What is a Career LEARNING ABOUT JOB AWARENESS

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What is a Career?
LEARNING ABOUT JOB
AWARENESS
Context for the Unit
 Unit is designed for an entire academic semester.
 Lessons will be used to increase students’ general knowledge of . .
.
 Types of careers
 Career characteristics (uniforms, places of work, tools, skills)
 Careers in the community
 The impact of training and education on salary
 How salary determines what needs and wants one can afford

Fall 2002 Transition Services Preparation & Training
Instructional Level of Students
Students are enrolled in a self contained deaf education classroom. Grades range
from 6th through 8th grade. All students have either a severe or profound loss and
communicate mostly in American Sign Language. One student is equipped with a
cochlear implant and is currently functioning almost on grade level. His higher-order
thinking skills and language capabilities are comparable to his peers, although he still
reads at a 4th grade level. He is mainstreamed for health, math, and science classes. He
has somewhat intelligible speech and can respond to speech paired with lipreading.
Two-students are high functioning in regard to understanding abstract concepts,
yet are performing at a 3rd grade reading level. They lead most class discussions. Two
other students demonstrate exceptional abilities in brainstorming and understanding
concepts through hands-on experiments and activities, but both are at 1st grade reading
levels. They can only create and decipher very simple words and sentence structures.
The last student is cognitively and developmentally delayed. She exhibits
excellent work-calling and memorization skills, however, has no comprehension aptitude
at all. She is also very socially immature and tends to become very anxious when put on
the spot or interacting during group activities.

Fall 2002 Transition Services Preparation & Training
P-Levels and Literacy Levels
- Students meet the majority of P-5 criteria. Students are comfortable talking about the past
and present, but tend to have distorted and fantasy-like imaginings about future realities, such
as adulthood and employment. They do not realize how choices from the past and present
can affect events in the future. Students can tell stories using ASL and gesturing to convey
central details and descriptions, yet still neglect to explain discrete details. Their
comprehension of cause and effect is naïve. Students can explain why something happened,
(employing the use of because and then) if the action was concrete and visible., such as the
blocks fell over because the boy kicked them. On the other hand, they cannot intuitively
interpret the cause of abstract events such as Joe lost his job because he was late everyday and
failed to perform his tasks.
- Students are developing readers – they read at about a 3rd grade level. They don’t use sign to
effectively capture the essence of text (still use ASL or SEE that is conceptually inappropriate
in context of the sentence) and fail to monitor their own understandings. When probed about
basic story grammar elements, students are able to pick out characters and main plot events
accurately. Students, however, are unsuccessful at pinpointing character motivations, setting
details, and plot climax and resolution.
- Students are at about level 5 of the Kendall Writing Scale. Their sentence patterns are
recurring and cyclical. Topics are for the most part unified, and attempts at English word
order are present. They understand the need to revise and re-draft their work, but have
difficulties identifying which parts of their writing need modifications and which are
acceptable. In addition, students tend to think reading and writing are not a form of
communication and are skills only required and used in school.

Fall 2002 Transition Services Preparation & Training
Students’ World Knowledge and
Reasoning for Unit
Students possess an immature perception about the meaning of a career or job, their
role as a future member of the workforce, the purpose of work, and how employment can
have a bearing on one’s happiness, contentment, and sense of worth. When asked the age old
question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”, students are puzzled, because they
do not believe deaf individuals are allowed to work. Students think Social Security Income
will be enough to live on throughout their adult lives. They do not understand that a meager
S.S.I. stipend will not be sufficient enough to cover rent, utilities, gas, insurance, food,
clothing, and miscellaneous expenses. Students also do not realize the affect education and
training have on the quality of employment one can obtain. The words credentials and
experience are not in their vocabulary. Students cannot link the idea of extensive training and
education to larger wages. They also do not see why jobs that require an in depth knowledge
base, experience, and more “risk taking” tasks (such as a doctor or lawyer) should pay better
salaries.
My participating teacher and I felt that students did not have the prerequisite
knowledge necessary for units targeting specific vocational/independent living skills, for
instance researching jobs that match with interest inventory scores, learning to balance a
checkbook and manage a budget, or job shadowing. We designed the unit as a hodgepodge
of activities and lessons that would enlighten students about the general characteristics of
“employment culture” . . .such characteristics hearing individuals pick up unconsciously
through a readily available language medium, characteristics in which deaf individuals have
incredibly limited access.

Fall 2002 Transition Services Preparation & Training
Organizational Structure of Unit
Brainstorming
Activity:
“I want Who Works
to be . . .” Here? Matching Game
Paragraph and Worksheets
Assignment

Can Afford
What is a Career? The Job Game
Sort

Phonebook
Income Table Sort
Activity
Education
And Training Sort

Fall 2002 Transition Services Preparation & Training
The Unit Design Process:
Combining Assessment, Planning,
and Instruction
Using the teacher’s knowledge of her students’
intellectual growth, observations, “pre-test” questions
about careers, and Individualized Education Plans, we
both felt it was best to only expect very
unsophisticated levels of understanding from the
students. By employing this method of assessment and
planning, most, if not all students would be able to
meet our standards and be more willing to continue
with the activities. Students on the lower end of the
development continuum would be able to achieve
emergent levels of understanding, and the more
advanced students would be able to go on to the next
level of understanding.
Fall 2002 Transition Services Preparation & Training
ACTIVITY 1: Brainstorming
Who Works Here?
Given a number of visual aids depicting
places of work within the community
(hospital, grocery store, gas station,
etc.), students will brainstorm as a
class and create lists of
occupations/careers available in those
specific places of work. Students will
record brainstorming ideas on index
cards, then bind all cards together as
Fall 2002 Transition Services Preparation & Training
Activity 1: Brainstorming
PLACES OF WORK VISUAL AIDS

Fall 2002 Transition Services Preparation & Training
Activity 1: Brainstorming
STUDENT WORK
SAMPLES

Fall 2002 Transition Services Preparation & Training
Activity 2: Matching Game and
Worksheets
Given “Memory Game” cards, students must
match employees with their correct place
of work or tools used on the job. For
example, match the cashier with the cash
register and the garbage man with his
garbage truck.

Given various worksheets depicting
employees and their places of work in
scrambled disarray, students must draw a
line matching each employee to their
correct place of work. For example, the
Fall 2002 Transition Services Preparation & Training
Activity 2: Matching Game
Cards

Judy/Instructo. (2001). Community Helpers Matching Game. Torrance, CA: Frank
Shaffer Publications, Inc.
Fall 2002 Transition Services Preparation & Training
Activity 2: Relationship Matching
Worksheet Sample

Skill Sheet: Relationships. (1967). Helpers in the Community. 21.
Fall 2002 Transition Services Preparation & Training
Activity 3: The Job Game
Given a game board with drawings of places
in the community, students will roll a die
and move the number of spaces. If a
student lands on a place of work, then
students must name as many jobs available
within that place in order to accrue points
(one point for each job named). Students
can also obtain extra points for naming
characteristics of the occupation such as
uniform, education or training, estimation of
salary, and tools of the trade.
Fall 2002 Transition Services Preparation & Training
Activity 3: The Job Game

Fall 2002 Transition Services Preparation & Training
Activities 1, 2, 3:
FACETS OF UNDERSTANDING
APPLICATION
I wanted students to achieve a minimum of
Apprentice level. I knew students had
previous exposure to jobs seen in everyday
life such as teachers, policemen, and
grocers. With repeated prerequisite training
using the matching game and worksheets,
paired with the flip booklets as reference
tools, students would be prepared to apply
their knowledge to the JOB GAME.

Fall 2002 Transition Services Preparation & Training
Activity 4: Phonebook
Activity

Given a problem or scenario,
student will look through a
phonebook to find an individual
or business to help solve the
problem or complete the task. A
local area Yellow Pages was
used as a reference guide.
Fall 2002 Transition Services Preparation & Training
Activity 4: Phonebook Activity
FACET OF UNDERSTANDING
APPLICATION and INTERPRETATION
This activity reinforced application
knowledge and material learned from
Activities One, Two, and Three. I wanted
students to achieve a very emergent level
within the Interpretation facet based on the
concept of the connection between all
community members and the services
individuals provide and rely on to survive.
Fall 2002 Transition Services Preparation & Training
Activity 4: Phonebook Activity
Questions

Fall 2002 Transition Services Preparation & Training
Activity 5: Education and Training
Sort
Given index cards with names of careers,
students will attempt to sort the cards into
appropriate categories of Needs College,
Needs Two-Year School, Needs High
School, Needs No School, based on the
education/training needed for those
careers.

Teacher will provide instruction and supports
along the way, explaining why certain jobs
need certain training.
Fall 2002 Transition Services Preparation & Training
Activity 5: Education and Training
Sort
FACET OF UNDERSTANDING
EXPLANATION
I expected students to perform at an Intuitive
level of the Explanation facet. I wanted
students to start thinking, “This job needs
college because it requires more studying
and an extensive knowledge base. This job
needs trade school because it requires more
hands-on work and experience. This job
requires no training because it’s easy to
learn and mostly anyone can complete the
Fall 2002 task.”
Transition Services Preparation & Training
Activity 5: Education and
Training Sort

Fall 2002 Transition Services Preparation & Training
Activity 6: Income Table Sort
Given categories of Low Income, Middle
Income, and High Income, students will place
index cards labeled with career titles into
their appropriate category based on salary.
The class will debate and discuss their
predictions. When the sort is finalized on
the board, students will record their results
on a table worksheet.

Teacher will provide instruction and supports
for the activity emphasizing the connection
between education/training and salary.
Fall 2002 Transition Services Preparation & Training
Activity 6: Income Table Sort
FACET OF UNDERSTANDING
INTERPRETATION
I thought students should obtain an
understanding slightly above the Literal
level of the Interpretation facet. I wanted
students’ thought pattern to be, “Jobs that
make more money require a lot of education
and training, minimal mistakes, and expert
knowledge and experience. Jobs that pay
middle to lower incomes require less
education and training, are less stressful,
and require knowledge learned mostly on
Fall 2002 the job.”
Transition Services Preparation & Training
Activity 6: Income Table Sort
STUDENT WORK SAMPLE

Fall 2002 Transition Services Preparation & Training
Activity 7: Can Afford Sort
Given pockets labeled Makes A Lot of
Money, Makes Good Money, and Makes
Little Money, illustrating items certain
careers can afford, students will place
career title cards into the appropriate
pocket.
For example . . .

Makes A Lot of Money – Big house, fancy
car, food, clothes, expensive vacation.
Makes Good Money – Modest house and
car, food, clothes, swimming pool.
Makes Little Money – Dilapidated house,
bus, food.
Fall 2002 Transition Services Preparation & Training
Activity 7: Can Afford Sort
FACET OF UNDERSTANDING
EMPATHY and PERSPECTIVE
My goal was to have students at a Developing stage of Empathy
understanding. I wanted students to realize that not all people are
as fortunate to have all their needs as well as their wants met. I
wanted them to see the contrast of how some individuals can have
all their basic needs such as food, clothing, shelter, and also drive
a car, and invest in leisure activities like vacations and hobbies,
while other individuals are struggling to survive everyday and live
paycheck to paycheck.

In addition, I hoped students would attain Awareness in the
Perspective facet. With this activity, and some supplementary
teacher-class dialogues, students could gain an outlook on the
distinction between what different individuals in society consider
success. Some people might consider the middle income bracket
a true success, while others consider high income a real
accomplishment. I probed them to reflect on their goals for the
future. Is maintaining a lifestyle in the high/middle/low category
an important priority? What postsecondary education plans would
they need to reach this goal? What is their parents’ current
happy achieving the same, below,
income status? Would they bePreparation & Training
Fall 2002 Transition Services
or above their parents’ income status?
Activity 7: Can Afford Sort

Fall 2002 Transition Services Preparation & Training
Activity 8: “I want to be . . .”
Paragraph Assignment
Given a paragraph format, students will create a
paragraph
describing their favorite career and reasons why they
want to
become a (judge, florist, dry cleaner, etc.) when they
grow up.

Paragraph Format:
When I grow up I want to be a (title). I like (title)
because
supporting sentences including . . .
a. education/training
b. tools
c. uniform
d. place of work
Fall 2002 e. tasks performed
Transition Services Preparation & Training
Activity 8: “I want to be . . .” Paragraph
Assignment
FACET OF UNDERSTANDING
APPLICATION
My final culminating activity was to have students
apply all their knowledge from the unit into a
paragraph, stating the reasons why they wanted
to become a doctor, mechanic, bank teller, etc.
I anticipated students to fall within Apprentice
level. With a little coaching on grammar and
paragraph development, and by asking guiding
questions that encouraged students to consider
their preferences based on all the career
characteristics they have learned, students
would pick out their favorite job, or at least a
job they would consider as a possible career
Fall 2002 after graduation.
Transition Services Preparation & Training
Activity 8: “I want to be . . .”
Paragraph Assignment
STUDENT WORK SAMPLE

Fall 2002 Transition Services Preparation & Training
Unit Evaluations:
Student Performance (Activities 1-3)
I was satisfied with all of the students’ performance and
cooperation with the unit. Students did exceptionally
well with the first three activities. I used the
Brainstorming Activity visual aids as a bulletin board
for reference and review lessons. We did the
worksheets several times and played the matching
game and Job Game twice a week. With this repetitive
practice, students were able to better retain the
knowledge and felt more confident competing with
their classmates. Students were able to identify more
than ten careers and all their characteristics. I was
equally satisfied with the phonebook game. Students
were able to name the correct career person who
would help solve the dilemma, but had troubles
navigating the phonebook. Student performance
improved after a lesson on how to use the phonebook
and a refresher mini-lesson on alphabetizing.
Fall 2002 Transition Services Preparation & Training
Unit Evaluations:
Student Performance (Activities 5-8)
The last four activities were somewhat difficult for the
students. Students were able to sort cards into the
Needs College and Needs Training, but could not
accurately differentiate between Needs High School
Diploma and Needs No Degree. Students were able to
sort high income careers and low income fast food
career cards into their appropriate category, however,
tended to put all middle income jobs into the high
income pocket, and all other low income jobs into the
middle income pocket. Students repeated the same
pattern with the Can Afford Sort. Students categorized
the majority of cards correctly, but put all low income
jobs into the Makes Good Money folder, and only put
the low income fast food career cards into the Makes
Little Money. With the final activity, students were
able to name their favorite career and all the
characteristics required in the paragraph format, but
Fall 2002
were having significant difficulties in writing the
Transition Services Preparation & Training
paragraph. Instead of sentences, most students put
Unit Evaluations: Reflections
Overall, I was very pleased with the unit and student performance.
However, their were quite a few mistakes I made in my
planning and execution of the unit. First of all, I did not teach
consistently over a number of days. I was in my grant setting
2-3 times a week. I had two periods per day to teach my unit.
But many times the periods were interrupted with my mentor
teacher preparing students for a test, students being pulled out
for therapies, or a school assembly. Students had problems
remembering material when the classes weren’t on a fixed
schedule. As a result, I would have to spend a lot of time going
over the previous lesson again. Also, my data collection
methods were compromised due to the time constraints. I could
have recorded data in a more professional set-up, but because
their was a limited amount of time, I only had enough time to
review, teach, and gather student work samples. Next time, I
would talk with the participating teacher to work out a more
balanced and organized time to teach. I would even give
students home practice packets to study and help them recall
lesson information. I would videotape my lessons so I could
Fall 2002
compile the data& Training
Transition Services Preparation
at home.
Unit Evaluations: Reflections
(continued)
Secondly, I felt I should have instituted more direct instruction during the
last four lessons. Students were able to categorize cards due to
previous experience with those careers. When they made an error in
categorizing an unknown career, I would try to ask inquiry-based
questions in a one-on-one fashion, to lead the student to the right
answer. This was not sufficient enough for the student to genuinely
understand why that specific career needed training or made a certain
amount of money, or could afford certain things. Next time, I would
have introduced more direct instruction before the activity, such as
lists of high, middle, and low income jobs, the types of training they
require, and their average income. I would better describe the
difference between college, trade school, and on the job training. I
would distinguish the differences between jobs that require high
school and those that don’t. I would make a price list of items such as
house payments, apartment rental fees, car insurance, utilities,
clothes, and food. I would conduct a lesson on how to write a
paragraph. Additionally, my data collection methods weren’t as
adequate as I would have liked. The Application facet standard data
could have been improved by recording the number of cards sorted
correctly out of how many given in order to calculate a percentage.
And the Explanation, Interpretation, Perspective, and Empathy facet
performance observations could have been recorded on paper
Fall 2002
verbatim what the child said or &recorded on videotape.
Transition Services Preparation Training
Unit Evaluations: Reflections
(continued)
Last but not least, I would have focused a little
more on the outcomes of the facets. In
hindsight, it appears that most of my activities
used Application facet standards. I did use the
other facets in my inquiry questions upon
completion of the activity as a wrap-up,
nevertheless I feel I did not incorporate my
chosen facet levels enough in my instruction.
Yes, this unit was largely teaching facts and
information, and Application facets would
complement that type of unit. But my goal was
to connect all the activities with more insightful,
interpretive “Big Picture” questions like in the
Empathy and Perspective facets.
Fall 2002 Transition Services Preparation & Training
Unit Evaluation: Conclusion
By and large, I believe the unit was beneficial for
the students. Students acquired knowledge that
will aid them in their quest to find a career path.
Students will now be able to make an informed
career choice based on the uniform, tools, place
of work, training, and income they prefer.
When asked what they want to be when they
grow up, students will be able to pin point a
career, and give specific details and reasoning
to back up their answer. Upon entering high
school, students will have a familiarity with
different types of careers and will be better
prepared when taking an interest inventory or
talking with their guidance counselor or
Fall 2002
transition coordinator.
Transition Services Preparation & Training