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How Sharp Are Your Soft Skills?

Lesson Plan

How Sharp Are Your Soft Skills?

Grade Levels

8th Grade

Course, Subject

Career Acquisition, Career Retention & Advancement
  • Big Ideas
    Comprehensive planning leads to effective career decisions.
    Effective speaking, listening and writing are essential in the career acquisition process.
    Families are the fundamental unit of society; strong families empower individuals to manage the challenges of living and working in a diverse, global society.
    Understanding and demonstrating workplace skills and knowledge is paramount in the career acquisition process.
  • Concepts
    Components and use of a weekly planner.
    Effective delivery techniques used in an interview such as eye contact, body language and enunciation.
    Essential workplace skills/knowledge that assist in career acquisition such as responsibility, dependability, integrity and team building.
    Family and work situations can both benefit from teamwork, strong organizational structure and leadership skills.
    Importance of health, safety and labor laws in daily activities.
    Parts of a high school academic plan.
    Three important listening skills or attending behaviors necessary in a job interview.
    Time must be carefully managed to accomplish personal, family and career goals.Time must be carefully managed to accomplish personal, family and career goals.
    Types of technical literacy used for a job search.
  • Competencies
    Analyze teamwork, organizational structure and leadership skills and their application in various family and work situations.
    Assess whether goals are realistic and achievable.
    Create a logical plan to accomplish a short and long-term goal.
    Demonstrate effective time management skills when working to accomplish a goal.
    Demonstrate health, safety and labor laws in daily activities.
    Demonstrate technical literacy skills/knowledge in a job search.
    Describe the importance of responsibility, dependability, integrity and team building in the work setting.
    Develop positive leadership skills and apply them in family, school and community settings.
    Develop teamwork skills and apply them in family, school and community settings.
    Identify components of a strong organizational structure as evidenced in work and family contexts.
    Identify effective delivery techniques in a mock interview such as: eye contact, body language and enunciation.
    Identify the benefits of managing time.
    Identify three important listening skills or attending behaviors during a sample job interview.
    Using a weekly planner, designate specific periods of time to complete homework, projects, family responsibilities and personal activities.

Rationale

The purpose of this lesson is to increase a student's understanding of the soft skills necessary within a workplace setting.

Vocabulary

Career retention and advancement:  Career retention is the process of keeping a job. Career advancement is the process of performing the necessary requirments to progress in a career.

Work Habits:  Acquired behaviors that individuals regularly perform in completing tasks related to chores, school or job.

Soft Skills: are personal attributes that enhance an individual's interactions, job performance and career prospects.

Hard Skills: are about a person's skill set and ability to perform a certain type of task or activity.

Objectives

Students will be able to distinguish between "soft" and "hard" skills with 90% accuracy.

Students will be able to identify soft skills necessary for success in the workplace with 100% accuracy.

Lesson Essential Question(s)

SAS EQ: What are some of the characteristics of people who are on successful teams in and out of school?

 

LEQ:  What is the difference between hard and soft skils and what soft skills are necessary in the workplace?

 

Duration

This lesson can be completed in a typical 45 minute class period.

Materials

Suggested Instructional Strategies

 

W:  Students will review EQ's and activity expectations prior to the activity.
H:  Simulation activitely engages students in this activity from beginning to end.
E:  Students will receive feedback throughout the activity.
R:  Students will think/share pair and as a result will have the opportunity to draw on others thoughts/experiences.
E:  Students will have the opportunity to role play.
T:  Procedures are reviewed and adjusted as necessary for students with special needs. In addition, one-on-one support is provided on an as-needed basis in order to insure success.
O:  This activity provides direct instruction in the preparation phase but moves quickly to student-directed learning.

Instructional Procedures

“Soft Skills” Unit Outline

  

1. Bell Ringer:  Soft Skills Scenarios. Have students turn to their shoulder partner and respond to the bell ringer questions.  Ask volunteer partnerships to share their responses to the full group.(5 min.) (Think/Pair/Share)

 

2. Introduce “Soft Skills” concept and also include a comparison to “Hard Skills”.  Distribute self assess and review the “Job Skills Survey.”  Students will assess their current abilities and need for improvement in the 21 skills outlined.  (10 min.)

 

3. Review the “How Sharp Are Your Soft Skills?”
(Herman ’11
) PowerPoint presentation via the
overhead projection unit.  (15 min.)

 

4. Summarize Strategy - Distribute the “Demonstrating Soft Skills” 4-question worksheet. Read each question aloud then having students respond in complete sentences.  Students will share responses to the full group.   (10 min.)

 

 

Formative Assessment

Teacher will utilize think/pair/share throughout activity and check for understanding at each table as the lesson progresses.

Related Materials & Resources

Author

Chris Herman Alice Justice

Date Published

June 19, 2012
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