Lesson Plan: Intro.

to Personality
Essential Questions: What is personality? How does personality (ones own and
others) affect ones life? How and why has personality been broken into distinct
types throughout history? How can an awareness of ones own type and the types
of others be helpful?
Goals and Objectives:
1. Students will be able to define personality and describe how their personality
affects their lives.
2. Students will learn about the strategy of personality typing and take at least
2 personality assessments (True Colors and Naviances Do What You Are)
3. Students will apply knowledge that they gain about personality types to work
with others and to plan for a career that will satisfy them.
Vocabulary terms and concepts:
Innate
Character
Inherent
Traits
Predisposition
Nature
Tendency
Temperament
Anticipatory Set/Preparation (Home Connection): Ask people (friends and
relatives) who have known you since you were a baby/very young what you were
like back then. Gather and record any adjectives, stories or anecdotes in your ejournal.
Preferences and natural tendencies: Exercise: Write with the hand that you dont
prefer to use. Describe the experience. What are the benefits of working with your
preferences/natural tendencies?
Discuss meanings of vocabulary terms listed above.
How would you define personality? (Definition: -the combination of characteristics
or qualities that form an individuals distinctive character; -the complex of all
attributes behavioral, temperamental, emotional, and mental that characterize a
unique individual)
Write a journal entry about your personality. How would you describe your
personality? Complete the sentence: Im the type of person who.. How does
your description compare to the information your friends/relatives gave you about
when you were a baby/very young?
Instruction/Activities:
1.

Introduce the concept of personality type theories by providing a brief

history (from Hippocrates 4 Humours (interdisciplinary link with LA - Chaucer;

Lesson Plan: Intro. to Personality

Shakespeare) through Keirseys 4 Temperaments ) found at www.personalityand-aptitude-career-tests.com/history-of-personality-tests.html or
http://armchair_academic.homestead.com/historyPer.html
2. Hand out True Colors Word Searches (http://true-colors.com/resources.html)
for all 4 colors. Students go through each list quickly and circle all words that
describe or appeal to them. Sort by color with most circled words to color
with least.
3.

Students complete the personality assessment based on Don Lowrys True

Colors concept at www.truecolorscareer.com.
Students react/reflect on
results. Which aspects of the description of their color do they feel are
accurate/inaccurate? Why? (e-journal)

4. Students create visual representations of their personality type. (Infuse

technology lesson here.)
5. Students brainstorm and list all areas of life that might be affected by ones
personality/type (career choice, relationships, partners, friends, recreational
activities, entertainment preferences, style, fashion, learning style, interests,
political views, motivations, etc.)
6. Students will evaluate the usefulness and limitations of personality typing.
Include discussion of the difference between personality typing and
stereotyping (based on purpose and level of awareness).
7. Students will discuss Bruce Maxwells Strategies for Working with Each
Color and provide examples of how they might apply these to classmates,
teammates, teachers, coaches, parents, etc.
8. Students will complete the Do What You Are assessment through Naviance
and compare their results to their True Colors results. (Do What You Are is the
perfect jumping-off point for beginning to discuss careers that fit students
personalities)
Materials and Resources:
Do What You Are Personality Type Handbook
Handouts: History of Personality Types; Gold, Green, Blue and Orange Motivators;
16 Types Chart; Temperament Type Gender Distribution; True Colors Word Searches
(http://true-colors.com/resources.html);
Websites: www.personalitytype.com/career_quiz_2; www.personality-and-aptitudecareer-tests.com/history-of-personality-tests.html;
http://armchair_academic.homestead.com/historyPer.html; www.true-colors.com;

Lesson Plan: Intro. to Personality

Guest Speaker Suggestion: Mr. Dan Rendine, RTC Instructor of True Colors course