How It Works

The Be Real Game is designed as a journey. Each session represents a step of the journey, and each subsequent step builds on the previous one. The journey is divided into three units: Brave new world of work; Agents of change; Exploring the future. Some sessions are followed by optional activities and discussion segments.

UNIT ONE:
BRAVE NEW WORLD OF WORK

There are nine core sessions in this unit which together take ten to twelve hours to complete. Upon embarking on their career exploration journeys, students immediately assume a unique and individual life/work role. In these roles, students earn and spend money, participate in family and community life, make many decisions that affect their characters' lives, both positively and negatively, and experience good and bad chance situations. They even make decisions on social issues that affect their own and their community's futures. They learn that every decision is a career decision.

Students are assigned individual Role Histories (their characters), randomly or through a pre-selection process, at the teacher's discretion. In Unit One, each student uses his or her character's personal history of education, work experience, family status, income, etc., to seek and find work. Each character is successful in securing a work role (Job Profile) in which he or she will make lifestyle choices (housing, transportation, leisure activities), and create a budget based upon his or her income.

In this unit, students also complete a career pre-survey (which they will revisit at the end of the program). They learn The High Five career building principles, interview an influential adult in their lives, interview each other, deal with chance situations in their characters' lives and in their community, and enjoy playing The Brainstorm Spin Game.

UNIT TWO:
AGENTS OF CHANGE

There are three core sessions in this unit, which together take four to five hours. Here students encounter major economic forces that are agents of change in today's changing work world. Students experience job loss and job change through no fault of their own and learn that these are common realities in the new economy that affect people, directly or indirectly, throughout their careers. Students learn how to convert adversity at the personal, family and community levels to opportunity by developing skills and attitudes that harness these agents of change to work in their favor. They learn to identify and exploit their transferable skills as tools for personal and community development. They create resumes and job search strategies, and they succeed in acquiring new jobs. They make new lifestyle choices and create new budgets in their new roles. At the conclusion of Unit Two, students review their learning by playing another round of The Brainstorm Spin Game.

UNIT THREE:
EXPLORING THE FUTURE

Unit Three has five core sessions that together last seven to eight hours. The role playing aspect of the game ends with Unit Two. From this point on, through a series of exercises, students translate what they have experienced in Units One and Two into a personal Exploration Chart and Action Plan. They articulate what they liked and disliked about their fictional work environments and roles through a series of career exploration tools and exercises that includes an interest inventory, a work skills checklist, a learning styles survey, etc. Students enjoy playing a final rousing round of The Brainstorm Spin Game to review vocabulary, concepts and career building principles imbedded throughout the game. The program ends with a celebration involving students, school staff, parents/guardians and community members.