2nd Grade Careers Lesson

Today we started a new lesson in 2nd grade. In preparation for 2nd Grade Career Day on October 21, this lesson is about careers. 

We'll first discuss that, in general, "the more you LEARN, the more you EARN." I'll explain briefly that students who complete college have more choices of careers and earn more money on average than students who finish high school or drop out of high school. I'll show the classes piles of fake money to give them a visual comparison between the average salaries of high school drop-outs (approximately $23,000 per year), high school graduates (approximately $30,000) and college graduates (approximately $52,000). (I got those numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau report [pdf] referenced in this article.) We'll talk about how college graduates can choose any of the same jobs that high school drop-outs and graduates can choose, but choices are more limited if you don't finish high school or go to college.

Then, I will distribute a card with a career on it to every child, and they will quickly put together a brief page about that career to present to the class on "TV" (behind a cardboard TV cut-out), like you see in these photographs. When I made the cards, I tried to choose careers that kids would find interesting but might not know about yet, like a map-maker, marine biologist, speech writer, museum director, blacksmith, and forensic scientist. So, by the end of class, we'll have heard about 10-20 careers that might pique students' interests. 

Because of the unusual field trips and fall break schedules coming up, I will see Dover, Frith, Hamner, Johnson, and Singley this week. Next week I'll do the lesson with Dean, Patterson, Horst, Myrick, Whitehead, and Snyder. And Smelley, Bowlin, and Phillips will have this lesson on October 18. 

This child's card was "Museum Director." I love that he knew that could involve dinosaur bones, mummies, and paintings!

Please excuse the poor quality of these photos! My camera all of the sudden shows a black screen when I try to see what picture I'm about to take, but it does still take pictures. They are just usually off-center. :) Hopefully I can get that fixed or get a new camera quickly!