What Do You Do? This unit should take 3-4 hours, depending on time, interest, and extension activities. It is designed for beginner level students age 12 and above.

Objectives

Students will: Learn and practice vocabulary to describe occupations Review and practice the present simple Review and practice adjectives and superlatives Discuss likes and dislikes in a job Write creative essays about their dream jobs

Materials to Print

1. Vocabulary 2. Activity: Occupation Match 3. Grammar Worksheet 4. Activity: What's Important in a Job?

Activities

Activity I: Vocabulary (20 minutes)Ask students to name some common jobs (doctor, lawyer, secretary, teacher, salesperson, waiter/waitress, accountant, mechanic, construction worker, police officer, mail carrier, businessperson, bank teller, dentist, plumber, architect, truck driver, nurse, hairdresser/hairstylist, cashier, engineer, janitor, stock broker, manager). List them on the board. Alternatively, show pictures of different jobs or objects associated with certain jobs (fire engine, police car, stethoscope, etc.) and elicit job titles that way. Hand out Printout I. (If your class's level is low, you can make a selection of some of the jobs and occupations on the list.) Have students describe the jobs they recognize from the list. Help them by describing the ones that no one knows. You can use famous people or companies to help introduce some of the occupations. For instance, for "writer" you can say "Hemingway, Shakespeare," etc; For "flight attendant" you can say "works for American Airlines, British Airways," etc.

Activity II: Occupation Match (30 minutes) Have students brainstorm places where people work (office, school, hospital, studio, store, gym, beauty salon, restaurant, home, travel agency, and so on) and common things that people do at work (work at computer, answer phones, research, serve food, clean, put out fires, attend meetings, examine patients, do paperwork, make long-distance phone calls, daydream, and so on). Write these things on the board so that students can refer to them. Play a game in which students have to guess which job is being described: tell students what someone does (using the present simple), for example, "He cleans people's teeth" (dentist) or "She designs buildings" (architect). Then give out Printout II and have students match the profession with its typical activities.

Activity III: Grammar: The Present Simple (20-30 minutes)Write I, you, he, she, it, we, and they on the left side of the board in a vertical column, and the base form of several common verbs (do, have, be, see, give, take, live, run, buy, sell, or verbs that have already been used in the job descriptions) across the top of the board. Have student volunteers come up to the board and fill in the forms for each verb. Then ask students what they notice about the he, she and it forms (they add an -s). Have students make up sentences using verbs from the board. Write them up, and then write NOT on the board. Ask students to use not in their sentences to make them negative (if no one can do this, show them how). Change the sentences on the board to negatives, pointing out the placement of not and the addition of a helping verb. Now ask a student a question using the simple present tense, such as "Do you work at an office, Veronica?" Write both your question and the student's answer on the board, and have the students tell what changes happen when they make a question in the present simple (add a helping verb; the -s from he, she, it verbs leaves the main verb to join the helping verb; the helping verb goes in front of the subject; there is a question mark at the end of the sentence). Have students ask each other questions using verbs from the board. Do them one at a time and make sure they are using correct form. Hand out Printout III and go over the directions to make sure students understand what they have to do.

Activity IV: Job Categories (25 minutes) Lead the class in coming up with different categories for jobs (fun, dangerous, boring, stressful, messy, difficult, important, well-paid, easy, rewarding, macho, feminine, interesting, badly-paid, etc.). Divide students into small groups and have them put jobs into appropriate categories (maybe more than one). Give them time to do this, then have them share with the class. While they're categorizing in groups, write superlatives on the board, such as the most stressful job, the easiest job, the best-paid job, the most boring job, the least important job, the messiest job-use the categories on the board to make superlatives. After groups have shared how they categorized jobs, have them choose one job for each superlative on the board.

Activity V: Likes and Dislikes (20 minutes) Talk briefly about what you like and dislike about teaching, and then ask students what they value in a job. Distribute Printout IV and make sure students understand what they have to do. After they have finished their rankings, have students compare them in small groups. Ask random students where certain qualities showed up on their lists and why.

Activity VI: Creative Writing: Dream Job (20 minutes) Tell students about your ideal job. Use the present simple to describe what you do on a typical day in this job, for example: "I am a film critic. I see movies before anyone else does, and I never have to pay for tickets! After I see a movie, I go back to my office at home and I write an article. I say what I think about the movie. People listen to my opinion." Have students write about their ideal jobs; encourage them to use their imaginations as well as the present simple.

Activity VII: Game: Guess What I Do? (20 minutes)Bring cards with names of professions on them (one job per card), as well as masking tape. Use occupations that have already been discussed in class. Explain

that you are going to tape a card to each student's back and they will have to find out what their occupations are by asking each other questions like "Do I work indoors or outdoors? Do I wear a uniform? Do I make a lot of money? Do I have to carry things? Do I help people? Is my job very physical?" (Use some interesting and unusual jobs from the list. It's more fun.) Attach the cards to students' backs without them seeing what's on the cards, and let them mill around asking and answering questions.

Vocabulary: Jobs, Occupations, Professions

writer social worker

tour guide software engineer

photojournalist dog-walker

graphic designer actor/actress

model massage therapist

interior designer telemarketer

astrologer customer service representative

carpenter forest ranger

bike messenger film director

soldier personal trainer

veterinarian artist

editor dancer

chef driver

gardener/landscaper financial advisor

judge flight attendant

counselor administrative assistant

EMT (Emergency Medical Technician physical therapist

psychiatrist

scientist clergy person

realtor florist

delivery person web developer

Occupation Match

1. secretary a. show and sell houses

2. doctor b. invent recipes, prepare food

3. mechanic c. type letters, answer phones

4. florist d. help people with problems

5. social worker e. write horoscopes

6. forest ranger f. fix pipes in the bathroom

7. realtor g. build houses

8. telemarketer h. fly planes

9. astrologer i. see patients, write prescriptions

10. carpenter j. sell things over the phone

11. pilot k. arrange tours, sell tickets

12. chef l. cut and color hair

13. travel agent m. keep national parks beautiful

14. hairdresser n. repair cars, change oil

15. plumber o. sell plants, arrange flowers

Grammar Worksheet: Present Simple

Activity A: Fill in the blank with the correct verb from the list below. You may have to add an -s to the verb. Use the following verbs: Paint, run, leave, eat, rain, forget, sell.

1. Barney is a salesman. He __________ cars for a living.

2. Carla always ___________ to lock her car door. Her stereo has been stolen three times.

3. They are vegetarians. They never ________ meat.

4. I _______ in the park every morning before work. It's good exercise.

5. Here's your notebook. You always ________ it at my house.

6. We __________ our house a different color every year.

7. It ________ every weekend! Where is the sun?

Activity B: Read these job descriptions and underline the part that is not true.

1. Flight attendant: I help passengers find their seats. I bring them food, photographs, and newspapers.

2. Financial advisor: I give clients advice on what to do with their money. I help them invest it and rob banks.

3. Graphic designer: I write articles for magazines and create art for businesses like advertising companies.

Can you write similar job descriptions? Write three more and include a fact in each that is not true. Then have your classmate find it.

What's Important in a Job?

Number the following things from 1 (most important) to 15 (least important) in a job, in your opinion.

_____ fun

_____ well-paid

_____ creative

_____ challenging

_____ helps others

_____ teamwork

_____ flexible hours

_____ makes the world a better place

_____ casual dress code

_____ prestigious/impressive

_____ opportunity for travel

_____ is not at a desk

_____ not stressful

_____ is physical

_____ can work by yourself

What else is important to you in a job?