GRADE LEVELS: 9-12
CONTENT AREAS: Advisory, Life Skills, Homeroom, English, Social Studies, CTE
GOALS:
Students will discuss ways to explore their life passions and vocations
STANDARDS ADDRESSED:
- C:C1.3 Identify personal preferences and interests influencing career choice and success
- PS:A1.2 Identify values, attitudes and beliefs
- C:C2.1 Demonstrate how interests, abilities and achievement relate to achieving personal, social, educational and career goals
PRIOR KNOWLEDGE:
No special prior knowledge is necessary to complete the lesson.
MATERIALS:
Many students may enjoy reading Po Bronson’s book, “What Should I do with my life?”
LESSON OVERVIEW:
All too often students and instructors ignore the topic of determining what is important in life and pursuing dreams. We assume this is why students go to school and fail to engage them in the ever-evolving questions about worthy purposes in life. This discussion is an opportunity for instructors to introduce students to the various ways a person pursues their passions in life.
LESSON PROCEDURE:
This is a free flowing discussion, and the instructor may want to have a few stories from Bronson’s book or the one question website to further spark student interest in this subject.
For the first part, distribute the article, Finding your Passions, and read it aloud as a class. (10 minutes)
Begin a discussion about the article by asking how the author, Kalsey Larson, suggests a person can find their passions. Tom Nelson and Anastasia Balfany are two examples Larson uses. (5 minutes)
Describe people you know in life who are passionate about what they do. Have the class brainstorm all the people they know and know about who live fulfilling lives of purpose. (10 minutes)
How do you think these people found and pursued their passion? Discuss the ways people find their passion in life, and continue the discussion introduced in the article (10 minutes).
What are you doing to explore your interests in life? Ask students to share things that they have done to find what they like to do in life (5 minutes).
Conclude this discussion by reminding students that finding your passion is a lifelong journey. Adolescence is the first time most people begin wrestling with this question, but most adults still reflect and work to find inspiration in life.
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