Sharing Information about Careers with Infographics
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Overview
This lesson allows students to explore answers to the age-old question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” While some students might have an answer to that question, other students need time to investigate their career choices. Some might name their dream careers but do not realize how to achieve their ambitions or the details involved in the daily work of their dream occupations. Therefore, in this lesson, students research specific careers based on their own interests and then report their findings to the class. To illustrate their research, students create infographics using the online tool Piktochart. Through the creation of infographics, students will engage in developing visual literacy, a skill that is important in today's visually oriented world.
Featured Resources
Career Notetaking Sheet: Students will use this notetaking sheet to organize their research notes, which will be the basis for their infographics.
Piktochart: Students will use this website to create their own infographics to illustrate their research on careers.
From Theory to Practice
American College Testing (ACT) points out that career planning is important for everyone, and that such goals should start as early as sixth grade. They suggest that students should be given the opportunity to explore their future educational and career goals based on what interests the students have. Additionally, ACT believes educators can aid students in seeing connections between academic success and career options.
Schramm estimates that in today’s media rich environment, “85% of what we know is gathered from visual perception” (11). Therefore, students need to be given the opportunity to develop visual literacy skills, as done in this lesson with infographics. Through the use of Piktochart, students increase their technology skills, another important literacy in today’s world. The NCTE Definition of 21st Century Literacies states that “active, successful participants in this 21st century global society must be able to develop proficiency and fluency with the tools of technology.” This lesson provides that necessary practice to increase these abilities.
Common Core Standards
This resource has been aligned to the Common Core State Standards for states in which they have been adopted. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, CCSS alignments are forthcoming.
State Standards
This lesson has been aligned to standards in the following states. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, standard alignments are not currently available for that state.
NCTE/IRA National Standards for the English Language Arts
- 1. Students read a wide range of print and nonprint texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.
- 3. Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).
- 4. Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.
- 6. Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and nonprint texts.
- 7. Students conduct research on issues and interests by generating ideas and questions, and by posing problems. They gather, evaluate, and synthesize data from a variety of sources (e.g., print and nonprint texts, artifacts, people) to communicate their discoveries in ways that suit their purpose and audience.
- 8. Students use a variety of technological and information resources (e.g., libraries, databases, computer networks, video) to gather and synthesize information and to create and communicate knowledge.
- 11. Students participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members of a variety of literacy communities.
- 12. Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).
Materials and Technology
- Classroom computer with LCD projector
- Computers with Internet capabilities
Printouts
Websites
For students who need help in choosing careers to research, this interest survey website might be helpful.
For students who need help in choosing careers to research, this interest survey website might be helpful.
Students can start their career research at this website.
Students can start their career research at this website.
This list of occupations can help students get their research started.
Students will use this website to create their own infographics.
This short video concisely defines an infographic.
This image can be used to define the term infographic if YouTube is blocked at your school.
This sample can be shown to students prior to their creating their own infographics.
This sample can be shown to students prior to their creating their own infographics.
This sample can be shown to students prior to their creating their own infographics.
This sample can be shown to students prior to their creating their own infographics.
This is a sample student-created Piktochart infographic.
This is a sample student-created Piktochart infographic.
Preparation
- Sign up for a free account at Piktochart, and familiarize yourself with Piktochart. Several tutorial videos are available through the website as well as at the support page. Test that the program will work on the computers that the students will use to access the software.
- Students will need e-mail accounts to access Piktochart, which does offer a classroom subscription, too, for younger users who might not have e-mail addresses.
- If you will post as well as print the students’ finished infographics, create a classroom wiki at Wikispaces or a classroom website at Google Sites or Wix. The links to Piktochart and other websites can also be posted on the wiki or website. If it is not possible to have a website or wiki, simply provide the website addresses for links to the students to type in the URL or bookmark the websites on the computers.
- Reserve time in your school’s computer lab or library for three sessions.
- Check that the video What Is an Infographic and sample images of infographics are not filtered at your school.
- Make one copy of the Career Search handout, the Career Rubric, and the Checklist for Career Infographic for each student.
- If this is the first research project for the class, instruction is needed for citing sources. This can be accomplished using the mini-lesson Research Building Blocks: “Cite Those Sources.” Furthermore, if this is the students’ first project citing sources, then using Exploring, Plagiarism, Copyright, and Paraphrasing prior to this project would be beneficial.
- Also prior to this lesson, students should have learned to evaluate websites. They can be taught this skill by using the lesson Inquiry on the Internet: Evaluating Web Pages for a Class Collection or the mini-lesson Research Building Blocks: Examining Electronic Sources.
Student Objectives
Students will
- analyze infographic samples.
- research to understand the details of a chosen career.
- organize and summarize their findings by creating their own infographics to illustrate their research.
- correctly cite their sources.
Session One: Introduction
- Begin by asking students to brainstorm individually using the section one of the Career Search printout.
- After students have brainstormed, have them pair share their answers. Then bring the class back together to discuss their career dreams.
- Next explain to the students that they will have the opportunity to investigate careers of their choosing and then share their findings with their classmates.
- Hand out the Career Notetaking Sheet and discuss with the students the questions they will be researching about the careers. Explain that their research will be shared with the class in oral presentations that will include infographics. Project the student samples from Piktochart.
- Hand out the Career Rubric printout and discuss with the class how their presentations with infographics will be evaluated.
- Although some students may know what career they would like to research, have all students take one or both of the online interest inventories. Once the inventories are completed, have students answer section two of the Career Search printout. Have students discuss their inventory results.
- Now have each student determine what career he/she would like to research. Explain to students the careers they choose do not have to be necessarily from the interest inventory. For those who are having difficulty making decisions, direct them to the three research websites to read more about the careers they are considering. Tell students to make their decisions on which careers they will research for the next session.
Session Two: Research
- Check first that every student has selected a career to research. Assist those who still need to make selections.
- Have students use the three research websites. Remind them to cite their sources.
- When they have found as much as they feel they can with these websites, allow students to search the Internet for more information. Remind them to evaluate the websites before taking notes. They should consider the following:
- Who is the author of the website? Can the author be considered an expert?
- What is the purpose of the website? Is it to inform, to persuade, or to sell something? What is the domain of the website—edu, org, com, gov?
- When was the website written or last updated?
- Where did the author get his information? In other words, did the author cite his/her sources?
- Are there links to other sites that might be useful?
- Why is this webite useful? Is it easy to read and navigate?
- Remind students to cite the sources they decide to use.
- As students work, circulate throughout the classroom, assisting those who are having trouble completing the Career Notetaking Sheet and those who are having trouble citing sources.
Session Three: Introduction to Infographics
- Project through the classroom computer one or more of the sample infographics. Ask students if they have seen similar representations of information before.
- Explain to the students that these are called infographics. Play either the video What Is an Infographic or project the image An Infographic Is to define an infographic. Cover the following points:
- communicates a message
- is very engaging
- is highly visual
- helps to explain a large amount of information quickly and clearly
- Explain to the students they will now create infographics to illustrate their research about their careers. Again project a sample and discuss the following about the infographic’s design:
- uses fonts that are readable
- uses colors that complement or contrast each other (such as dark font on light background and light font on dark background)
- layers images so that they are still easily discernible
- uses images that fit the topic
- keeps design simple so the message is clear and quick
- Model for students how to use Piktochart. Include demonstrations of how to
- layer items
- upload their own images
- change the color of the text and background
- insert graphics
- make the finished product go to present mode
- move from block to block in presentation
- If time permits, invite students to begin creating their infographics. Circulate around the room, helping those who have problems with the software.
- At the end of the session, explain to students how to save their infographic. Tell students that in next session they will have time to complete their infographics.
Session Four: Creating the Infographic
- Model for students how to find and edit their saved infographic at Piktochart.
- As students finish, give them each a copy of the Checklist for Career Infographic and have students use the checklist to examine their infographics.
- When most of the class is finished, divide the class into partners for to practice presenting. Invite students to use the Career Rubric to respond to each other’s presentations.
- Once students have had time to revise their infographics and presentations based on each other’s comments, ask students to e-mail you their infographics.
Session Five: Sharing
- Before this session, either bookmark each student’s e-mailed infographic to the computer-connected to an LCD projector or link each student’s infographic to the class wiki or website.
- Project each infographic and allow students to present their research about their career. After each student has presented, allow time for students to ask questions.
- After all have presented, ask students to summarize their career aspirations by using the Career Search printout.
Extensions
- After the presentations, have students work in pairs to compare and contrast their careers using the Venn Diagram Mobile App or the Venn Diagram Student Interactive.
- Take the process of pursuing a career a step further by using the Resume Generator to write a resume for a person who could successfully perform that job.
- Hold a job fair in which the students dress for the careers they have researched. Invite other classes and parents in the school to come hear about the careers. Print the students’ infographics for them to share with the other classes as guests circulate throughout the room, learning about the various careers.
- Create other infographics, such as a timeline for a historical period or an explanation of a character in a novel.
- Promote the class wiki or website page to the school community at large, so that others can enjoy the students’ finished projects.
- Use the Career Search printout to write up career blogs as suggested in Create a Career Blog.
Student Assessment / Reflections
Possible student assessment includes:
- Assess the students’ presentations using the Career Rubric.
- Examine the students’ Career Search printouts.
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