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Day 4: Capstone Presentations Day 2 + Plan Download + Being a Career Thinker

Lesson Overview
Time 50 minutes
Objectives Deliver capstone career plan presentations (second half of class); download finalized H&L Career Plan; complete the Being a Career Thinker support system reflection
TEKS d(4)(C), d(8)(A), d(8)(B), d(8)(C)
Deliverable Capstone presentation delivered + downloaded H&L Career Plan + Being a Career Thinker support system chart
Materials Students' written Career Plans, H&L accounts, H&L Workbook (Ch 16, pp. 270-271 Being a Career Thinker), printed Capstone Rubric, timer, projector

Warm-Up (3 min)

WARM-UP: Yesterday you watched the first half of the class present. What was the BEST career plan presentation you saw, and what made it strong?

Take 2-3 student responses. This primes today's presenters to bring the same energy. Naming what worked yesterday makes it more likely to happen again today.

Activity 1: Capstone Presentations Day 2 (30 min)

Source: Day 2 written plans + presentation outlines + rubric

The SECOND HALF of the class delivers their capstone presentations. Same format as Day 3.

Presentation timing: the math is tighter today than Day 3

Half a class of 25 = 12-13 students. At 5 min each, that is 60-65 min. DOUBLE the 30-min Activity 1 budget. Apply the same compression you picked on Day 3:

  • 2.5 min/student: 12-13 × 2.5 min = 30-32 min presentations. Fits with no margin. Exit ticket runs tight.
  • 2 min/student: 12-13 × 2 min = 24-26 min. Leaves ~4 min for Two Stars and a Wish batching.
  • Corner rotation: 2 corners of 6-7. Teacher circulates. Each student presents to a smaller audience at 3 min each.

Day 4 has less runway than Day 3 because Activities 2 and 3 (Career Plan download + Support System) together eat 17 min. Protect them. They are the d(8)(C) artifact step.

  • 5-minute time limit per student (visible timer; see warning above for realistic slot)
  • Teacher scores using the Capstone Rubric
  • Class gives Two Stars and a Wish after each
  • Applaud every speaker
  • Move quickly to keep momentum

The room should feel celebratory by now. Students who watched yesterday's presentations come in calmer because they know the format. Students who present today benefit from yesterday's models.

Facilitation Tip

Take quick photos (with permission) of presenters. These can be used for end-of-year slideshows, parent communications, and yearbook. The capstone presentation IS the most important moment of the course, capture it.

DOK 4: Looking at all the presentations across both days, what patterns do you see in the strongest plans? What do they have in common?

Activity 2: Download H&L Career Plan (7 min)

Source: H&L Workbook Ch 16, p. 267, "My Career and Course Plan" + H&L app export

After all presentations are done, direct students to open H&L and download/export their finalized Career Plan.

[H&L PLATFORM] Students download or print their finalized H&L Career Plan from the app. The downloaded Plan is the official course artifact for d(8)(A), d(8)(B), and d(8)(C). Confirm the export process with the H&L district admin, most H&L installations support a PDF export of the Career Plan or at least a print view.

[VERIFY IN H&L] Confirm the specific download/export workflow in the current H&L app version. If the app does not support direct PDF export, use Print → Save as PDF as a workaround. Day-of backup plan: if simultaneous PDF export fails for 24 students (most likely failure mode), have students print the H&L Career Plan directly to PDF via the Chromebook browser Print dialog, OR take full-page screenshots and email them to themselves for home and counselor sharing. Every student leaves with an artifact, paper, PDF, or screenshot.

Students save the Plan to:

  1. Their school Google Drive (digital backup)
  2. Print one copy to take home (for parents/guardians and the 9th-grade course registration meeting)

The point is that the Career Plan goes HOME. It is not a school assignment that disappears in May. It is a real document the student brings to their high school counselor when registering for 9th-grade courses next year.

Activity 3: Being a Career Thinker — Support System (10 min)

Source: H&L Workbook Ch 16, pp. 270-271, "Being a Career Thinker"

Introduce the activity using the workbook framing: "Now that you have explored careers, you are officially a career thinker! Being a career thinker means using what you have learned about careers, your skills, and your interests. Being a good career thinker includes setting goals, breaking them into smaller steps, and staying focused even when you come across challenges. The good news is that you don't have to do it on your own!"

The workbook (Ch 16, p. 270) has students fill out a Support System chart. List 3 people who can help on the career journey:

Name How This Person Can Help Me How I'll Stay Connected

Examples:

  • A parent who works in a related field
  • A teacher (current school or future high school) who knows the subject
  • An older sibling or cousin who already started college or work
  • A mentor at a community center, church, or club
  • A future high school counselor (even before meeting them)

Students fill in real names, not "a teacher" but "Mrs. Garcia, my Science teacher." Real names mean they actually know who to ask.

The workbook also asks for a 4-panel comic of the student's ideal future. Optional this week, extension for students who finish the support system early.

DOK 3: Why is having a support system more important than having the perfect plan? What does a support system give you that a plan alone cannot?

DELIVERABLE: Capstone presentation delivered + downloaded Career Plan + Support System chart with 3 named people.

Exit Ticket (5 min)

EXIT TICKET (Concept Map) · Printable PDF:

Draw a quick concept map. Place MY CAREER PLAN in the center and connect it to each of the FOUR items below. On each line, write ONE word showing how the item supports the plan.

  1. My Irving ISD high school + pathway: _____

  2. My downloaded Career Plan file (where I saved it): _____

  3. One summer action I will take with the downloaded Plan (share with parent, bring to counselor, save for 9th-grade registration):

  1. ONE Support System person (real name, not "a teacher"): _____

How they will help (one phrase): _____

(d(8)(A), d(8)(B), d(8)(C))

Differentiation

  • Support: Help students navigate the H&L download/export process at the device level. Provide a printed Career Plan summary as a backup if the app export fails. Pre-fill the Support System chart with example role categories (Parent, Teacher, Mentor) so students fill in just the names.
  • Extension: Students complete the 4-panel comic from the workbook (Ch 16, p. 271) showing their ideal future, dream job, next steps, and the support they will need. They write a 2-sentence reflection on what surprised them while drawing it.
  • ELL: Bilingual Support System chart with Spanish column headers. Allow names and "how they help" descriptions to be in Spanish. Many ESL students have strong family support systems, encourage them to list family members who have wisdom even if they speak limited English.