Skills and Values

Unit: Careers and Community Connections

Lesson 3 of 14

Duration: 60 minutes

Class Size: 28 students

Year Levels: 7-8 (New Zealand Curriculum Level 3, Phase 3)

Overview

This lesson focuses on helping students identify their own skills and values and understand how these can be transferred to different careers. They will engage in activities that build self-awareness, a key competency in making informed career choices. This is aligned with the New Zealand Curriculum’s vision for students to see themselves in the wider world and advocate with and for others.

Alignment with the New Zealand Curriculum (NZC)

Learning Area: Social Sciences (with focus on Business and Careers)

Curriculum Level: 3 (Years 7-8)

Key Competencies:

Managing Self – Students will reflect on their skills and values to take responsibility for learning about their potential.
Relating to Others – Through group work and discussions, students learn to communicate and collaborate.
Thinking – Critical reflection on personal attributes and linking these with career possibilities.

Achievement Objectives (Careers and Business Context):

Understand personal strengths, skills, and values and how they influence career choices (supports social sciences and business education).
Recognise that skills and values can be transferred across different contexts, including workplace and community.
Develop self-awareness as a basis for career and community involvement.

These align with NZC vision and principles which encourage students to develop a strong sense of identity and belonging and to engage with the wider community.

Learning Intentions

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

Identify a range of skills and values they possess.
Understand what transferable skills and values mean.
Make connections between their skills/values and potential careers.
Appreciate the role of self-awareness in making career decisions.

Success Criteria

Students can:

List at least five personal skills and values.
Explain how these skills and values can be used in different career paths.
Participate actively in discussions and activities showing understanding.
Reflect on what skills or values they want to develop further.

Resources

Personal Skills and Values checklist handout (dyslexia-friendly format: clear font, bullet points, colour-coded sections)
Career cards/activity prompts (each card describes a career scenario with required skills and values)
Large paper and markers for group mind maps
Self-reflection worksheet (also in dyslexia-friendly format)
Projector and screen or whiteboard for brainstorming and displaying key points

Lesson Structure and Timings

Time	Activity	Description	NZC Link/Notes
0-5 min	Introduction and Hook	- Begin with a brief, engaging discussion: “What skills do you think are important for a job you’d like?” - Show a short slide or write key words to activate prior knowledge.	Links to Key Competency: Thinking, Managing Self. Encourages curiosity and engagement (NZC 2020).
5-15 min	Individual Reflection - Skills and Values	- Students complete the Personal Skills and Values Checklist individually, prompted with examples (e.g., teamwork, honesty, problem-solving). - Dyslexia-friendly sheet: clear font (e.g., Arial), use of colour blocks and bullet points to reduce visual clutter.	Supports Managing Self competency and self-awareness. Use clear and inclusive language as per NZC guidance.
15-30 min	Group Activity - Transferable Skills Matching	- Students form groups of 4. Each group receives a set of Career Cards describing job roles and associated skills/values. - They match skills and values they identified to the careers, discussing why particular skills fit. - Groups create a mind map on paper showing connections.	Promotes collaborative learning (Relating to Others), critical thinking (Thinking), and links to real-world contexts. Reflects NZC principle of connecting learning to community.
30-40 min	Class Share and Discussion	- Groups present their mind maps. Class discusses similarities, differences, and surprises. - Teacher highlights that many skills and values apply to multiple careers, showing transferability.	Develops communication skills and critical awareness (Thinking and Relating to Others).
40-50 min	Self-Awareness and Career Planning	- Teacher leads discussion on why understanding skills and values helps in making career choices. - Students complete a short Self-reflection Worksheet: “What skills do I want to develop?” and “What careers interest me and why?”	Encourages personal goal setting linked to the Managing Self competency and careers education objectives.
50-60 min	Summary and Next Steps	- Recap key ideas: skills and values transferability, importance of self-awareness. - Assign a simple homework: “Ask a whānau member about their skills and values for their job. What did you learn?”	Reinforces learning and extends connections to home/community, supporting NZC’s focus on community connection.

Assessment Opportunities

Formative assessment through observation during group activities and class discussion.
Checklists and worksheets provide evidence of understanding personal skills and values.
Reflection worksheet captures students’ ability to make connections between skills and career choices.
Teacher provides feedback focusing on use of key vocabulary and reasoning.

Differentiation and Inclusion

Use dyslexia-friendly formats:
- Font: Arial or similar sans-serif, at least 12pt
- Coloured overlays or backgrounds for worksheets to reduce visual stress
- Bullet points and short sentences
- Clear headings and spacing
Allow oral options for sharing reflections if writing is challenging.
Groupings to support diverse learners with peer support.
Visual aids and repeated vocabulary for clarity.

Extension Ideas

Invite a guest speaker from the community to talk about their skills and values.
Create a class poster of “Our Skills and Values” to display in the classroom.
Explore digital tools for career exploration that map skills to jobs.

Links to Te Mātaiaho Mathematics & Statistics (For Graph Explanation Sheet)

Though this is a Business/Careers lesson, the teacher requested an explanation sheet on graphs at Level 4 of the statistics curriculum with a dyslexia-friendly approach. This sheet should cover:

Types of graphs used in Year 7-8 (bar graphs, dot plots, time-series graphs, two-way tables, scatter plots).
How to read and interpret these graphs with key vocabulary (variable, axis, trend, distribution, mode).
Simple explanations and visual examples of how each graph is constructed and what information it shows.
Tips for students with dyslexia (using colour coding, clear labels, and concise language).

The statistics curriculum at Level 4 expects students to:

Create and interpret data visualisations to make meaning from data.
Make statements about data including features and context.

If you would like, I can also generate this dyslexia-friendly explanation sheet as a separate resource.

Please let me know if you want me to proceed with creating the graph explanation sheet or any other supporting materials!

Teaching Instructions