With Labor Day in September, Fall is a great time to study Jobs in the Community for Social Studies. Most states have job exploration standards. Kids not only need to know what kind of jobs are out there, but they greatly benefit from exploring the way communities depend upon workers for their foundation.
Prepping Students for Today's Job Market
Kids used to dream of what they would be when they grew up. Today, the reality is that students will have several careers, not just one. Because of technology, the workplace is changing at breakneck speed.
The average time a worker spends in one job is 4 years. That means most of your students will have at least 12 jobs over their lifetime. All this makes it even more important for kids to explore jobs in the elementary classroom.
The Big Picture
First graders need a lot of support as they ease into informational reading and writing. Most kids have at least one parent who works outside the home. This gives students a basic background for this topic. This gives them a leg-up when reading.
Young students need to sort and work with vocabulary, to read informational passages, to write about what they learned, and to put it all together with hands-on projects that showcase the new learning.
Sorting Makes it Better
Piaget agrees that primary kids learn best with hands-on sorting and grouping. When students sort, they compare, classify, and make connections. It also supports vocabulary development by helping students notice patterns and relationships between terms.
I use sorting as an introduction, but you could also use it as a review. Here are a few other ideas:
- Interactive Sorting – Have the kids hold the card, and go to the right label card.
- Find-a-family: Have each student find the other cards that go with
- Pocket Chart is the best tool for sorting. Use it!
- Find someone who is: different, the same, in the same field
- Sort by job field
- Sort by job tools
- Sort by activity level (physical, desk job, phone work)
Read About Jobs in the Community
First grade students are used to reading and hearing stories. It’s good introduce informational reading in small doses. Also, when the text matches the reader’s level, students can focus on the content, rather than struggling to decode. Differentiated passages allow students to access the same topic, which supports whole-class discussion.
Differentiated text allows all students to access the same topic, which in turn, supports whole-group discussion. Here’s a few ideas for informational text:
- Preview the text in whole-group
- pair students up to buddy read
- have students highlight key vocabulary
- create a picture vocabulary bank on an anchor chart
- make sure each page includes photos
Write About Community Jobs
Even more difficult than reading, writing asks so much of your students. It is like one person playing many instruments at one time in an orchestra. Here again, providing scaffolding is key. Use sentence starters, picture cards with labels, and word banks.
Depending on the level of your class and the time of the year, it could be a quick activity or even a project. Here are a few ideas:
- use a response sheet and labeled cards.
- give students lined labels to add information to the mural
- have kids journal about jobs they would like to do
- let pairs write on sentence strip to display
- compare and contrast charts
- All About……. books with who-what-how-why pages.
Hands-on Jobs Activities
To wrap up your unit on jobs in the community, try a hands-on project that lets students use their creative side while they show what they learned. Projects give students a chance to apply what they’ve learned in a creative, low-stress say.
Projects also are great for classroom display. This shows students and administrators that students are engaged in learning the curriculum. You can designate a day at the end, or you could have kids work on pieces as you go along. Here are some ideas to get you started:
- Pair up to create their work place using a shoebox. Let them use the scrap box, markers and pens to create tools, furniture and walls. Then make yourself as the worker
- Make a community mural. Have a short planning meeting, then dig in!
- Interview a family member about their job and make a short video
- Make a commercial. Discuss the need for that job.
- Have Jobs in the Community Day. Let kids dress up or bring props.
Teachers are busy people, especially in the fall. If you need some done-for-you resources, click on the covers below.
