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Fifth Grade - Language Arts

 

Activities

Career News Broadcast

Financial and Economic Concepts: Career Management, including earning an income

For this activity, students create a newscast with the broadcasters discussing careers.

Refer to the worksheet "A Career News Broadcast" for specific instructions.

Note: Before using this activity, preview a news show (such as News Depth or Linda Ellerbee's Nickelodeon News) to provide a basic understanding of a news format show.

Career News Broadcast Worksheet (pdf) 

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Bartering Game

Financial and Economic Concepts: Careers

Preparation
Materials needed: Index cards
Time needed: One 45-minute class period

For this activity, students trade their resources for other goods and services. The purpose of the activity is for the class to understand the relative value of different community occupations.

• Give each student a card with an occupation written on it. The occupations should be typical of what you would find in your community.
• Next, have students create a set of "barter cards" for their occupation. They should list their professional and personal skills, hobbies, resources, etc., that can be traded, one per card.
• Ask students to create a set of "need" and "want" cards, listing desired one good or service on each card.
• After setting time limits, allow the class to trade cards among themselves, bartering their skills for goods and services. Remind students to consider the value of the trades both in money and time.
• At the conclusion of the activity, lead a class discussion summarizing the experience. Encourage students to draw conclusions about the relative value of skills and the bartering process and what careers are involved.

Discussion
Discussion questions to consider asking students include:

1. What occupation had the easiest time bartering? The hardest? Why do you think this was the case?
2. What kinds of skills did you use when bartering?

Variation

• Students can choose their intended occupation for this game, rather than be assigned.
• Assign a value to the skills that will be bartered.
• Pair students as "couples," and have them barter in pairs.

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Career Heroes

Financial and Economic Concepts: Careers

This workbook introduces you to a few of the hundreds of Career Heroes out there making the world a better place. It also describes the 6 different types of Career Heroes: Doers, Thinkers, Creators, Helpers, Persuaders, and Organizers. Maybe one of these types sounds a lot like you. Do you have what it takes to become a Career Hero?

This publication was adapted from “Career Aware” by Oregon’s Partnership for Occupational and Career Information. Activities in this publication are based on “Careers are Everywhere!” by Texas Workforce Solutions, Labor Market and Career Information.

Hard copies of this publication are available by request. Contact Montana Career Resource Network at:

P. O. Box 1728 Helena, MT 59624-1728
(406) 444-2430 or (800) 541-3904
www.ourfactsyourfuture.org

Career Heroes Workbook (pdf) 

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Who Needs Math?

Financial and Economic Concepts: Careers

There’s hardly a student who has made it through a high school trigonometry class without asking, “When am I ever going to use this stuff in real life?” This publication is intended to answer precisely that question.

What you’ll find within these pages is a collection of interviews with real professionals in a wide variety of occupations, all of whom use math regularly. As you read, you’ll see that math turns up in some surprising places. Want to be a welder? Better not skimp on the geometry and trig. What about interior design? You’ll need higher math skills to calculate the arc for that countertop. Simply put: math is everywhere!

Some ideas for using this publication include assigning an interview to each student then have them share in small groups what was learned.

Another idea is to have students read the interviews in small groups, then share with the large group what they learned. Each career could be introduced with a quick game of charades to have the class guess the groups’ assigned occupation.

Students could be assigned to write interview questions, then interview a person with a math career not given on the list. Students would then add to the interviews with written answers to the questions, in the same format at the publication.

Who Needs Math Workbook (pdf) 

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Career Terms in A Christmas Carol

Financial and Economic Concepts: Careers

For this activity, students use A Christmas Carol to learn about the changing world of careers.

• Read the play A Christmas Carol.
• Discuss how the careers of the characters have evolved over time.
• Discuss and define career terms such as apprentice (this is a term that is still used compare and contrast the usage), counting house, poulterer, and solicitor. Some questions include:

1. What do these people do?
2. What are the modern day equivalents of these careers?
3. How might these careers change in the future?

Complete Lesson Plan (When accessing this lesson you may be prompted to sign in. Simply select your town and enter your zip code and area code.)

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Careeragories

Financial and Economic Concepts: Careers

For this activity, students use vocabulary to learn about occupations.

• Distribute the worksheet "Careeragories."
• Have each student make a list of ten occupations. Use one list at a time (copy and distribute to students).
• Randomly choose one letter of the alphabet.
• Have students write one noun beginning with that letter that has a connection with the occupations. (Nouns should be as uncommon as possible.) Allow 2-3 minutes per list.
• Scoring: If no one else wrote the noun you chose, one point is earned. If more than one person writes the same noun, zero points are scored.

Careeragories (pdf)

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Castaway

Financial and Economic Concepts: Scarcity and Choices

Read the beginning part of “Robinson Crusoe” or “Swiss Family Robinson,” in which the family’s circumstances are described.

Have the students make a list of all the things they would want if they found themselves in similar circumstances.

Working from this list make two additional lists, one for absolute needs and one for items that would make life nicer.

Relate this to the students’ lives by making lists of their needs and wants.  Keep in mind that not all students will have exactly the same needs and wants.

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Occupation Memory Game

Financial and Economic Concepts: Careers

For this activity, students use a memory game to learn about occupations.

• Have students use CIS or the Occupational Outlook Handbook to research a career that interests them.
• Have students write down five characteristics necessary for that career (this could be skills, training, or anything specific to that career).
• Ask students to make a card that lists these five skills and a corresponding card that lists the career.
• When students have finished, have them use these cards in a Memory/Concentration Game. Students will shuffle the deck and lay the cards face down. Turning over the cards one at a time, students will then attempt to match characteristic cards to the career cards.

Complete Lesson Plan (When accessing this lesson you may be prompted to sign in. Simply select your town and enter your zip code and area code.)

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Author's Previous Careers

Financial and Economic Concepts: Careers

For this activity, students research authors.

• After completing a short story unit, have students choose one of the authors who was covered and write a paragraph essay (five paragraph essay) on the author's life. Have the essay focus on previous careers that the author held.
• After the essays are written, have students share the information they learned regarding the author's various careers.
• Discuss the need to be a life-long learner and that most workers will change careers at least 5-7 times in their life. Students must learn to adapt to change in order to be successful in the future.

Complete Lesson Plan (When accessing this lesson you may be prompted to sign in. Simply select your town and enter your zip code and area code.)

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Career Choices: Then, Now, and for the Future

Financial and Economic Concepts: Careers

For this activity, students learn about the world of work and career planning from those actually out there: adults.

Have students interview an adult who has worked in the same type of job for at least 10 years using the following questions:

1. What is your job?
2. What skills did you need to get your job?
3. What education did you need?
4. How did you get your education and skills?
5. Have you had to do additional training to keep current in your job?
6. Do people being hired now have to have different skills and training?
7. Where and how are they getting their training?
8. How have job responsibilities changed since you first worked in the field?
9. Why do you think your responsibilities have changed?
10. Are there more people being hired in your field from diverse backgrounds?
11. How do you see your job changing in 10 years? 20?
12. Why do you think your job will change?
13. What education and skills will be needed then?

With their information, have students write a short story about the person they interviewed (can be fiction or non-fiction). This can be first or third person, but should reflect how society has changed over the span of the person's life experience. Include cultural trends, societal changes, and differing family expectations.

Complete Lesson Plan (When accessing this lesson you may be prompted to sign in. Simply select your town and enter your zip code and area code.)

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E-Commerce Evolution

Financial and Economic Concepts: Online Commerce

View the E-Commerce Evolution video as a class. 

E-Commerce Evolution Video

Conduct a class discussion and have students write three paragraphs about their experiences with online commerce.

Sample discussion questions:

1. Describe the era before online commerce.
2. What year did online commerce begin?
3. Why do you think those who were willing to explore online commerce for their companies had to work so hard?
4. How would you describe the future of e-commerce?

Life Roles Rainbow

Financial and Economic Concepts: Careers

Students consider the range of life roles and prepare a rainbow diagram that depicts these roles over a lifetime.

When lesson is complete, have students use the information in their rainbow to write a letter to themselves that will be mailed to them in 5 years. The letter should discuss future roles and goals for different ages.

Complete Lesson Plan (When accessing this lesson you may be prompted to sign in. Simply select your town and enter your zip code and area code.)

Life Roles Rainbow Worksheet (pdf)

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Start From Scratch

Financial and Economic Concepts: Online Commerce

Ask students to pretend that they are a member of a family which, due to a disaster, has lost all of their belongings except the clothes they are wearing.

Working individually or in small groups, students should "shop" online for 10-15 items which they will need or want to reestablish their lives.

Students should list the items they would choose to purchase and then discuss their choices.

Suggested questions for class discussion:

1. What must we have in order to exist?
2. What are some items which are not necessary to make life more comfortable?
   
3. Which of the things you picked out to purchase are necessary to exist?
   
4. How would people acquire these items in the 1950s? 
   
5. What things have influenced how we acquire what we need?  (Internet, postal service, downloads, computers)

Next to each item on the list, have students explain why they would need or want that item and how it would influence their life.

Ad Notebook Activity

Financial and Economic Concepts: Career Management

You are an advertising executive who has been hired by an employment agency.  You must create ads for four careers, using the propaganda techniques that follow. Ads must be creative, neat, and appealing. You must include the background skills needed, and positive aspects of this career.

Ad Notebook Worksheet (pdf)

Wanted Worksheet (pdf)

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Career Writing Prompts

Financial and Economic Concepts: Careers

For this activity, students write responses to prompts that relate to skills applicable to both school and the workplace.

The following are writing prompts to be used as bell work or class starters. The responses need to be a minimum of three to five sentences.

1. I usually solve problems by…
2. The easiest way for me to learn something new is…
3. When something is difficult for me, I...
4. I can help my community by…
5. Something I would like to change at school is…
6. Something I would like to accomplish this month…
7. I plan to be a life-long learner by…
8. Something I admire in one of my family members is…
9. I am proud of…
10. I always feel successful when I…
11. When a friend has a problem I…
12. When I'm not prepared for class I…
13. When I am upset I would like…
14. The best way for me to study is…
15. One of my favorite places is…
16. I would like to save money for…
17. In five years I would like to be…
18. Someday I would like my children to…
19. People say this about me…
20. My ideal job is…

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Expository Writing on Career Choice

Financial and Economic Concepts: Careers

For this activity, students increase their descriptive and expository writing skills while learning about careers.

Part One
Lecture students about descriptive writing, emphasizing the use of sight words, sound words, touch words, smell words, and taste words (imagery). Specifically:

1. Sight words can focus on color, size, shape, surface appearance or action.
2. Touch words can include texture, temperature, shape, weight, and density.
3. Sounds words can refer to the volume, pitch, and sound quality.
4. Smell words can refer to any of the 2000 different odors the human nose can detect.
5. Taste words can refer to the sweetness, sourness, saltiness, or bitterness.

Ask each student to visit a place of business, preferably in a career area of their choice. Students should take notes of things that appeal to the senses. They should use adjectives and phrases to describe what they see, hear, smell, feel, and taste in the air.

Have students write a description of the place of business they visited, using the imagery words and phrases recorded during their visit. Student writing can be narrative (story line) in style, with the inclusion of the imagery words and phrases.

Ask students to peer edit and critique each other's descriptions.

Have students make necessary corrections and rewrite the description.

Part Two
Lecture students about expository writing, emphasizing that it answers the questions who, where, what, when, why, and how.

Ask each student to select a career field of interest.

Have students to brainstorm specific questions beginning with the words who, where, what, when, why and how. Some questions may include:

1. Who is best suited for such a job?
2. Where would you get the best education to prepare for such a job?
3. Where in the country, or world are there jobs available in this field?
4. What qualifications or personality traits do you need for such a job?
5. What would your job responsibilities be in this field?
6. When would you need to complete various courses in order to prepare for this job?
7. When are these jobs most likely to be available?
8. Why is this career choice a good choice?
9. Why might this career choice be a bad choice?
10. How much would you need to invest to get the education necessary for this career field?
11. How much money would you make in this field?

Once questions have been formulated, direct students to use CIS to research the answer to these questions.

Have students organize their information into a logical pattern and write an essay based on their research.

Ask students to peer edit and critique each other's essays.

Have students make necessary corrections and rewrite their essays.

Complete Lesson Plan (When accessing this lesson you may be prompted to sign in. Simply select your town and enter your zip code and area code.)

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The Perfect Job

Financial and Economic Concepts: Career Management

Students read the story starter and the questions below then respond by writing about their ideal job.

Let students share their responses with the class.

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