Real-World Connection: Your answer to, “why
are we learning this?” Have an industry expert
talk about how they use a curriculum topic in
their daily work. This type of session will likely
consist of a presentation followed by Q&A.
Interactive Skills Workshop: Professionals
lead short, hands-on activities related to their
jobs. This could be a simple drawing activity
with an artist, measuring practice with a chef,
or a basic engineering task with a builder.
These activities introduce skills while engaging
students in a fun, interactive way.
Career Adventure Storytelling: A professional
shares stories from their work, especially if
they have a unique or adventurous role.
Careers like marine biologists, park rangers,
and pilots can inspire curiosity, and these
storytelling sessions make learning about
different fields fun.
Special Event: Whether it's a major event, a
special visitor, or an upcoming field trip,
Pathful can arrange sessions with industry
professionals before or after the event to
support your plans.
Can’t decide?
Check out some example topics!
Example Topics:
Social Emotional Learning
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
A Day in the Life
Tell Us About Your Job
Community Helpers
Helping Careers
Creativity and Imagination
STEAM Exploration
Career Discovery Q&A: Invite professionals
from diverse fields for live Q&A sessions where
students can ask about their day-to-day work,
what they love about their jobs, and the skills
they use. This informal interaction helps
students connect with real-world
professionals and see a variety of career
options.
Session Ideas
Skill Spotting Sessions: Professionals explain
a specific skill needed in their work, such as
teamwork, problem-solving, or creativity,
and then guide students through an activity
or discussion that shows how they use that
skill in daily life.
Workplace Show-and-Tell: Have
professionals share and demonstrate the
tools or objects they use in their jobs,
explaining what each is for. Seeing a chef’s
kitchen tools, an artist’s brushes, or an
engineer’s blueprints can make careers
tangible and relatable for young students.
Day in the Life: Professionals take students
on a virtual “tour” of their workspace, sharing
a glimpse of their daily tasks and routines.
This could include environments like
kitchens, labs, offices, or studios, helping
students visualize different work settings.
Using Pathful’s WBL Module
with Pathful Junior
Art, Music, and STEM Demos: Artists,
musicians, or STEM professionals lead live
demonstrations or activities, such as
drawing, playing an instrument, or showing
a simple science experiment. These demos
help students see creative and STEM skills as
potential career paths.
Role-Play and Dress-Up Days: After exploring a
career through Pathful’s videos or speakers,
students could engage in role-play or dress-up
activities to "be" a firefighter, chef, scientist, etc., to
deepen understanding and practice vocabulary.
Career-Themed Storytelling: Have Professionals
create storytelling sessions that give younger
students a narrative around different jobs,
making careers relatable through story-based
learning or have professionals read a story
about their career, while providing insight from
their own experience.
Career Puppet Shows: Create puppet shows
where students can act out different jobs they’ve
learned about, promoting both understanding
and excitement about various careers.
Career Spotlights with Age-Appropriate Videos:
Utilize shorter, simpler employability and job-
shadowing videos that introduce young students
to different professions, emphasizing the daily
tasks, required skills, and fun aspects of each job.
Activity Ideas
Career Bingo or Scavenger Hunts: Create
career-themed bingo or scavenger hunts using
clues from Pathful’s videos to engage students in
recognizing different careers in their
surroundings or media.
Interactive Virtual Field Trips: Join virtual field
trips to various companies where professionals
provide K-5-friendly explanations of what they
do. Students can virtually "visit" and learn about
different workplaces.
Digital Career Portfolios for Kids: Create a
simple digital or physical portfolio where
students can record their favorite careers and
activities associated with them, along with
reflections on what they enjoyed about each
profession.
Using Pathful’s WBL Module
with Pathful Junior
Build a Career Toolbox: After meeting a
professional, students can create a "toolbox" for
that career by drawing or collecting images of
the tools or items used. For example, after a
session with a chef, students could make paper
cutouts of measuring spoons, a whisk, and pots
to build their own chef’s toolbox.
Career Memory Game: After learning about
several careers, students can make a memory
card game by drawing pictures or using images
of tools or symbols associated with each career.
This helps reinforce what they learned and
builds recall skills.
Future Me Posters: After a session with a
professional, students create posters of
themselves in that career. They can draw their
"future selves" in uniforms or using tools they
learned about, imagining what they’d be like as
a firefighter, artist, or teacher..
Career Interview Role Play: Have students pair
up and role-play as interviewer and professional.
They can take turns asking each other questions
based on what they learned in the session,
reinforcing their understanding through pretend
interviews.
Community Helpers Thank-You Cards: After a
session with a community helper (like a nurse,
teacher, or firefighter), students can make thank-
you cards expressing gratitude for their service,
adding what they learned or why they
appreciate that job.
Design Your Own Tool or Uniform: Encourage
students to imagine and design a unique tool or
uniform that could help a professional do their
job better. After meeting an architect, students
could draw a new type of ruler or after meeting a
doctor, design a colorful lab coat with useful
pockets.
Create Your Own Company or Store: Inspired by
the professionals they’ve met, students can
design their own imaginary business, complete
with a name, logo, and what the company does.
After meeting a baker, for example, they could
design their own bakery and draw what it would
look like.
Be as specific as possible. The more
you include in your description, the
better!
Include questions your students
have for the professional
Share why your students are
interested in this career or topic
Tips for requesting your session
Attach any relevant materials that
may help the professional
Add in any details that make your
class unique
Request your session as far in
advance as possible, and, if you can,
provide multiple date options
Tips for an Amazing Session:
Using Pathful’s WBL Module
With Pathful Junior
Ensure that students have a chance to think critically and generate questions in
advance
Have students research the career or topic before the session
Prepare “interview questions” to be used during the Q&A
Use a student activity such as our “Likes and Dislikes” Worksheet to drive engagement
and keep students focused.
Have your camera on, if possible. Help facilitate conversation, if necessary.
Use an “Exit Ticket” activity to help students reflect on what they’ve learned and
generate follow-up questions.
Extend the learning with class discussions. Create another session request to address
any further questions or knowledge gaps.
Before
During
After