career day presentation ideas lawyer

Ideas for Career Day for Lawyers

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Lawyers on television provide the basis for plenty of misconceptions about what it's like to be a lawyer and what they do. A career day highlighting the profession can set the record straight for students and expose them to the many types of law that lawyers practice. In fact, there are so many types of lawyers it's useful to focus on themes appropriate for the age level of students, such as how to become a lawyer or the Constitution.

Select Themes

It's difficult to talk about being a lawyer without covering what kind of law is practiced, because what a criminal attorney does is different from the duties of a lawyer working in environmental law. Descriptions of the many fields of law are provided on the Law School Admission Council website. Pick one or two types of law to cover, such as sports and entertainment law or family law.

You can focus on issues such as lawsuits and small claims court. Discuss the laws and processes involved, and how lawyers help people with them. You can also just keep the focus on how to become a lawyer and how people choose their specialties based on their skills and interests.

Classroom Activities

It takes a lot of work to become a lawyer. Using resources like the Bureau of Labor Statistics , students can research how to become a lawyer. You can simulate some of the process in the classroom.

Many law schools interview applicants during the admission process, so you can conduct mock interviews asking why students want to be lawyers. Most law schools require applicants to submit scores from the Law School Admission Test, or LSAT. Prepare a short sample test with reading comprehension questions tailored to the grade level of students. Have students study a list of the fields of law, choose a specialty and fill out a basic job profile.

Young children also enjoy learning about careers. Even kindergarteners are curious about what grown-ups do at work. A career day about lawyers for kindergarten students, for example, could feature parents who have a law degree. Ask willing parents to give a lawyer presentation by PowerPoint showing them in their office and in court, for example.

Guest Speakers

Some state bar associations, such as the Illinois State Bar Association , keep a database of lawyers willing to volunteer to speak to schools and classrooms about legal topics, including a career in law. You can also ask local law firms if anyone in their practice would consider giving a career day lawyer PowerPoint presentation. Arrange the topics for discussion with the lawyer ahead of time – you may want to tailor any classroom activities to the types of lawyers that are available.

For example, go with a theme of traffic law and traffic court for high school students if your volunteer lawyer has experience or knowledge of the field. A general topic any lawyer can cover for younger students is the importance of laws to society. Help them come up questions to ask a lawyer on career day.

A mock trial typically takes more than a day to prepare for and conduct, but if you can do preliminary activities before career day, such as assigning roles and studying a script, you may be able to hold the trial itself during a class period. Ask a local lawyer to serve as judge, or offer advice to participants. If you don't have the time or resources for a full mock trial, break students into groups to interview each other as witnesses to crimes and take depositions, or go through the jury selection process.

• Illinois State Bar Association: ISBA Lawyers in Classrooms - An Invitation to Make a Difference
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Outlook Handbook: Lawyers
• Law School Admission Council: Fields of Law

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• How to Crush your Elementary School Career Day Presentation

  Posted on July 2, 2018 By Jeff Perkins

If you like this blog post, make sure to check out Jeff’s book, How Not to Suck at Marketing

I recently had the opportunity to speak at Career Day at the school where my kids go – Heards Ferry Elementary School in Sandy Springs, GA. I spoke to 100+ fourth graders about a career in marketing.

Heards Ferry Elementary School

Now, I’ve given presentations in front of some very large audiences in recent years.  But this was by far the most nerve wracking public speaking experience I’ve ever had.

When I’m speaking in front of a room of marketers or executives, I know the audience.  I know how to talk to them.  I know what kinds of jokes they’ll laugh at.  I know how to structure a presentation that will provide real value.

This was different.  I had to explain my job to 4 th graders.  And that’s not nearly as easy as it seems.  I once asked my kids the question: “What does Daddy do for a living?” You can see their answer in the video below.

As the presentation day got closer, I kept thinking about that scene in City Slickers where Billy Crystal is presenting at  career day at his son’s school and realizes his life basically has no meaning, which ultimately pushes him into a mid-life crisis. I really didn’t want that to happen to me.

So, I spent a few days outlining what I wanted to say about marketing. Then I built some simple slides to make my points. The presentation ended up going very well.  Actually, much better than I had thought it would.  In the end, the whole experience turned out to be really fun.

So if you get “volun-told” that you are presenting at you kid’s next Career Day, here are some tips that should help you survive.

1) Keep it Simple Stupid

Marketers can be pretty sophisticated in the way we think and talk. I mean, we are one of the few groups of professionals that can speak in complete sentences using only acronyms (SEO, SEM, PPC, CPM, ABM, SQL, MQL, CRM, etc.)! When you are presenting to kids, you have to strip all of that noise out. You can’t talk about the 3 C’s, 4 P’s or Porter’s Five Forces. You have to come up with the simplest possible definition of what you do.

Here’s an example of what NOT to say to a room of 4 th graders:

“I spend my day optimizing digital ad campaigns to ensure we are hitting our KPIs and the company is generating a strong ROI on our marketing investments.”

Here’s what I said to the kids:

“I help people learn about cool new products so they want to buy them or they ask their Mom and Dad to buy it for them.”

When I said that, the kids immediately got it. One kid asked, “So you do the ads we see on TV?”  Exactly!

Below you can see the slides that I presented to the kids. They’re super simple and helped reinforce the key points I was making to the class.

  2) Make it Relevant to Their World

Rainbow Unicorn Slime

To explain how to do marketing, I used a product example that almost every kid in the class could relate to: SLIME! My kids are totally obsessed with slime, and it turns out they aren’t the only ones.  Just saying the word “slime” got every kid in the class excited.  So, I poised this question to the kids:

Imagine that you invented the best rainbow unicorn slime ever. How would you get people to buy it?

Then we talked about how you could create a marketing campaign for that slime.  I told them that they have to ask 4 simple questions:

• Who am I selling the slime to?
• What’s my message about the slime?
• Where can I reach them?
• How do I get them to remember?

The kids had some great answers to all of these questions, especially about the messaging. A few of the kids came up with their own jingles for this special rainbow unicorn slime right on the spot.  They were really getting the idea.

3) Get the Kids Involved

An interesting thing I noticed is that 4 th graders raise their hands, even if they have no clue what they want to say.  They just hold their hand up high and often use the other hand to reinforce it.  Multiple times in the class I called on a kid who’s hand was raised, only to have him or her give me a blank stare, and then mumble “I forgot.” But, that’s not a bad thing.  These kids wanted to participate.  They wanted to be part of the discussion.  And, they made some really great points.  Now, as the speaker, you have to control the room.  In a 4 th grade class, there’s a fine line between participation and pandemonium.  But, letting the kids talk ended up being a great thing for the presentation and kept everyone engaged.

4) Show Fun Examples of Work

I played the kids a bunch of TV ads to demonstrate ways you can sell your product, including some classics from the past:

• Life Cereal: “Mikey Likes It”
• Toys R Us: “I’m a Toys R Us Kid”
• Coca-Cola: “I’d Like to Give the World a Coke”
• Reeses Peanut Butter Cups: “You put your chocolate in my peanut butter”

I also showed them more current ads for Sour Patch Kids, Doritos and M&Ms.  We watched the ads and had a great discussion about what the key messages were. I asked the kids which ad they liked best, and the majority said the Doritos ad.  These kids just don’t appreciate the classics!

If you’re interested, you can watch the playlist below with all the ads I played for the class.

5) Gamify It

After the TV ads, we played a game I called “Name That Jingle”.  I played them the music from a well-known jingle and they had to tell me the brand.  This helped me make the point that that marketers want you to remember their product.  One way to do that is to come up with a catchy jingle that gets stuck in your head. I was impressed that these kids knew almost every jingle I played, including State Farm, Nationwide and Farmers. It does beg a question: why do insurance companies have the best jingles?

Listen to the jingles below and see if you can guess the brand.

6) Bring a lot of swag

Of course, you cannot show up at career day empty handed.  You have to bring some swag from your company.  I brought a ton of ParkMobile stuff – koozies, lanyards, cups, pens, notebooks, etc., and these kids cleared me out.   I also brought some “premium items”, hats and shirts that I gave to the kids who gave me the best answers.  But, the kids were just as excited to get a pen as they were to get a shirt.  So, just bring something for them. They’ll love whatever you give them.  It was pretty funny when my wife came home later that day after volunteering at the school and told me that virtually every kid was running around with ParkMobile swag. It’s like I created an army of mobile billboards!

So that’s my advice for people doing elementary school career day presentations. If you get tapped to do one, don’t be afraid. You’ll be surprised just how much these kids will love it. And you just might have some fun too.

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Mastering the Art of Legal Presentations: Essential Tips and Tricks

Navigating through law school and legal careers, budding attorneys realize that mastering the art of presentation is as crucial as knowing the letter of the law. Whether it's arguing a mock trial, presenting a case in court, or persuading peers during a seminar, effective presentation skills can set you apart in the competitive field of law. This Q&A post delves into some of the most commonly asked questions about law presentations and offers presentation hacks aimed at making you a more compelling legal communicator.

Do Presentation Skills Really Matter for Lawyers?

Absolutely! In the legal profession, presenting ideas and arguments clearly and persuasively is critical to success. The American Bar Association emphasizes the importance of honing presentation skills from law school onwards; being persuasive and articulate is a part of your toolkit as an attorney.

What Are Some Effective Presentation Hacks for Legal Professionals?

Start With a Clear Message : Know the core message of your presentation and keep it concise. A clear thesis helps you stay on track and makes your argument more digestible for your audience.

Understand Your Audience : Gauge the level of understanding your audience has about the topic. Presenting to peers might require a different approach than speaking to a jury or a judge.

Use Storytelling : A legal case is essentially a story with a problem and a resolution. Tapping into the power of storytelling can make your presentation more engaging and memorable.

Practice, Practice, Practice : Rehearse your presentation multiple times. This helps reduce nervousness and ensures you're comfortable with the material.

Seek Feedback : Before your presentation, practice in front of colleagues or mentors and ask for constructive criticism to sharpen your delivery.

How Can I Overcome Public Speaking Anxiety Before a Legal Presentation?

Facing a courtroom or an auditorium can be intimidating, but there are strategies to combat this anxiety. Preparing thoroughly is a start; being familiar with every aspect of your presentation can alleviate fear. Additionally, techniques like deep breathing, visualization, and positive self-talk can be beneficial. Moreover, watching inspiring TED Talks on public speaking can provide valuable insights into overcoming fears and delivering impactful messages.

For those looking for a comprehensive solution to enhance their presentation skills, we suggest exploring various features of presentation-focused tools and platforms. While not a substitute for personal practice, these tools can offer unique insights and aid in your delivery. For instance, the features section on College Tools may provide some interesting avenues to explore.

What Role Does Body Language Play in Legal Presentations?

Your physical presence can be as compelling as the words you speak. A poised stance, eye contact, and intentional gestures can convey confidence and help underscore your points. Posture and movement can non-verbally communicate passion for your subject matter and connect with your audience on a more profound level.

Can Technology Help in Improving my Presentations?

Definitely! Technology and AI-powered tools can assist in fine-tuning your presentations. They can help in organizing content, providing cues, and even analyzing your pace and tone. Embracing technology can also make your presentations more dynamic, engaging audiences with multimedia elements that might not be possible with traditional methods.

How Important Is the Quality of Visual Aids in Legal Presentations?

Visual aids should not distract from the message but rather support it. High-quality, pertinent visuals can reinforce your argument or help to clarify complex concepts. Carefully consider your choice of visuals, whether they're diagrams, timelines, or other graphical elements; they should be professionally rendered and easy to understand.

Becoming an effective legal presenter takes time, practice, and a willingness to learn from each experience. Employing the right presentation hacks , understanding the significance of effective communication , and continuing to build upon public speaking skills will prove invaluable throughout your legal career. Strive for clarity, conciseness, and connection with your audience, and you'll be better equipped to make your case, inside and outside the courtroom.

Conclusion: Strong presentation skills are a foundational element of a successful legal career. This Q&A has addressed critical aspects of delivering compelling legal presentations, offering insights and hacks to help you polish your communication prowess. Remember, the journey to becoming an articulate legal professional is ongoing; continue learning, practicing, and adapting to become the best presenter you can be.

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Better Presentations: How to Stop ‘Rough-Drafting’ and Learn to Speak with Precision

Why is it that so many lawyer presentations suffer from “hanging fragmentitis”? Here’s how to stop yourself from constantly editing, restarting and revising out loud.

When we speak, why do we so often fail to finish our sentences? Linguists must know the answer to this question, but I am at a loss. All I’m sure of is this: Lawyers find it difficult — often impossible — to finish sentences. They have some kind of built-in resistance to committing to a period. Commas, ellipses and random question marks — yes. Periods — no.

Here’s what I mean. A lawyer stands up to make a presentation to colleagues, an opening statement or a motion to a judge. She states her topic or theme, often (but far from always) in a single sentence. And then, she’s off to “The Land of the Never-Ending Sentence.” There isn’t a period to be heard for minutes on end:

“Mrs. X has been afraid for her life since the night her husband stabbed her with a kitchen knife.” (This is the complete sentence.) “Mr. X had threatened her on numerous occasions, and the police had been … uh … called to their residence more than once and in 2009 alone officers were called by … uh … by either a neighbor or the caretaker of the condos or even by Mr. X himself … uh … on one occasion, and so she has been scared and worried, especially for the … um … effect of the potential violence on her two young daughters, who she sent away to live with her … um … sister.”

And so on and on … and on.

Eventually, the story emerges from the thicket of verbal litter. Participles dangle, prepositional phrases attach themselves, as if by their own accord, to the beginnings of ideas or the end of a long-winded thought, serving only as a bridge to the next part of an excruciating, endless sentence.

Tangled in the verbal weed patch, like chattering language cicadas, is the cognitive wheel-spinning of habitual rephrasing:

“… who she sent away to live with her sister … who … uh … who she sent to a suburb of Boston … who she sent early … um … last year to live in a safer place … a less … a much less violent situation with her sister, because she was now … uh … even worried about a different type of … uh … abuse, verbal, physical … her older daughter reported … “

Grab Hold of Those Dangling Thoughts

We would never leave a  written sentence unfinished. Why don’t we speak with the same care? Instead, we seem to be constantly editing, hitting the delete button, starting over, revising, and rough-drafting out loud. There is a fix for “hanging fragmentitis.” When you hear yourself starting sentences over, help yourself bring that sentence to an end by doing three things.

3 Tips on How to Make a Good Presentation

1. resist tacking “and” onto the ends of your thoughts during presentations..

Do this with all your intellectual muscle. Speak in phrases, working your way through sentences with precision. This keeps your brain in sync with your mouth. We often listen to lawyers who speak so fast that they cannot monitor their speech in real-time. Their brain is way out ahead of their lips. As my Uncle Bobby Wayne of Alabama once observed of a talking head on TV, “I see he’s mashing his lips together, but I can’t make out a word he’s sayin’ — and I’m sure he don’t know, either.” “And” used to string meandering sentences together litters your speech with meaningless noise.

2. End sentences with downward inflection, walking down the musical steps of each sentence.

End sentences decisively , so listeners hear that the end is approaching. They need those inflective, musical cues to help organize your thoughts in their heads. If you are asking a rhetorical question, end with the upward inflection of curiosity. Walk your voice  up  the musical steps.

3. Pause briefly when your sentence ends.

You should hear silence. The silence that follows the downward inflection of an audible period gives listeners a moment to process what you have said. Silence gives you a moment to formulate the first word of the next sentence. Don’t worry that the pause will be too long — 99.9% of the time, these pauses are less than a second and still sufficient to let listeners know the sentence is over. Resist the urge to rush into the next sentence.

When making legal presentations, speak in deliberate phrases. That keeps your sentences on track and prevents you from excessive starts and stops. Trust that you can speak about your topic with articulate intelligence. You needn’t second-guess yourself and force listeners to endure your public editing. Sentence fragments wouldn’t do on paper. Don’t sprinkle them throughout your spoken presentations.

Don’t be a litterbug. Period.

Illustration ©iStockPhoto.com.

For more than 30 years, Marsha Hunter was the CEO and a founder of Johnson and Hunter, Inc., with legal clients in the United States, Canada, Australia, and Europe. Her clients were top ten and top twenty law firms, legal departments at the world’s largest corporations, the United States Department of Justice, and organizations and bar associations from Belfast to Tasmania. Marsha is co-author of “ The Articulate Advocate ” and “ The Articulate Attorney ,” her specialty is human factors — the science of human performance in high-stakes environments. Born in Montana and raised in the American West, she lives in New Mexico.

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Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Career day.

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55 Career Day Ideas, Tips, and Activities for All Ages

Encourage kids to consider a wide variety of careers for the future.

School career days give kids a peek into their futures, with the opportunity to learn about all the job fields and opportunities available to them. These career day ideas include options for preschool, elementary, middle, and high school. We’ve also got tips for making your event truly meaningful for everyone involved!

General Career Day Tips

Preschool career activities, elementary school career day ideas, middle and high school career day ideas.

Keep activities age-appropriate

Younger students should be encouraged to explore through play, while tweens and teens are ready for a more detailed look at what various careers entail.

Invite families to participate

Chances are good that you can find someone working in just about any career you can imagine among the parents and families of your own students.

Engage with the community

People love the chance to share their careers with the next generation. Reach out to local businesses and organizations and offer them the opportunity to participate.

Include as many career fields as possible

Think big! You want to help students see that there are good jobs to fit any interest and skill set, including those that don’t necessarily require a four-year college education.

Vary your career day activities

Provide ways for all students to engage, whether they prefer to listen to others speak or actually try some hands-on experience. Keep students moving throughout the day by offering activities and speakers in multiple locations.

Start small and expand over time

If it’s your first career day, it’s OK to keep it simple. After a few years, you’ll build up a collection of regular speakers, activities, and more career day ideas.

Gauge interest

Let students request or suggest specific speakers, career field representatives, or activities they’d like to see, and accommodate them if you can.

Prepare participants

Work with speakers and other participants in advance to help them plan their presentations or activities. Make sure their plans are age-appropriate and meaningful.

Think beyond a day

As kids get older, the chance to explore a variety of careers becomes even more important. Consider dedicating one day each month to a career activity, setting up a speaker series , or trying independent career exploration projects.

Follow up afterward

Career days can help students make connections with people in careers that interest them. Encourage students to build on those connections after the official career day has ended. Younger students can help maintain community connections by writing thank-you notes to participants.

At this age, kids should be encouraged to learn through play as much as possible. Give them lots of opportunities to explore a wide array of different occupations with activities like these.

Little ones love to dress up! Provide them with lots of career-themed outfits and accessories, and encourage all kids to try on every kind of career for size.

Imaginative play

Whether they’re in costume or not, kids can pretend to be lots of different workers. Give them an array of career-themed toys and equipment, and provide every child a chance to try anything that interests them.

Career centers

Add career-themed play centers to your classroom, like kitchens, fire stations, post offices, hospitals, vet offices, science labs, and more. Keep the appropriate dress-up clothes and toys for these fields in each center for kids to experiment with.

Field trips

Pre-K is a great time to visit all sorts of workplaces. Ask parents and families if your class would be welcome for a tour, and work with community partners to find more career-themed field trip opportunities for students.

Career story time

Rather than just asking people to come talk to your class about their jobs, invite them to do read-alouds instead! Find a book related to their job in some way for story time, then let students ask questions afterward. If you do this virtually, people can participate from their workplaces and take kids on a virtual tour too.

Students can explore jobs a bit more in-depth at this age, as well as learning some basic career-readiness skills. Try these ideas for elementary school career day.

Dress-up day

This is a career day classic! Students dress up as what they think they might like to be when they grow up. (Tip: Have teachers dress up as what they imagined they might do for a living when they were young!)

Career parade

Once everyone is all dressed up, hold a grand parade around the school or playground. Offer prizes for the best costumes, presented by representatives of local companies or organizations.

Parent/family job day

This is another longtime favorite: Parents and family members visit the classroom to share a little about what they do in their daily jobs.

If you’d like to expand your career day into more events, try theming them by field. For instance, you could have a day for STEM careers, one for skilled trades, one for business careers, etc.

Virtual field trips

You can visit many more locations and see a wider array of career fields when you do it virtually. Set up videoconference time with various people, and let them take you on a tour and introduce you to the people they work with every day. Allow some time at the end for Q&A.

Career stations

Set up different rooms or booths with information, activities, outfits, speakers, and more for individual careers or fields. Kids can circulate among them, with the opportunity to spend extra time at stations that interest them the most.

Career scavenger hunt

As kids explore career stations, provide a scavenger hunt to encourage them to engage more deeply with the activities. Examples: “List three tools a carpenter uses” or “How many years of college does it take to become a doctor?”

Career library

Set aside a selection of books about different careers, and let each student pick one they want to read and report back on. ( Get ideas for creative book reports here. )

Let STEM-related workers give demonstrations of what they do in their jobs, from coding demos and engineering challenges to lab experiments and animal interactions.

Career skits

Take imaginative career play to the next level by asking kids to write and perform simple skits set in different workplaces. They can play out a normal workday or show a worker tackling a special challenge or task.

Go-to-work day

This takes some coordination, but it’s a cool way to really immerse kids in careers. Think of it like “Take Your Child to Work Day,” but kids aren’t limited to only visiting their parents’ jobs. Instead, a group of kids signs up to visit various participating businesses, and each is partnered with an employee for an hour or two to tour the facility and learn more about what happens there.

Career crafts

Paper firefighter hats, DIY stethoscopes, worker finger puppets … there are lots of fun crafts kids can make and take home as they learn about different jobs and career fields.

Career day booklets

Give each student a blank booklet of eight pages or so. On each page, encourage them to illustrate and take notes about one career that really interests them. They’ll each go home with an individualized resource for talking to their families about possible jobs for the future.

Lunch with a …

When it’s time for lunch, set up a room or table for each career and let kids sign up to eat with people from that field. They can chat informally while they dine, sharing stories and asking questions in a naturally comfortable environment.

Career bulletin boards

Create bulletin boards themed by career or field throughout the building. Let each class work together to create their own, then take a tour to check out the whole collection.

Career posters

Let each student choose a career they’d like to learn more about, then have them create posters showing what they find out. Display the posters in school hallways, and let kids stand nearby to answer questions about the job on which they’ve become an expert.

My first resume

Introduce kids to the basic idea of what a resume is, then help them write their own. Of course, at this age they don’t have specific job experience. However, they can list their experiences doing chores at home or at school, plus any special skills they have. It can be fun to watch them create titles for themselves like “Dog Walker” or “Bedroom Cleaner”!

Equipment displays

Invite businesses to bring in equipment big and small, from fire trucks, construction equipment, and portable X-ray machines to medical supplies, building tools, and cooking implements. Kids will love getting a closer look at these tools of the trade.

Personal career collage

After kids have a chance to learn more about all the jobs available to them, have them assemble a collage that shows the occupations they’d most like to try someday. They can cut out pics from magazines, or work online to collect digital images or videos for a virtual version.

Career day pledge

At the end of the day, invite each student to sign a Career Day Pledge, in which they promise to stay in school and prepare themselves to succeed at any job their future holds.

Now’s the time to really get into the nitty-gritty of what careers entail and what it takes to work in specific fields. The more opportunities for career exploration you can offer teens, the better. These ideas and activities make the most of their time dedicated to learning about careers and employment in general.

Career fair

The classic career fair takes a bit of logistical planning, but it can actually be among the easier career day ideas. Most businesses and organizations already have materials ready to go for career and recruitment fairs, so offer them a place to set up their tables and booths and encourage them to tailor their overall presentation to students.

Sometimes a job sounds good in theory, but when we actually see what it entails on a day-to-day basis, it’s not quite what we had in mind. That’s why job shadowing is such a good idea. Today’s technology makes things easier than ever before too. If you can’t get kids to workplaces in person, they can connect via video chat to spend a few hours with employees instead.

Wheel of careers

This is a fun activity you can do during career day or as preparation for the event. Kids “spin the wheel” to learn more about a selection of careers from every kind of field. It’s a great way to encourage them to consider jobs they might not have thought about before. Find the Wheel of Careers activity here.

Career cluster rooms

Clustering various careers together in one space makes sense and helps give some structure to your activities. Students will have an easier time finding the jobs they want to investigate, and you’ll keep people spread out into more manageable groups too.

Career groups by interest

Another way to group careers is by the skills and interests they involve. Set up stations for sports-based careers, math-based jobs, jobs for those who love to write, occupations for people who like to use their hands, etc. Label them “If You Like ________, Try These Jobs!”

Career panel

Arrange for panels of speakers related to specific careers. Each can give a short introduction to their job, then they can talk about their work among themselves as well as taking questions from students. This gives kids an excellent chance to compare opportunities in related fields.

Entrepreneur showcase

Those who want to go into business for themselves will love getting to talk with local business owners, start-ups, and other entrepreneurs. They’ll get a clearer picture of the benefits and challenges of being a business owner, and they can present some of their ideas to those who can give them tips and advice.

Don’t forget to include your area’s career and technical education programs as you assemble your career day ideas! They’re among the best resources you have for presenting quality jobs to kids, especially those in the skilled trades, health care, service and hospitality industries, and other positions students can start preparing for while they’re still in high school.

Student-led interviews

Let students find out what they really want to know by putting them front and center with speakers. Help them compile a list of questions in advance, then interview career representatives to investigate their jobs. Consider recording these interviews so students can check out as many of them as they want to after career day is over.

Hands-on experiences

Trying something for yourself is a meaningful way to see it’s something you really like. Ask businesses and organizations to set up hands-on experiences. Maybe kids can try their hand at cutting hair on a model head, examining a “patient,” using construction tools to build something simple, etc. These encounters will be incredibly popular!

Community service

Volunteer at organizations like nursing homes, after-school education programs, food pantries, and other community services. It’s a good look at the nonprofit world and also lets kids try out some of the roles that need to be filled at these valuable workplaces.

Career-themed competitions

Have a cook-off or bake-off, host a debate, set an engineering challenge, hold an art or writing contest … kids probably already have a lot of the skills they’ll need to do the jobs that interest them most! Interactive career day ideas like this really help build interest and engagement.

Career interest inventory

There are many career interest inventory tests and worksheets teens can complete to find out what they’re best suited for. Use these as the kick-off to your day, or in the preparation and planning stages so students can decide what they want to investigate more thoroughly on the day itself.

Resume workshop

As juniors and seniors start looking for summer jobs and internships, they’ll value the chance to learn what a good resume looks like and how to build their own. Bring in professional experts to advise them, but be sure they’re up-to-date on the newest trends . Resumes have changed a lot in the last couple of decades.

Mock interviews

Interviewing for a job can be stressful, and many people don’t get any experience until they’re sitting in front of a hiring committee for the first time. Mock interviews with real hiring managers give students a low-stakes chance to see what the experience is really like and polish their interpersonal skills.

Professional skills workshops

One of the biggest complaints many people have about employees first entering the working world is that they don’t understand professional norms. Workplaces are very different from school, and we can’t expect kids to automatically know professional behavior. Instead, provide workshops where they can learn things like professional writing and communication, workplace attire and behavior, and their rights and responsibilities as future employees.

Where are they now?

Highlight graduates from your school by sharing what they do now. Be sure to include representatives from a variety of fields so kids can see that those who’ve walked the same halls are now working as everything from teachers and lawyers to welders, stockbrokers, and more!

Alumni networking

Even better, invite some of those alumni to visit or even become mentors to current students. As adults know, finding a good job is often very much about who you know, so help older teens start to establish their professional network now.

Post–career day follow-ups

Teach students the importance of following up with contacts by having them write thank-you notes to someone they met who made an impact on career day. Review these notes for professional language and help kids compose them, then send them off so members of the community know they really did make a difference.

Career resources guide

Put together a guide students can use as they explore their future options. Include websites, college and career prep tips, and more. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has some terrific resources to help you get started.

What are your school’s best career day ideas? Come share your tips and ask for advice in the We Are Teachers HELPLINE group on Facebook.

Plus, important life skills every teen should learn ..

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Host a Career Day

Host a Career Day Ever heard a student whine, “How will I ever use this in the real world?” Let’s show them, by creating a “Career Day,” in which we help students understand the curriculum as it relates to specific, real-life job opportunities and a rewarding future.

Many schools host school-wide career fairs, which are major events and require careful planning. We salute those efforts, and this article includes tips and resources for taking on the challenge. However, even a small-scale, single-classroom career event can change the course of a student’s life, and renew their enthusiasm for education.

Never Too Early Don’t wait until high school! Children of all ages should be given the opportunity to start thinking about their future. A career day at any age will broaden your students’ perspectives and further motivate them to pursue productive careers.

Presenters Ideally your event will offer the authenticity of professionals from the local community. Parents are an obvious resource, but businesses and community leaders are often glad to participate, as well.  There may even be community resources to link you with presenters, such as the Connection Resource Bank in Rockville, Maryland.

The best presenters have deep job experience and passion for their work. Their objectives are to provide kids with a relatable link to the real world, hands-on expertise, and concrete examples of how academics relate to future educational and occupational opportunities.

Don’t hesitate to give presenters specific instructions. Ask them to explain how and why they chose their profession, what schooling or training was required, and what academic skills they use in their job. Give them ideas for making their presentation memorable and hands-on. Here are some ideas from Chron.com , as well as a few of our own:

• Law enforcement – arrive with lights flashing and sirens blaring
• Banking – bring a change counter or a stack of $100 bills
• Medicine – bring skeletons or surgical tools
• Radio – air a segment of the event live over the air
• Art/Design – make sketches of the kids or teachers
• Engineering – write computer code on the board; bring mechanical drawings of a project in the works, or a prototype of the product/building you’re designing

Chron also suggested getting a pilot (or airborne news crew) to land a helicopter in the school playground. Might be a challenge, but it would be awesome if you could pull it off!

Tip : Invite twice as many presenters as you need. Many professionals find it difficult to take time off from work.

If presenters are simply unavailable, scale down your event, but don’t abandon it! Find out which careers your students are most interested in, research them, and then prepare your own presentations. Use videos and movies (YouTube can be a great resource!), as well as any hands-on tools available.

General Planning Tips These guidelines can help you plan a successful career event, for any grade level:

• When scheduling, avoid holidays, test dates and high-stress times. 
• Gain participation from as many other teachers/administrators as possible (in addition to multiple presenters).
• Know your audience and target accordingly. Start with a survey to better understand students’ current interests. Help your presenters create presentations that are age-appropriate.
• Cover as many fields as possible. Many of your students don’t truly know what career path they want. Introduce them to new ideas, and think outside the box. Kids are always fascinated by unique jobs.
• Include jobs that may not require four-year degrees. Kids may feel encouraged to know that technical schools and training programs can also lead to rewarding careers.
• For careers requiring college degrees, include information about relevant course work and college majors.
• Stress the basic academic skills that are helpful in almost any career. For example, good grammar goes a long way in business, and is critical in advanced fields like law. Math and science skills are necessary for most of today’s fastest-growing fields, such as high-tech.
• Keep each presentation short – 15 minutes is good. Add in time for Q&A.
• Express a personal interest in the material. Your enthusiasm will be catching.

Want more specifics? Here’s a terrific step-by-step resource for planning your own successful Career Day.

Share your ideas in our comment section. If you have video of a career event at your school, or any supporting materials, we’d love to see those, too! You can submit multimedia of all kinds here .

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10 Fantastic Ideas for Career Day at School You’ll Love

If you need ideas for career day at school or your community helpers theme that work great in both classrooms and speech therapy, keep reading!

Your school may have lined up some great speakers and demonstrations and your kids may be over the moon that they get to dress up on Career Day as their favorite occupation. Kids really relate to the topic of careers and community helpers, because they can connect their real-world experiences to it.

So why not build on the fun ahead of time, expand your student’s vocabulary, language skills, and knowledge and really help that learning stick! Here are 10 fabulous ideas for career day activities to get you started.

Set the stage for excitement with these ideas for career day at school.

1. start exploring careers the week before with a few wonderful books.

Since I love combining literacy and learning, my first idea for career day at school is to start with some great books about occupations and community helpers. Whether you find them in your library or on YouTube, these are great choices:

• Whose Vehicle is This? Written by Sharon Katz Cooper is great for your younger students. This book shows each vehicle and asks “Whose vehicle is this?” Have your children guess, then read the description. There are also fun facts about the vehicles and what each person who uses that vehicle does. For instance, in the description of a mail carrier, students will learn that mail vehicles have steering wheels on the right instead of the left!
• Whose Tools are These? and Whose Hat is This? are two more great books by Shannon Katz Cooper you’ll want to check out.
• Career Day by Anne Rockwell tells about children in a class who bring their “special guests” (their parents) to their career day. Each guest has something interesting to share about their career, from bulldozer driver, to judge, to crossing guard.
• Clothesline Clues to Jobs People Do  by Kathryn Heling and Deborah Hembrook takes a look at what’s hanging on different clotheslines to figure out what job each person does.
• Belinda Baloney Changes Her Mind by Becca Carnahan. Belinda finds that the world is full interesting jobs and keeps changing her mind about what she wants to be when she grows up. She worries about that, then learns that that she doesn’t need to decide yet…just have fun exploring the possibilities!
• Ada Twist, Scientist by Andrea Beaty and David Roberts is a fun book about a girl who has lots and lots of questions… a budding scientist for sure.
• Andrea Beaty and David Roberts have many more fun career books like Iggy Peck, Architect and Rosie Revere, Engineer .
• What Do You Do With An Idea?  by Kobi Amanda is the story of a boy with a big idea. Was it too strange and weird? Should he abandon it? No, because it’s good to see things differently… and you might even… change the world! A wonderful book to encourage young thinkers, future inventors and entrepreneurs!

2. Guess Who? Grab Bag

Fill a bag with descriptions of community helpers and careers. Students reach in and read the description and try to guess who it is. For younger children who are not readers, you may want to use pictures of their vehicles, clothes, or tools. (If you need pictures, check out my Pronouns and Plurals, Dress me Community Helpers activity below.)

3. Make a Paper Bag Village with Community Helpers

I love this idea for career day from In The Bag Kids Crafts. Provide brown paper bags, crayons or markers, scissors, and construction paper. Have each child choose a different community helper and create a “shop” or place of work. Have your children tell all about what’s in their shop or business, and what people do there.

4. Twenty Questions

Put a picture or list a career on each card. For large groups, pin a card with a clothespin to the back of each child’s shirt (or play with cards in headbands for smaller groups). Have the group walk around and take turns asking each other questions to try and figure out what their career is. You may want to set a 5 or 10-minute time limit. Provide a list of sample questions for younger children such as:

• Do I use a vehicle to do my job?
• Do I work with animals?
• Can my job be dangerous?
• Do I wear special clothes for my job?

This is such a fun idea for career day at school (or week)! Some students may need support in asking questions, so I’ve made cards for you with sample questions they can ask while playing this game. Download them here: 20 Questions Career Day Game Cards.

If you’d like to save yourself time with ready-made picture cards, scroll down. The cards in either of my career and community helpers resources below would work great!!

5. Play Three to One Thumbs

For older children, have them choose an occupation and tell 3 reasons why the job may be great (Thumbs up!), and one reason that it might be challenging (Thumbs down).

6. Compare/Contrast

Have older children choose two occupation cards from a bag or bowl and list ways the occupations are similar and ways they’re different. The similarities may be trickier and your kids may need a little help with it to think outside the box. For instance, how are a pilot and a veterinarian alike? They both require a lot of training!

For younger children, try cards with the vehicles, and compare/contrast the vehicles such as bulldozers, police cars, airplanes, or firetrucks.

My Pronouns and Plurals, Dress me Community Helpers pack (check it out below) has cards perfect for this activity

7. Job interview.

Have kids pretend to interview for a job. Talk about what to do and what not to do. This is a great social skills lesson too!

8. Career Taboo Game

I love this idea for Career Day from Miss Sepp’s Counselor Corner. Students are divided into 2 teams, which take turns drawing a card that contains a career and two “hush” words. The student who drew the card must describe the career to his/her teammates so they can guess the occupation… but without using the “hush” words! For instance, for “Florist” the hush words are “flowers” and “arrange.” The post includes a file to download the Career Taboo cards. Fun for upper elementary!

Many of these activities are great for your Community Helpers theme too!

If you need more hands-on activities for your preschoolers and kindergarteners, my Pronouns and Plurals, Dress me Community Helpers activity will get your littles excited to participate!

Put the cutout “helpers, clothes, and equipment out on a cookie sheet. Your littles get to dress the people as different helpers as you practice pronouns, naming the helpers and their equipment, and more. I’ve included cards for games and plenty of printables to practice a variety of syntax targets with your community helpers theme.

There’s a diverse selection of 8 different people children can choose from, helping them find someone who looks like them!

Pronoun, plurals, and WH questions mats and worksheets are included to give you tons of versatility in targeting syntax, wh questions, sentence structure, and community helpers vocabulary.

I hope these Career Day ideas for elementary school get you excited about planning for this theme!

Career day and community helpers are one of the highlights of the year for many kids. I hope you love it too. I also know planning for this theme can be time-intensive, so if you need a fantastic, versatile activity that’s print-and-go or even digital, Career Bingo Riddles is your winner.

Like all my best-selling Bingo Riddles games, Career Bingo Riddles has rhyming clues, which make the game seriously fun! Kids listen to the clues, then guess who the community helper is. It’s a perfect idea for career day from kindergarten through 5th, and it’s easy to level the game for different learners.

With 30 different boards, you can use it with an entire class, put it in a center, or play it in speech therapy. I’ve included a digital version to play with Google Slides™ that’s terrific for virtual instruction and teletherapy.

Happy educators said:

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Great resource to reinforce my community helpers unit. The students loved listening to the clues and trying to figure out who the individual being described was. Very interactive and motivating.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ This was a great career day activity for our campus! I had it ready should one of our speakers for stations not show up – and that did happen! The kids enjoyed the game.

Check out Career Bingo Riddles right here in my website shop or on Teachers Pay Teachers ,

If you’re a Bingo Riddles fan, you can find many more seasonal and holiday Bingo Riddles games in my shop. (Bingo Riddles are kinda like potato chips. You can’t stop at just one!)

Happy career day everyone!

• Read more about: Language , Themes

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