I Can Make it Happen!

Welcome DVD

What is ‘I Can Make it Happen’?

A programme of activities to help you:

• be aware of the different things you might want to do when you leave school, through having a variety of experiences

• understand some of the different careers you can work towards

• see some of the different positive activities that you can take part in outside of school time

• have fun!

Tips for the week

• Don’t forget to take notes if you want to

• Ask lots of questions

• See if you can find anyone else who is going to the same secondary school as you

• Have fun!

What are positive activities?

Activities that you can take part in which give you the chance to meet new people, to learn new skills or to just take part in an activity.

These include things like:

homework clubs sports & physical activity

arts / cultural projects outdoor activity sessions

play / youth clubs music / performing arts

films reading

Activities might take place in school, community centres, children & young people’s centres, leisure centres and lots of other places!

What am I going to be taking part in?

Each day you will take part in something different and by taking part in all of the activities we ask you to do, you will be able to ‘graduate’!

 

The activities that you do will:

• let you find out more about particular careers

• show you what kind of jobs are in your local area

• help you understand the skills you already have and where you might like to develop further skills

 

Think about your learning

Each day we would like you to think about:

• What you learnt during that day & whether you found out anything new about yourself / your skills

• What positive activities you have seen or heard about

• Whether there are any positive activities that you would like to try

• What you thought about the activities that you took part in during that day

There are six schools taking part in this programme.

Each school will take part in activities over a week.

Everyone will have their own timetable.

Schools will work through their timetable in groups so you will be able to meet new people.

Our School’s Timetable

Ground rules Ground rules are actions or ways of working that we all agree to.

For this project we would like to suggest that all schools have these ground rules as a minimum:• To be on time• To be role models for our school when we go on trips

Now, we would like your class to think of any other ground rules that you think you would like to have for this week:

1. have a think yourself for a couple of minutes

2. share your ideas as a class & write these down on a piece of flip chart paper

3. everyone in the class will be asked to sign the flip chart to show that they agree to these ground rules

4. write down any new ground rules in the space provided in your own portfolio

Ground rules will be displayed in your classroom to remind everyone what they agreed to at the start of the project

All about me

On your ‘All About Me Questionnaire’ answer these questions:

1.What would you like to do when you finish school?

2. What skills / qualities do you think you have? Please list these eg. good at talking

3. What do you enjoy doing out of school?

4. Can you list 3 activities that you can do in your local area out of school (eg at weekends & in holidays)

5. Can you think of 2 places where you can find out what activities are taking place

Career mapping – session 1

This is a group activity that will be started on Monday and added to throughout the week.

You will have 30 minutes to do the whole of this activity.

1.Your teacher will put you into a group

2. As a group we would like you to write down all the different jobs that you know about on a pink post it - 1 job per post it

3. Your teacher will ask each group to feedback the jobs that have been identified

4. All post its will be put in the centre of the chart

Throughout the week you will have another look at this chart and see whether there are any other jobs that you know about!

What are skills and qualities?

Everybody has a different bundle of skills and qualities. These skills andqualities are what make us unique.

Skills are things that we are good at. We are not born with skills but we learn them as we go through life. We may find some skills easier to learn than others, but with practice we can develop all sorts of different skills. Skills can include things like being good at solving problems, being good at swimming or being good at looking after animals. We might have lots of different skills but enjoy using some skills more than others.

Personal qualities can be used to describe people e.g. Harry is loyal, brave and stubborn. Hermione is intelligent, resourceful, helpful and a bit of a perfectionist. The different qualities that we have combine to make our personality.

What are skills and qualities?

Activity:

• Your teacher will put you into groups of about 5-10 people

• From your group we would like one person to nominate themselves

Our unique mix of skills and qualities make us better suited to some jobs rather than others. When employers advertise a job, they often target people with specific skills and personal qualities. Look at the two job descriptions below:

IT Technician: must have a good knowledge of how to fix computers and be able to use a wide range of different computer programmes such as Microsoft Word, Powerpoint and Excel. Must be able to work independently, meet deadlines and organise their time effectively. The ideal candidate will be reliable, have good attention to detail and be highly motivated.

Gym instructor: we are looking for an energetic, enthusiastic and helpful person who will be able to motivate a wide range of different people. Must be confident in instructing people in aerobics, kick boxing, street dance and using gym equipment. This post will require you to work well as part of a team.

These jobs are very different and therefore require people with very different bundles of skills and qualities. However, both jobs will require some of the same skills and qualities e.g. reliablity, honesty and good team working skills.

Skills & qualities

Your group is now in a competition!!

We would like you to use no more than 4 sheets of flip chart paper to create a shirt, jumper or jacket that fits your nominated person over the top of their own clothes.

You must treat them with the same respect that you would expect from everyone else & make sure that you do not damage their own clothing.

Once the nominated person is dressed your team is to write on the flip chart paper (NOT ON THE PERSON or THEIR OWN CLOTHES) all the skills and qualities that you can think of.

The winning team is to be judged by your class teacher who will take into account:

• Team work

• Respect for others

• Design of flip chart clothing

• Amount of skills / qualities that you have identified

I Can Make it Happen!

Guest speakers

Guest speakers have been invited into school to give you an idea of what they do in their job but also what they enjoy doing outside of work.

For this activity you will:

• be given planning time to think about questions that you may want to ask

• be able to find a bit more out about your guest speaker through the session they have planned and through asking your burning questions!

Guest speakers 2 – developing questions

There are lots of different types of questions that can be used to find out different types of information. Some of these are:

• Open - To help get the conversation started, the person responding has lots of choice over how they answer eg “What do you do in your job?”

• Closed - These will often result in yes or no answers and are good for when you need to know facts quickly eg “Did you work in an office?”

• Probing - Helps you steer the conversation to find out information on certain issues but if too many are asked it can sometimes make people feel like they are being interrogated eg “What skills do you think you learnt while you were doing your job?”

• Hypothetical - This type of question can help people think about other ways of thinking eg “What would have happened if…?”

• Reflective and summative - By repeating what the person has been talking about you can show that you are listening and understanding what they are trying to tell you. It allows the person asking the question a chance to clarify what the person being questioned is trying to say eg “Do you feel that this week has been a lot better than the last?”

Guest speakers – preparing for your guest speaker

You will be given a worksheet explaining the different types of questions

• On your own, write down two questions that you want to ask your guest speaker to find out a bit more about them

• Think about what you are going to do when you ask your question:

• are you going to remember it or do you need to read it off your paper?

• how are you going to get eye contact with the guest speaker?

• is everyone going to be able to hear you?

• is there anything about your question that might need to be clarified?

• Your teacher will put you in either pairs or small groups for you to practice asking your questions

Remember to keep your questions near you ready to ask your guest speaker!