Personality Lesson Plan: Self-Discovery and Career Fit (Grade 7)

Exploring personality and career paths

This free lesson helps students explore personality in a practical, age-appropriate way and connect it to teamwork, communication, and career awareness. Students complete a short personality preferences survey, discuss patterns in small groups, and write a supported reflection using real examples from their lives.

Grade Band: Middle School (6–8)
Subject Area: Social Studies

Overview

Students learn that personality describes patterns in how people prefer to act, communicate, and make decisions. Over multiple class sessions, students complete a brief self-assessment, interpret their results using simple trait language, and compare strengths across groups. The unit ends with a structured writing task that connects personality preferences to school, friendships, and possible career environments.

Subject Connections

Social Studies connections appear through self-understanding, group roles, and career awareness as students consider how individuals function within communities and workplaces. English Language Arts skills are practiced during reflection writing, discussion, and evidence-based explanation of personal experiences. Health and social-emotional learning concepts are reinforced through communication, respect, and cooperation.

Learning Goals

  • Define personality using student-friendly language
  • Use personality adjectives accurately to describe tendencies
  • Explain how preferences can shape communication and teamwork
  • Identify situations where they agree or disagree with a profile description
  • Connect personal strengths to career environments and tasks

Materials

  • Short personality preferences survey
  • Score sheet and simple profile cards
  • Personality adjective list
  • Highlighters and pens
  • Student notebooks or folders
  • Reflection writing organizer

Preparation

  • Create a short student-friendly survey
  • Prepare profile cards based on trait clusters
  • Prepare respectful discussion norms
  • Print writing organizers

Teaching Procedure

Session 1 – What Is Personality?

  1. Students write three adjectives that describe themselves.
  2. Class discusses how different traits help in school and groups.
  3. Students review and clarify adjective meanings.

Session 2 – Taking the Survey

  1. Students complete the personality survey.
  2. Students privately record their results.

Session 3 – Understanding Results

  1. Students read profile cards and highlight matching statements.
  2. Students write examples from their own life.
  3. Students identify one disagreement with the profile.

Session 4 – Career Connections

  1. Students compare strengths in small groups.
  2. Students match traits to work environments.
  3. Groups share team strengths and challenges.

Session 5 – Reflection Writing

  1. Students draft a one-page reflection.
  2. Students peer review and revise.

Assessment

Students demonstrate learning through the written reflection, accurate use of personality terms, and participation in discussion.

Differentiation

  • Provide simplified survey language
  • Offer sentence starters
  • Allow private sharing
  • Extend advanced students with comparisons

Grade Adaptation

This lesson is designed for Grade 7 students who can reflect on personal behavior and support ideas with examples. Grade 6 students may need more guided discussion and vocabulary support. Grade 8 students can extend the work by researching career pathways and presenting how personality traits support different job roles.

Extension Ideas

  • Create team role charts
  • Practice communication scenarios
  • Set and track a personal improvement goal