This guide includes materials for a 1-year course in technology, life, and careers (TLC) that has been established as the core requirement in applied technology education for Utah junior high/middle school students. Presented first are 18 orientation activities that are designed to give students knowledge of themselves and the ability to apply that knowledge to the career decision-making process. The orientation activities, which have been written to be taught by TLC teachers and guidance counselors in the classroom, each contain the following: topic, time, objective/goal, teacher information, equipment and/or supplies, list of activities, key words and definitions, procedure and evaluations. The titles of the activities are as follows: overview, who am I? (a collage), personal assessment, personal coat of arms, values ranking, 20 things I like to do, abilities, aptitudes, here I am world, gender stereotypes in occupations, cooperation, work relationships, a decision is emotion or logic, decision making, goals, occupational information, orientation to occupational clusters, and history repeats itself. Guidelines are presented for using selected activities to provide minimal, adequate, and optimal orientations. Also included are a nine-activity student occupational plan unit, core curriculum outline, and instructions for adapting the curriculum for special education students. (MN)