create the blog, it’s a good time to review the rules about being online. Remind your child not to share personal info with strangers and to alert you if contacted by a stranger.
|
| 10. |
Show your child how to post entries—and how to delete them. Encourage your child to use the Blog Entry Publishing Checklist before finalizing entries. But remember that the nature of a blog is dynamic, so it’s easy for your child to make changes or delete posts.
|
| 11. |
After the child has published the career postings, it’s time to invite some readers. Grandparents, neighbors, and friends are the perfect audience. Your child might want to encourage feedback by asking readers what they know about the selected professions. Do they know anyone currently in these careers? Could they see your child in that particular job? Why?
|
More Ideas to Try
Take the blog to the next level by inviting readers to participate even more. Which careers most interest blog members? Did the adult readers end up pursuing the careers they most liked in childhood? The child also can ask blog members to brainstorm “next steps” in his or her career investigation. Perhaps there are people to meet or places to go that would teach your child more about a certain career. And after a field trip, your child will have even more to blog about!
Glossary
Blog
An online journal or personal webpage with multiple entries that usually appear in reverse chronological order. Anyone with an Internet connection and a Web browser can publish on a blog, and they can be set up so that more than one person can write entries on them. Blogs can contain words, photos, and links to other websites. The word blog can also be used as a verb.
This activity was modified from the ReadWriteThink lesson plan “Exploring Careers Using the Internet” available online at http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=1159.
Clipart copyright 2009 JUPITERIMAGES, and its licensors. All rights reserved.
|  |
|
