Find Your Grind in the Classroom
Every student needs and deserves an educational experience that will support who they are, help develop who they want to become, and can serve as a roadmap to where they want to go.
GET STARTEDTalk to nearly any high school student about their future careers and you'll hear it: the deep-seated fear of messing it all up. They're fiercely intent on getting it right.
The Find Your Grind Curriculum helps students prepare for life outside of the classroom, with meaningful lessons on topics like finding your identity, responsible social media use, digital citizenship, financial literacy, and the job application process. These critical pieces will set students up for success when playing the game of “life” and provide educators with the tools to have real, substantive conversations with their classes.
This dialogue not only creates deeper connections between teacher and student, but also allows for the building of community in the classroom.
Focuses on social emotional learning and student agency
Allows for exploration of student interests
Challenges students through inquiry and reflection
Creates research opportunities
I hear from teachers over and over again that they need something new to guide these kids to 21st century careers. We built the FYG curriculum to do just that: bring the real world into the classroom.
-MIKE SMITH
Co-founder, Find Your Grind
Motivational Speaker
Creator and Host of The Harbor by Jostens
Find Your Grind has taken my leadership class to a new level. The students are engaged from the beginning of the period to the end. The videos, presentations and the worksheets are presented in a challenging but fun way to which the students can relate and respond.
Activities Director at Frontier High School
The traditional roadmap to life planning has left us a little lost.
Choose a job. Gain the skills. Live that life.
This model tells young people to guess on a career, develop the necessary skills, and then hope that their future selves enjoy the lifestyle outcome.
It’s an expensive game of chance that’s left generations crushed with debt, unengaged at work, and unable to experience financial and personal freedom.
Teacher TestimonialsThe Curriculm at a Glance
7 Units
Help students develop a roadmap for what’s next; decidedly at the intersection of self-discovery, career exploration, and life skill preparation. Fundamental instructional pieces, student assignments, and activities include self-awareness, financial literacy, and postsecondary pursuit research and planning.
100+ Deep-dive Videos
Find Your Grind mentors welcome our camera crews into their 21st century workspaces for a day, making these videos the next best thing to an in-person job-shadow. Students learn about how personality and skill sets factor into success, practical advice for how to get started, and true day-in-the-life responsibilities.
Portfolio Curation
Students curate a living portfolio to showcase powerful artifacts and experiences completed within the curriculum. The portfolio can be accessed when preparing for their next step in life; be it college, scholarship, or job applications.
Flexible
The curriculum is designed to fit the needs of students grades 7-12. Educators can customize their lesson plan by filtering curriculum content based on life stage or experience, and can assign specific lessons or activities based on a student’s academic needs.
State Standards
The FYG curriculum is aligned with all 50 states’ college and career-ready standards. All content has been designed to support the needs and expectations of each individual state. The FYG curriculum is also aligned with standards on the national level from the following:
ESSA - Every Student Succeeds Act
CTSO - Career and Technical Student Organization Standards
ASCA - American School Counseling Association
Interactive Activities and Lessons
Lessons, prompts, and projects are structured in a way to elicit real, thought-provoking discussion with your students. The pre-designed, semester-long curriculum is structured to provide flexibility for educators, and balances participation between teachers and students.
The FYG curriculum allows students to engage in their learning while still having a high standard for academic skills along with career-ready skills. After using the curriculum toward the end of this year, I can't wait to start next school year using it from day one.
Advisor, Teacher Waverly High School
The Find Your Grind curriculum is youth-friendly and visually rich. It encourages students to prepare for their futures by covering a broad range of themes. The ready-made materials use a variety of learning strategies and offer ample room for in-class discussion. I love it
Business/Tech Teacher Hillsdale High School
Unit Summaries
- Unit 1
- Unit 2
- Unit 3
- Unit 4
- Unit 5
- Unit 6
- Unit 7
Unit 1: Find Your "Self"
Habits, Values, Perspectives, Personality
Students will identify aspects about themselves that create their identity. This unit is about self-discovery; what do you know about yourself and what you are unaware of? How do your daily habits impact you? In order to progress and find direction towards a lifestyle you love and career you are passionate about, it is critical to start with a solid foundation of self-awareness.
- 5 lessons
- 16 Activities
Students will be focusing on their ability to answer the following driving question:
Why should I care about my identity, my lifestyle and my habits?
Unit 2: Find Your Lifestyle
FYG Lifestyle Assessment, Power of Mentors, Destination vs. Direction
Students will build upon self-discovery findings, and begin to explore how certain lifestyles directly align with their personality attributes and future desires. In this unit, students are directed away from the traditional mindset of “What I want to be when I grow up?” to “Who is the person I want to be and become?” The idea of chasing a “lifestyle” is introduced by taking FYG’s signature Lifestyle Assessment and students will begin to align their strengths with their interests.
- 3 lessons
- 6 Activities
Students will be focusing on their ability to answer the following driving question:
Where the heck am I going and who can help me get there?
Unit 3: Find Your Grind
Skills, Interests, Lifestyle Alignment, and Next Steps
The alignment of lifestyle, strengths and purposeful career exploration is only possible by establishing a direction in life and by avoiding focusing on a specific destination. In order to “find their grind”, students will articulate their strengths (skills and talents), and begin laying a foundation of accountability to themselves and their future.
- 3 lessons
- 8 Activities
Students will be focusing on their ability to answer the following driving question:
How do I build a strong foundation to support my career choice?
Unit 4: Find Your Opportunities
Career Exploration, Research, Experiences, and Connection
Students will continue to grow by shifting their focus to discover the value of the career ladder, understand possible postsecondary pathways, explore the wide array of career fields, develop the foundational skills for career preparation, and begin to build upon experiences to open doors for future opportunities as a professional.
- 4 lessons
- 19 Activities
Students will be focusing on their ability to answer the following driving question:
Where and how do I begin my future?
Unit 5: Find Your Balance
Identify Stressors, Self-Assessment, Reflection, Facing Failure
Students walk through each level of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and learn how stress and failure create obstacles in their lives. Students will end the unit by confronting failure and stress, and explore different ways to cope.
- 2 lessons
- 11 Activities
Students will be focusing on their ability to answer the following driving question:
Are you equipped to fight life’s battles?
Unit 6: Find Your Reputation
Digital Citizenship, Social-Media Presence, Responsibility, Personal Branding
Students will be asked to align their digital footprint with who they want to become. With an emphasis in digital platforms, digital safety, and leaving a positive digital footprint, students will be able to reflect on their current uses of social media, and how they want to utilize its power in the future.
- 2 lessons
- 8 Activities
Students will be focusing on their ability to answer the following driving question:
Are you what your Instagram says you are?
Unit 7: Find Your Financial Protection
Value of Money, Financial Awareness, Saving & Borrowing, Make Budgeting Personal, Financial Decision Making
Financial Literacy is the first step towards having financial freedom. This stage is a comprehensive introduction to earning, saving, and spending your very first wages. Students will cover fundamentals such as taxes, banking, budgeting, investing and more...
- 5 lessons
- 18 Activities
Students will be focusing on their ability to answer the following driving question:
How do I position myself financially for an unknown future?
Did you know that the FYG Curriculum is aligned with state college and career-ready standards?
Select a state from the dropdown to see several examples.
Continuous Learning:
Find Your Grind eCourse Library
FYG eCourses provide the opportunity for students to use course content in a practical way, rather than just learn it. Building upon the ethos of our core curriculum, e-courses are focused on specific 21st century topics, and gamify the individual learning experience. Upcoming Find Your Grind eCourses focus on:
Financial Literacy
Mental Wellness
Leadership
