TEACHER MODULE
First of all, THANK YOU. Very few things happen in schools without the work and commitment from hardworking teachers like you who care deeply about your students futures. You can use Take Our Kids to Work as an opportunity to connect the important knowledge you teach to the working world in your students minds. It gives you the step-by-step tools and activities to spark meaningful conversations with your students about their futures. The program has evolved to be much more than just collecting permission forms. I hope you enjoy these classroom resources! Take Our Kids To Work TM - Page 1
What is Take Our Kids to Work program? The Learning Partnerships Take Our Kids to Work is an annual national program in which Grade 9 (or equivalent) students are hosted by parents, friends, relatives and volunteers at workplaces across the country every November. The program supports career development by helping students connect school, the world of work, and their own futures. It is our signature program which began in 1994 in the Greater Toronto area. Today, 250,000+ students across Canada, from Nunavut to Newfoundland participate in the program each year. On the first Wednesday of every November Grade 9, Senior 1 (Manitoba) and Secondary III (Quebec) students spend the day in the workplace of a parent, relative, friend or volunteer experiencing and learning about the world of work as they begin to explore possible career paths. Did You Know? In 2012, the unemployment rate of youths aged 15 to 24 was 14.3%, compared with a rate of 6.0% for workers aged 25 to 54 and workers aged 55 or older. -Stats Canada How does it benefit my classroom? Learning in school becomes more effective and relevant if students can see where their education might lead them in the future. Spending a day in the life of a profession or workplace is a fun and fascinating way to explore the world of work, think about career options, and make informed educational decisions. Take Our Kids To Work TM - Page 2
Program Goals You are such an important person to making this program a success. So we re all working towards the same goals, here are our hopes for your students: 1. Get as many students as possible to experience a workplace for Take Our Kids to Work Day. 2. As a teacher, you are able to incorporate the classroom activities and discussion into your subject in a relevant way. 3. The Take Our Kids to Work spirit is extended past the day in November and career focused activities are present throughout the school year. 4. Get students thinking about the different pathways after high school which can include Apprenticeship, University, College, or the world of work. Classroom Delivery of Take Our Kids to Work As a teacher, we hope that you ll take an active role in helping students prepare for Take Our Kids to Work. This can take on various forms. These are the basics: 1. Have students work independently through the student module online. The most important piece for them will be to identify which parent, relative, family member, or volunteer they want to go to work with. 2. Supplement the student module with classroom activity and discussion using the suggestions in this document or your own ideas. 3. Educate students about workplace safety. Take Our Kids To Work TM - Page 3
One of the best parts about this program is the incredible range of creativity used by the teachers, administrators and employers who help make it happen. If you have any suggestions or an example of how you incorporated it into your classroom, please share it with us on Facebook, twitter (@TLPCanada) or by email. Additional classroom and subject-specific activities are included later in this document. Outside Your Classroom Parent Communication Encourage parents and other adults to take their son, daughter and/or friends with them to work. Send a newsletter home to let parents know when the event is coming up. Share information about Take Our Kids to Work during Parent-Teacher interviews and at Grade 9 orientation. Share the Parent Guide link with students parents/guardians. Parental Consent Distribute program information and parental consent forms to students in homeroom. Establish a tracking system for collecting consent forms. Set a deadline for the return of forms (at least two weeks prior to the event). Ensure forms are on file in the main office in the event of an emergency. Take Our Kids To Work TM - Page 4
At School Work with the co-operative education teacher or guidance counselor to identify potential workplaces. Consider group placements for students who do not have a parent or relative who can take them to work. Community Communication Consider how your school might promote the activity in the community. Invite workplaces to expand their participation (in our experience, most employers are excited to help) for students without a workplace opportunity. Classroom Delivery of Take Our Kids to Work Ensure that students understand their rights to ask questions, to participate in health/safety training and to refuse unsafe activities. Students need to dress for the job, Know emergency procedures, Report all injuries. Lead a discussion about why teachers and adults talk about work safety so often. Why is it important? How are work place injuries/deaths prevented? Helpful video (included in the student module): The 3 rights of young workers www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkeqieo5thw Take Our Kids To Work TM - Page 5
Special Needs Students If there are special needs children in your class, help coordinate with parents and employers to find a placement that can accommodate them. We want every child to be able to participate in the program. Classroom Activities Ask students to come back to class with a list and sentence description of at least 8 different jobs at that workplace. Have them complete a small assignment about Take Our Kid to Work day as a part of their assessment. Find a fun way to capture the student s experiences after the day. You could have students conduct interviews, write blog posts, share on social media, upload images to a master album, etc. Your imagination is your limit. Share your experiences on the Learning Partnerships Facebook and twitter (@TLPCanada) pages. On all social media posts about the day, include the hashtag #kidstowork. Occupation Guess Who This is a great introductory activity to Take Our Kids to Work day. Assign an occupation to each student by taping its name to their back without the student knowing what it is. The object of the game is for the student to guess the career on their back by asking clues from their classmates. They need to ask a different classmate every time and you can put a limit on the number of questions they can ask. Take Our Kids To Work TM - Page 6
Prep: Write occupations on separate pieces of paper for each of your students. Examples: Accountant Actor Animator Architect Assistant Author Baker Biologist Builder Butcher Counselor Caretaker Chef Computer programmer Cook Decorator Dentist Designer Diplomat Doctor Economist Editor Electrician Engineer Executive Farmer Film director Fisherman Flight attendant Garbage man Geologist Hairdresser Teacher Jeweler Journalist Judge Lawyer Magician Makeup artist Manager Miner Musician Nurse Optician Painter Photographer Pilot Plumber Police officer Politician Receptionist Sailor Sales person Scientist Sign language interpreter Soldier Surgeon Travel agent Trucker TV presenter Veterinarian Web designer Writer Instructions to give students: You have been assigned a career and it is your goal to guess what it is. Ask your classmates for clues. You only have questions. Use them wisely. When you ve guessed your occupation, give it to your teacher to track. Keep helping classmates guess theirs but don t give away too much information. Have fun! Take Our Kids To Work TM - Page 7
Math Class Integration Help students prepare questions to ask that relate to your subject. Have students bring answers back to class to discuss. How do you use math on a day-to-day basis? Is analytical thinking used to solve problems? How? Brainstorm occupations that use math heavily. Talk about the various levels of education needed for each career. Engineering Accounting Statistics Economics Analyst Mathematician Take Our Kids To Work TM - Page 8
Science Class Integration Help students prepare questions to ask that relate to your subject. Have students bring answers back to class to discuss. What is your company s commitment to recycling and the environment? What kinds of technology do you use during the day? Brainstorm occupations in the science field. Talk about the various levels of education needed for each career. Archaeologist Astronomer Chemist Geneticist Geologist Biologist Meteorologist Psychologist Zoologist Take Our Kids To Work TM - Page 9
French Class Integration Help students prepare questions to ask that relate to your subject. Have students bring answers back to class to discuss. Do you speak or read another on a regular basis at work? Discuss work situations where knowing a second language is valuable. Translation, Inter-province or International Business. Geography Class Integration Help students prepare questions to ask that relate to your subject. Have students bring answers back to class to discuss. How does you company support the country? Does your company donate to any important local, national or international causes? Does your company have branches outside of Canada? Do they do business internationally? Take Our Kids To Work TM - Page 10
Brainstorm occupations that use a knowledge of geography.talk about the various levels of education needed for each career. GIS, GIScience, and remote sensing professionals. Agriculture uses geographers to determine when, where, and how much to fertilize crops or what s the best crop to grow in a certain place. Demographers, population statisticians. Intelligence gathering, analysis, and reporting. Business uses geographers to select the best location for a new business site; figure out cost paths - where s the best combination of wages and travel costs; where s the best place to market a product. Urban planners. Transportation planners. Medical geographers track the spatial spread of epidemics. Park rangers, foresters, conservationists. Oil companies use geographers to plan drilling locations and pipeline routes. Researcher, academic, professor, teacher. Take Our Kids To Work TM - Page 11
History Class Integration Help students prepare questions to ask that relate to your subject. Have students bring answers back to class to discuss. How/where does your company keep track of its history? What are the most interesting facts about the company s history? How has your company passed along the knowledge of the company s history to employees? Brainstorm occupations that might use a knowledge of history. Talk about the various levels of education needed for each career. Archaeologist Archivist Historical researcher Museum work Secondary school teacher Tour guide University lecturer Civil Service Insurance and Risk Intelligence work Law Library and Information work Publishing Take Our Kids To Work TM - Page 12
Post-Visit After returning, have the students fill out the Learning Partnerships feedback survey online. Please complete the teacher feedback survey. The answers to both of these surveys are incredibly important and help us improve the program each year. Thank you for your time completing them! For more information on Take Our Kids to Work Albert Ko National Program Manager & School to Work Analyst Phone: 416-440-5128 Email: ako@thelearningpartnership.ca Take Our Kids To Work TM - Page 13