KEY LESSON

Unit Learning Goal

Students will understand the term “good work” as defined by excellence, ethics, and engagement. 

Lesson Goal

Students will explore their personal views of “good work” by discussing examples of people they consider to be “good workers,” looking for commonalities in their descriptions.

Assessment

Students will document the qualities of their good workers in written reflections. Impressions of group discussion may be used to determine level of student understanding. Exit tickets will display qualities students have distilled from the conversation.

portfolio documentation

• Qualities of a Good Worker Reflection Notes

• Exit Ticket

Resources

• Digital whiteboard

• Paper or devices

Total TIME

45 minutes

Instructions

1. Opener: Revisiting Norms [5 minutes].

• Remind students of the norms that were set during the pre-lesson. Display the norms and read them aloud.

• Ask students if they have any thoughts after consideration about what should be added or changed.

• Share with students that we are ready to begin our exploration and reflection together.

2. An Example “Good Worker” [10 minutes].

• Ask each student to think of someone they believe exemplifies “good work.” Each student can choose their own individual.

• The person could be someone the student knows personally (e.g., a family member, a friend, a person in their community) or a famous individual (e.g., a celebrity, a sports player, a historical figure). The person may be real or fictional.

• Tell students that “work” does not need to be paid employment but can be any pursuit that the person is engaged in (for example, paid work, volunteer work, work that is completed as a hobby, work in the home, work in activism, etc.).

  • Note: Discourage students from asking for definitions of “good work”; part of this activity is unpacking students’ own preconceptions of what “good work” means. 

• With these individuals in mind, ask students to write a 1-2 paragraph reflection about this individual using the following prompts.

• Who is s/he? 

• What kind of work does s/he do?

• Why does s/he exemplify good work?

• If necessary, model this activity by describing one of your own examples of a “good worker” so students understand the task.

• Once students have completed their reflection, have them spend a few moments circling the words or phrases in their reflection that highlight the qualities of the person that make them a “good worker.” (For example, these might be adjectives like “hard-working,” “thoughtful,” “kind,” etc.).

• Keep the written reflection for the Good Work portfolio. 

3. Turn-and-Talk [5 minutes].

• Having students turn to a peer and discuss their examples of good workers. They should share their written reflections with one another.

• Ask students to pay attention to areas where their own viewpoints might be the same or different from their partner.

4. Full-Group Brainstorm [20 minutes].

• Ask for one or two students to volunteer by talking about their example in front of the whole class, if time permits.

• Create a visible space in the room or digitally where you can collect students’ descriptors of good work. Ask students to contribute their descriptors or adjectives that they believe characterize their good workers.

• Some further examples might be words like “honest,” “visionary,” “caring,” or “creative.”

• Continue until a list of at least a dozen qualities are generated. 

• Look at the list of qualities together and talk about prevalent themes.

• Try to make clusters of works that might be similar to one another.

• Highlight any areas where students might disagree.

• Tell students that they will be returning to this list at the beginning of the next lesson.

4. Exit Ticket [5 minutes].

• Question: “What characteristics of the “good worker” who you chose for today’s activity do you most want to emulate in your own life, and how?”

• Keep the written reflection for the Good Work Portfolio.