Academic and Career Planning

Students will be able to:

Understand concepts and ideas related to employment; work day, salary, wages, income/ sales taxes, social security W-2.

Identify the various employment opportunities in the community and their social and economic function. (i.e. wages, goods and services)

Activity

Name as many occupations/jobs as possible that you know.

Brainstorm answers to these questions:

• Why do people work in jobs and careers in a community?

• How do services, businesses, products/goods solve problems?

• Why is employment required for the worker?

Resources

Brainstorm as a large group and list students’ answers on the board.

Task

Exit activity - Why do I need to work?

Activity

Research one of the following definitions and bring your findings to class:

• Job

• Career

• Salary

• Wage

• Contract

• Paycheck

• Income tax

• Sales tax

• Social Security requirement

• W-2

Activity

Understand the employment/workforce definitions that were assigned for homework.

Look at an example of a W-2 tax form. What do you notice about it?

Answer these essential questions:

• Why are there taxes on income and sales?

• What do taxes do for a local community? (i.e. maintain roads for transportation, pay for schools, provide medical care, care for the elderly, pay for parks and recreation spaces, etc.)

• What do taxes do for the country? (i.e. Social Security, medical care, federal initiatives, etc.)

Resources

Teach each term. Enlist the help of students based on their findings.

Show an example of a W-2 tax form so students can see that when they work, not all of their earnings will go directly into their pockets.

Students should begin to see that taxes go to benefit themselves, the community, the state they live in, and the entire country’s population.

Students should also begin to see that there is a relationship between themselves, their employment, and their community.

Task

Exit Activity - What did you learn about working and taxes that did you not know before?

Activity

For the following places/jobs, identify:

• What does this place or job do for the community?

• What does this place or job do for the worker(s)?

• What is the economic function of this place/job?

Examples

Grocery Store

Bank

Gym/Fitness Club

Restaurant

Park

Community Center (like the YMCA)

Middle School

High School

Movie Theater

Clothing Store

Home Materials Supplier (lumber, cabinets, hardware, etc.)

College/University

Car Dealership

Automotive Shop

Health Department

Hospital

Legal Services

Police Department

Fire Department

Factory

Appliance Store

Counseling Center

Resources

Place students in pairs or groups with 4-5 places/jobs from the list provided.

Have students answer the questions in web form, on a piece of easel paper, or on whiteboards.

Task

Have students select a workplace from the list you provide and brainstorm what they think the work day and environment is like for a worker from that place.

Activity

Choose one of the places of employment from the list provided in class.

• What do you think the work day is like for a worker there?

• What do you imagine the working conditions are like?

• How do they earn? Is it hourly or a salary?

For example, at a movie theater, the workers would be inside a building, on their feet most likely, using their hands, answering questions, counting money, and their work shifts would be late in the day or in the evening.

Task

Bring your thoughts/brainstorm notes to class.

Determine particular working conditions related to certain types of employment

Explain how basic employment clusters function in a society. (i.e. Hospitality/Service Industry, Medical and Science, Social Services, Law Enforcement and Military)

Diagram the circular flow of money related to wages, goods and services.

Activity

In pairs, share your answers to the assigned homework about working conditions.

Recall the comprehensive list of occupations/jobs that was created at the start of the unit.

Learn about particular working conditions for various places of employment/jobs.

Resources

Elicit responses from students about their brainstorming answers regarding workplace conditions.

Teach students about various work environments using webs/concept maps on the board.

In addition to the ones students offered, give a variety of examples to showcase a cross-section of community jobs.

Task

Exit Activity - What kind of workplace environment do you think you would like most?

Activity

Top Five Employment Clusters

• Hospitality/Service Industry

• Medical and Science

• Social Services

• Law Enforcement

• Military

Recall the comprehensive list of occupations/jobs that was created at the start of the unit.

Learn about the basics of each cluster and what each term entails at a broad level.

Resources

Introduce students to the Top Five Employment Clusters and help them understand the basics of the terms.

.

Ask them to try and place the workplace they investigated for the previous lesson/class into one of the clusters.

Ask them to take some of the occupations/jobs they came up with at the start of the unit and place them in a cluster category.

For example, if a student thought about the movie theater as a workplace and what the conditions are for the worker, they would most likely connect their findings to the Hospitality/Service Industry cluster.

Task

Exit Activity - Identify two clusters that interest you the most.

Activity

In your group, research the cluster that has been assigned to you.

Resources:

O*Net Occupations by Cluster

Guiding Questions

• What are some jobs within your cluster?

• What are the workplace conditions like for jobs in your cluster?

• How are the people who work jobs in your cluster paid? Is it by taxes? Revenue/business capital? Consumer/customers?

Resources

Group students based on the Top Five Employment Clusters and their preferences indicated from the previous Exit Activity.

Assign each student one of the guiding questions to answer.

Students should record their data and answers to share with the rest of the class.

Activity

In a mini-presentation to the class, share your answers to the Guiding Questions.

Resources

For each cluster, have students share their answers.

Record their answers on a whiteboard so they can see a broad view of the clusters.

Activity

Now that you understand your assigned cluster’s function, think about the economic element of the cluster/jobs within the cluster.

Diagram the circular flow of money related to wages, goods, and services for your assigned cluster.

Resources

Provide students an example diagram with the circular flow of money related to wages, goods, and services for a particular occupation or workplace.

Task

Groups should deliver a diagram in order to move on to the next level.

Analyze local jobs and their impact on your community. (goods, services, exchanges and social benefit)

Evaluate the economic impact of buying local vs. online in terms of community sustainability. (Amazon vs. Main Street)

Activity

Now that you understand your assigned cluster, as a group, think of how some of the jobs within the cluster impact Manchester/your local community.

Record the people you encounter each day or in a week.

• Are they working a job? Are they providing a service or performing a task that helps the community function?

• How do people in your local community (including yourself!) benefit from the jobs performed in your cluster?

Resources

Show students how connected people’s jobs are to the well-being of a community.

What are the needs of people?

Have them answer questions or draw a diagram that connects people they encounter to services/goods that either help the community function or help them in some way.

Example:

Food=Necessary to live, which requires people to work in stores to keep shelves stocked and registers open for payment

School/Education=the production of citizens who work and contribute to a community - food is provided at the school (someone had to bring it there!)

Infrastructure=maintains the roads and pathways for students to get to school, jobs, and stores for food

Task

Exit Activity - What have you learned from going over the people you know/meet and their work?

Activity

Family Jobs Web

Create a web with branches that shows your family members and family friends, their occupations, and where they work.

How does your family contribute to the society/community with their work?

Resources

Have students create a Family Jobs Web so that they can see the contributions and benefits of work within their local community.

Activity

Ask one of your family members/friends about their work and why it is important.

Activity

Amazon v. Main Street

Understand the difference between purchasing items/goods/services online and purchasing from a local establishment.

Recall circular flow of money diagram.

Possibly create a venn diagram for this information.

Resources

Guide students through understanding where money goes when they buy something from Amazon v. when they buy something from a local business.

Example:

• Buying a book from Amazon will be cheaper and faster.

• Buying a book from The Bookery in Manchester will be a few dollars more.

• Buying from Amazon supports workers in a warehouse and driving carrier vans.

• Buying from The Bookery supports workers in the store.

• Buying from Amazon supports a large economy beyond the local community. .

• Buying from The Bookery supports a locally-owned business that is most likely run by a person living in the community (who will pay taxes into the community and those taxes will benefit schools, roads, services, etc. beyond the store).

Create a presentation that showcases your understanding of the exchange that happens in communities based on jobs, services, and needs.

Activity

Final Component Options

Option 1 - Pitch to Manchester City Council

In your group, identify a good or a service from within your cluster and pitch it as a job opportunity to city council.

Option 2 - Craft a Job Description/Post for Indeed

Write

Option 3 - Create a Business Plan/Pitch

Activity

Presentation to the class!