TITLE: Introduction to Know Your Counselor with My Student Path
SP TAB/CONTENT AREA: Choose Your Path
PLEASE NOTE:
This is the first lesson that shows instructors how to log students into MyStudentPath.com.
Every student in the class will need individual, online access to the content at MyStudentPath.com. Please reserve 20-40 minutes for computer access for each student to complete the MyStudentPath survey.
STUDENT PATHS OUTCOMES:
1-1: Students understand their choices of post-secondary options and careers.
2-2: Students develop awareness of their social system of support and constraints, and choose associations and behaviors that align with their values, goals and well-being.
IN THIS LESSON, STUDENTS WILL:
Complete survey of post-secondary goals at MyStudentPath.com.
Read article from Student Paths, “Know Your Counselor”
Record resources they find useful and plan to visit in career and college research.
Discuss resources with class in full-class discussion.
STANDARDS ADDRESSED:
This lesson aligns with the following American School Counselor Association Career Development Standards:
C:A1.1 – Develop skills to locate, evaluate, and interpret career information
C:B1.6 – Learn to use the Internet to access career-planning information
This lesson also aligns with the following Common Core State Standard:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text
PRIOR KNOWLEDGE:
No specialized prior knowledge is necessary to complete this lesson.
Familiarity with MyStudentPath.com is helpful.
MATERIALS:
Class set of Activity Handout, Questions for Do It Yourself
Class Internet access for each student to take a survey and register for online access to MyStudentPath.com. Students will read the articles “Get to Know Your Counselor” and “Do It Yourself” online.
COMPREHENSIVE LESSON OVERVIEW:
Introduction (5 minutes)
Each student will need individual access to a computer or device to connect to MyStudentPath.com. This lesson may take place in a computer lab or with tablets/laptops in the classroom. Provide appropriate instructions to students on where to sit, how to access MyStudentPath.com, and the rules of the class period.
Students will complete an Activity Handout about the online articles: “Know Your Counselor”
Reading and Questions (10 minutes)
Once the students complete the registration, they will have access to many articles. Allow students to browse the articles until the instructor is ready to direct attention to the articles “Get to Know Your Counselor” and “Do It Yourself.”
First, instruct students to read “Get to Know Your Counselor.” Allow 2-5 minutes for students to read this article to themselves while the instructor monitors progress. Instructor may allow time for short discussion or may proceed directly to the second article, “Do It Yourself.”
At this point, distribute the Activity Handout and instruct students to complete the questions on the handout about the article.
At the conclusion of this lesson, remind students to log out of their MyStudentPath.com account.
The following are the questions with suggested answers for the Activity Handout:
ACTIVITY HANDOUT
Read the article “Know your Counselor" and answer the following questions:
1. In what ways could a guidance counselor help a student?
- Opening doors through relationships
- Speeding up process for submitting missing information
- Serving as a sounding board for important career decisions
- Providing input and advice based on students’ personal histories
- Answering tough questions students may have
- Filling out FAFSA forms for the best possible financial aid packages
- Locating and applying for little-known scholarships
- Finding internships in areas of career interest
- Writing college application essays
- Answering questions about and providing reliable information on a wide range of colleges
- Preparing for job interviews
- Getting standardized test scores up, making students eligible for more colleges
- Calming fears about starting new chapters in life—and dealing with current stressful chapters
2. When should students get to know their guidance counselor?
- Freshman year
3. What are some of the first steps in starting the career or college search process?
- Identifying your own interests and options
4. Name potential drawbacks of using the Internet to conduct your own college and career research.
- No personal connection to the resource
- Resources are not policed, so non-factual information can be found there.
5. For each category below, name a site suggested by this article as a helpful resource.
Choosing the right college and reading message boards about colleges
Learning about scholarships/financial aid
Learning about current job openings
- Jobs.com
Learning general information about industries and careers
- Bls.gov/k12 (U.S. Government’s careers site for students)
6. If you decided not to start by using the Internet for your college/career search, name TWO ways this article suggests you can get help with your search.
- libraries
- talking to other students
- talking with adults who have connections to a college or career area
- attending college open houses and high school college fairs
ACTIVITY HANDOUT
Read the article “Know Your Counselor” to answer the following questions:
1. In what ways could a guidance counselor help a student?
2. When should students get to know their guidance counselor?
3. What are some of the first steps in starting the career or college search process?
4. Name potential drawbacks of using the Internet to conduct your own college and career research.
5. For each category below, name a site suggested by this article as a helpful resource.
- Choosing the right college and reading message boards about colleges
- Learning about scholarships/financial aid
- Learning about current job openings
- Learning general information about industries and career
6. If you decided not to start by using the Internet for your college/career search, name TWO ways this article suggests you can get help with your search.
RELATED ARTICLES:
