Employability skills case studies with reading comprehension two levels

Your Pathways, Life Skills and Transition students will enjoy using these easy reading employability skills case studies with two levels for easy differentiation, to help them understand how to solve problems at work and use employability skills. Use the case studies to boost functional reading comprehension skills and help students learn to apply their employability skills knowledge to real world work situations.

Eight case studies in two versions, each with an employability (soft) skills focus to read and discuss with students in life skills and vocational programs. The case studies are written in an easy reading style, with limited text and teen / young adult friendly imagery. They are a great way to build real world reading comprehension skills with high school and young adult students who have lower reading skill levels and are keen to read content which is relevant, thought provoking and age appropriate.

Each case study shows a young person who is experiencing a challenge at school or work. The case studies have the same focus, characters and theme so you can easily differentiate for reading levels within a single class, while still having students working on the same activity and employability skill area.

What's included?

This resource includes:

• 8 x easy to read case studies about young people experiencing a work or study problem and thinking about how to resolve it
• 8 x higher level case studies about young people experiencing a work or study problem and thinking about how to resolve it
• 16 x reading comprehension pages (one for each case study and levelled to suit easier or higher level)
• 1 x ‘think, chat, write’ printable to guide group discussion
• 1 x understanding the problem page
• 1 x action plan page

Case Studies

1. Battling a bully

Patrick has just started his apprenticeship when he is confronted by a bully at his new workplace. What can he do to make sure his great new job does not turn into a disaster? Or is bullying simply something that young people learn to live with when they start out at work?

2. Birthday morning tea at work

Lee has been asked to bring a sweet plate to a morning tea at work, but she is not really sure what that means. Fortunately, a chance meeting with her old language skills teacher helps her figure out what to bring.

3. Margie finds a better balance

Margie is worn out. In between swimming, school and chores at home, it seems she just never has enough time for the things she really wants to do – like hanging out with her little brother. How can she find a better balance?

4. Shane gets organized

Organization has never been Shane’s greatest strength, but now he is at work it has become much more important. What can he do to get himself organized for work?

5. Smart phone skills

Ben’s class activity has turned into a disaster – everyone else has got off the train and he is still stuck on board! And even worse, he doesn’t know where the train is going or when it will stop. Can Ben use some smart thinking and technology tools to save the day?

6. Keeping her cool

Alicia has a dream of working in conservation, but first she must learn to keep her cool and manage her anger at school.

7. Tuyet’s bus trip to work

Tuyet is ready to start her first job at a plant nursery. She has checked the bus times – but is there anything else she should do before she starts?

8. The drama team

Pascal and Eric are getting ready for a new drama performance but there are some problems happening that need to get solved before the show can go on.

Reading level:

The content is age appropriate for a teen and young adult audience and the reading level range is approximately Grade 3-4 based on Flesch-Kincaid reading level.

What to do:

1. Read and share the case studies in pairs or groups. Have students read them aloud or to each other, or choose a single case study and read it to your class.
2. Discuss the case study and introduce the themes and key employability skills that are featured in the case study
3. Have students build their understanding of each case study using the reading comprehension pages and the understanding the problem page
4. Hand out the printables ‘think, chat, write’ and ‘strengths, problems, who can help?’ and ask students to work together to complete these
5. Bring the class back together to discuss their ideas and then ask students to complete the action plan using a ‘first, next, last’ approach

Terms of use and credits

You are welcome to use the resources with your own class or group. If you wish to use it with additional classes or programs, please purchase a second copy or invite other teachers to purchase their own.

Clipart purchased from Educlips

Extend the learning

Use the new soft skills / employability skills poster series to help students focus on the skills they need to succeed at work.

Build skills and understanding with the workplace problems slideshow, with lots of fun imagery and ideas for solving common problems at work.

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