Jobs in My Community: How People Help Through Their Work

Jobs in My Community: How People Help Through Their Work

Grade 2 · CDOS & Career Readiness · NYS CDOS Standards 1 & 3a (Elementary) · 40 Minutes

NYS-Aligned Standards

CDOS Standard 1 (Elementary) — Career awareness: the variety of jobs in a community. CDOS Standard 3a (Elementary) — Foundation interpersonal and communication skills. NYS Learning Standards for Career Development and Occupational Studies

Learning Objectives — “I Can” Statements

• I can name several jobs people do in my community.
• I can explain how a worker helps other people.
• I can tell one job that interests me and why.

Essential Question

What jobs do the people in our community do, and how does their work help us?

Lesson Sequence

Hook / Warm-Up (8 min)

Show photos of community workers (firefighter, doctor, teacher, farmer, bus driver). Ask: “What is this person’s job? How do they help us?”

Direct Instruction (10 min)

1. Define job/career: the work a person does to help others and earn a living.
2. Sort jobs by where people work: outside, in a building, on the road.
3. Connect: every job uses a skill (helping, fixing, teaching, growing).

Guided Practice (12 min)

“Who Helps?” matching: students match a community need (a fire, a sick pet, learning to read) to the worker who helps (firefighter, veterinarian, teacher).

Independent Practice (8 min)

Students draw a community worker and complete: “This is a ___. This worker helps people by ___. I think this job is interesting because ___.”

Closure (2 min)

Quick share: name one job and one skill it uses.

SDI & Differentiation Block

Supports for MLLs/ELLs

Entering/Emerging (NYSESLAT Levels 1–2):

• Job picture-word cards; match worker to tool (firefighter/hose, doctor/stethoscope)
• Sentence frame: “A ___ helps us.”

Transitioning/Expanding (NYSESLAT Levels 3–4):

• Vocabulary: community, worker, skill, helps, job
• Sentence frame: “A ___ helps people by ___.”

Supports for Students with IEPs

SDI Adaptation Dimensions: content, methodology, delivery

• Content: Use 4 community workers; provide a completed example
• Methodology: Hands-on matching with real props; classroom-visitor connection if possible
• Delivery: Read aloud; allow drawn/verbal responses; extended time

Suggested Placement: ICT, Resource Room

Model Response

“This is a veterinarian. This worker helps people by taking care of sick animals. I think this job is interesting because I love dogs and want to help them feel better.”

Alignment Record