What a Job Needs
A 40-minute Kindergarten lesson on the skills and knowledge somebody needs to make a particular thing.
What a Job Needs is a free 40-minute Kindergarten to Grade 2 social studies lesson plan for Common Core standard D2.Eco.3.K-2 — describe the skills somebody needs to make a particular thing. It is timed across 5 sections, gives the exact wording to use where the wording carries the mathematics, names 3 misconceptions with the teaching move that addresses each, and ends with an exit ticket and a printable worksheet with its answer key.
- Grade:
- Kindergarten to Grade 2
- Length:
- 40 minutes
- Standard:
- D2.Eco.3.K-2
Kindergarten to Grade 2 · Economics
D2.Eco.3.K-2
Describe the skills and knowledge required to produce certain goods and services.
Objective
Students will be able to name a skill a worker needs and say why the job needs it.
Students are successful when they can
- Names a skill, not a tool.
- Says why the job needs it.
- Says how somebody would learn it.
What you need
- Job cards
- Two headings: things they know how to do, things they use
- The printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan
The lesson
Warm-up — could I do that job?
5 min- Name three jobs. Ask whether anybody in the room could do them today.
- Ask what is missing.
Teach — knowing how is not the same as having the tool
13 min- Take the baker. List what they use: oven, flour, tins.
- Then list what they know: how long to knead, when it is baked.
- Put them under the two headings and say which one you cannot buy.
- Do the vet the same way.
- Ask how somebody gets the knowing. By learning and practising.
“You can buy the oven. You cannot buy knowing when the bread is done.”
Guided practice — match the skill
12 min- Pairs match four jobs to the skills they need.
- For each they say what would go wrong without that skill.
- They add one tool the job also needs.
Independent practice
8 min- Students complete the what-the-job-needs page.
- Read each job aloud.
Close
2 min- Name a job. Take one skill it needs.
What goes wrong, and why
Each of these is a reasoning error rather than carelessness. The fix addresses the reasoning.
Names a tool instead of a skill.
Why: The tool is visible and the skill is not.
Fix: The two headings. A hammer goes on one side and knowing where to hit goes on the other.
Thinks anybody could do any job with the right tools.
Why: The tools look like the whole of it.
Fix: Hand somebody a needle and ask them to make a shoe. The gap is immediate.
Thinks people are born able to do their job.
Why: They have only ever seen the finished worker.
Fix: Ask how they learned. Every skill on the list was practised by somebody.
If they are not there yet
- Two jobs rather than four.
- Give the skill and name the job.
If they finish early
- Name two skills one job needs.
- Find a skill two different jobs share.
- Say what skill you have that a job might need.
Exit ticket
What does a vet need to know how to do?
What to look for: A skill, such as noticing when an animal is ill. A stethoscope means the tool-versus-skill split needs another sort.
Printable practice for D2.Eco.3.K-2
Free to print and copy, answer key included. Each sheet can generate a fresh set of problems for a retake.
- What Does the Job Need?Draw a line from each job to the skill it needs.
Questions about What a Job Needs
How long does the What a Job Needs lesson take?
40 minutes, split across 5 timed sections: warm-up 5 min, teach 13 min, guided practice 12 min, independent practice 8 min, close 2 min. The minutes are stated per section and add up to the stated length, so the plan can be cut or extended at a section boundary rather than abandoned halfway.
Which standard does What a Job Needs teach?
D2.Eco.3.K-2 — D2.Eco.3.K-2, Economics for Kindergarten to Grade 2: “Describe the skills and knowledge required to produce certain goods and services.” In plain terms, describe the skills somebody needs to make a particular thing.
What do I need to teach this lesson?
Job cards, two headings: things they know how to do, things they use and the printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan. Everything listed is either ordinary classroom equipment or a free printable from this site — there is nothing to buy and nothing to prepare beyond photocopying.
What mistakes should I expect in this lesson?
Three, each a reasoning error rather than carelessness: names a tool instead of a skill; thinks anybody could do any job with the right tools and thinks people are born able to do their job. The plan gives the thinking behind each one and the teaching move that addresses the thinking rather than the symptom.
How do I know whether the lesson worked?
The exit ticket asks: “What does a vet need to know how to do?.” A skill, such as noticing when an animal is ill. A stethoscope means the tool-versus-skill split needs another sort. That tells you whether the class needs a reteach or a thirty-second conversation before you plan tomorrow.
Is there a worksheet to go with What a Job Needs?
Yes — 1 printable D2.Eco.3.K-2 worksheet, linked at the end of the plan and free like the rest of the site. Each one comes with an answer key and 25 versions, so the practice after the lesson can be a different paper on every desk.
Is What a Job Needs free to use?
Yes. The plan, its printables and their answer keys are free to read, print and photocopy for your own class, with no account and no email capture. It was last reviewed on 7 September 2026. Please do not resell it or republish it as your own.
Last reviewed 2026-09-07. Aligned to D2.Eco.3.K-2 of the C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards.