K-8 CAREER LITERACY STANDARDS

Download K-8 Standards  Career Literacy Teacher Professional Development K-8 Career Literacy Standards K-8 Career Literacy Implementation Strategies  Contact

What is K-8 Career Literacy?

Arizona Career Literacy is a K-8 educational process aimed at providing students with scaffolded, age-appropriate opportunities that will enable them to make informed decisions about their futures.

This process is iterative as students gain guided exposure to the world around them. Arizona's career literacy initiative starts foundationally in career awareness with Kindergarten to 4th grade students and develops into career exploration for 5th-8th graders.

Our program standards aim to develop essential professional skills, gain workplace exposures, explore passions and interests as related to career fields.

Goals of Arizona K-8 Career Literacy

ADE CTE Career literacy prepares students to be prepared to navigate their high school experience through a career focus lens.

• Develop and release K-8 standards based on the high school AZ Professional Skills with strategies for educators
• Equip 8th grade students with knowledge to advocate for the CTE skills training needed in high school that will help them build a career pathway plan
• Provide career awareness exposures and activities tied to standards for K-4th grade students
• Scaffolded career explorations lessons tied to standards for 5th-8th grade students
• Practice Professional (Soft) Skills in an educational setting

K-8 Career Literacy Standards

• Arizona Career Literacy Standards were developed in 2019. They are a valuable resource that offers classroom strategies, activities, and essential questions for grades K-8. Click here for information on how the standards were developed.
  • Grades K-2
  • Grades 2-4
  • Grades 5-8

• Possible Futures Career Exploration Curriculum - Center for the Future of AZ (CFA) 

Committed to building systems of college and career pathways for Arizona students. CFA's Pathways team offers services to support the launch and scaling of career exploration programs in a variety of settings. Free, interactive lessons aligned to Arizona Career Literacy Standards.

• My Future AZ

Career exploration and discovery tool for Arizona middle school students. My Future AZ provides visibility of local high school CTE courses to enable students to make informed choices about high school career.

• Junior Achievement of Arizona for Middle School - JA Inspire

Our dynamic career development experiences provide middle school students access to local employers, post-secondary education opportunities, and interactive career activities.

• Educator Pro Connect

Providing teachers with industry and STEM professional connections. An online resource from Maricopa County School Superintendents Office. Free to all teachers and professionals in Arizona.

• Career Addict

How to Choose the Right Career Path in 7 Simple Steps

• Defined Learning

Hands-on career experiences through ready-made project-based learning.

• Discovery Education

Giving educators innovative ways to design and deliver engaging learning experiences every day.

• Virtual Field Trip with Boeing
• Career Videos
   
• Edge Factor

Equips communities with workforce and career development solutions, inspiring people to explore, prepare and connect on their Career Journey. A login may be required.

• Exploring

Career Exploration Lessons for 6th – 7th grades. Aims to teach important life and career skills to young people from all backgrounds through immersive career experiences.

• iCEV Middle School Curriculum

Digital literacy and career exploration lessons tied to the AZ Career Literacy Standards (Grades 5-8). For more information, contact  [email protected]

• University of Arizona Middle School Finance 
  • Introduction to Spending
  • Time Value of Money Magic

Spotlight on Career Literacy

• Middle School Career Exploration in Manufacturing
• Elementary Teacher STEM PD - Hands-On Learning
• K-5 Career Discovery Corner - Kinsey Elementary School Library - Flagstaff AZ
• Career Exploration “What Problem do you want to solve?”
• "Stop asking What do you want to be when you grow up?" - Jaime Casap

Career Literacy Teacher Professional Development

• Advance CTE

Free Career Literacy workshops and resources designed to support school counselors & career advising stakeholders.

• Certification Partners

Certification Partners offers flexible training options designed to equip teachers with the tools, preparation, and support necessary to effectively implement the ICT digital technology literacy courses in their own schools and classrooms. Contact Erik Barrantes at [email protected] for more information on the ICT Teacher Training Program.

• Start Up STEM

Hands-on teacher PD for elementary educators to learn how to write STEM lessons and build a STEM community. Materials for success, such as STEM lessons aligned to AZ Standards are included. Contact Colleen Howard at [email protected] for more information.

  K-8 Career Literacy Implementation Strategies

• Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) 
  • Career Exploration in Middle School
  • Career Development in the Early Grades
  • Student Career Development Series
• CTE K-8 Career Literacy Implementation Presentation
• ADE ECAP for AZ Students
• American School Counselor Association (ASCA)
  • Middle School Career Conversations "When thinking of your future, are there any skills you would like to further develop?" - English ~ Spanish
  • Elementary School Career Conversations "If you woke up tomorrow and were an adult, what career would you like to have?" - English ~ Spanish
• Council for Aid to Education (CAE)
  • Middle School College and Career Readiness Assessment
• Perkins Resource Network
  • Building Employability Skills
• Edynamic Learning
  • How Career Exploration Can Change a Student's Path in Life

Contact Information:

Susan Farretta
CTE Career Development Program Specialist
Arizona Department of Education
Career and Technical Education
Email:  [email protected]
Desk: (602) 542-5540