Week 4: Tech Support Careers and MakeCode

1st Six Weeks | Information Technology Cluster | 5 class periods (50 minutes each)

Week Purpose

Students compare IT support careers and preparation routes, complete the required Grade 8 Xello Add interests and Add skills tasks, and build a simple help desk sequence. The digital build is not the point by itself. Students must be able to explain why the steps are ordered, document a test and revision, connect the work to an IT support career, and show how communication and problem-solving transfer beyond IT.

The week uses three equal implementation routes:

micro:bit + MakeCode when tested hardware is available;
MakeCode simulator when the site works but hardware is limited; or
paper logic trace when the site or device is unavailable.

Hardware access does not affect the score.

Week Learning Target

I can compare IT support careers and education routes, organize and test a troubleshooting sequence, and explain how one skill I practiced transfers to another career or setting.

Week Demonstration of Learning

Students submit the Help Desk Program Evidence and an individual Xello Skill and Help Desk Connection. The team artifact documents the three-step sequence, button logic, test, and revision. The individual artifact names an IT support career and preparation route, connects a practiced skill to a real example, and transfers that skill to a second career or setting.

This is Minor 3 in the 1SW assessment map. Use the 16-point Help Desk Simulator Evidence Rubric. The one-minute lightning demo is formative communication practice, not the only graded evidence.

TEKS Alignment

d(1)(C): Identify career opportunities within one or more career clusters. Students compare four support roles and name a career connected to their tool.
d(2)(A): Research and describe academic, technical, certification, and training requirements for one or more careers.
d(2)(B): Use available resources to research and evaluate educational and training options for one or more careers.
d(4)(B): Identify skills transferable among a variety of careers. Students connect troubleshooting and customer-service skills to IT support and at least one other career or setting.

Source Grounding

District HQIM

FYF pp. 36-37: Irving ISD Information Technology programs and the Industry-Based Certification explainer.
FYF p. 38: Information Technology App Exploration.
Hats & Ladders: supplemental career and pathway exploration. It may deepen the lesson, but no required evidence depends on a particular Hat title, live feature, or login.

The workbook names Technology Support in the Irving ISD Information Technology section. The current district site names the program Technology Support Services in the School of Innovative Technology at Singley Academy. Present the workbook as the student-facing HQIM and use the current district name when describing the program. Do not add an entry-salary promise or guarantee that one credential leads directly to a job.

Required Xello Grade 8 Completion Standards

Add interests: 15 minutes; add at least one interest.
Add skills: 20 minutes; add at least one skill.

The Xello Completion Standards report is the completion evidence. A paper reflection supports learning during an outage, but the required Xello action moves to a supervised catch-up block.

Current Career Evidence

The fixed Route Data Guide uses U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data:

Computer User Support Specialists: some college courses are common; some candidates qualify with a high school diploma plus relevant IT certifications; $60,340 May 2024 U.S. median.
Computer Network Support Specialists: associate degree typical; $73,340 May 2024 U.S. median.
Software Developers: bachelor's degree typical; $133,080 May 2024 U.S. median.

These are national medians, not starting salaries, local guarantees, or student outcomes. Xello may provide a separate localized comparison when the occupation, geography, measure, and date are visible. Do not mix unlike salary measures in one scored comparison.

CompTIA may be used as a current optional example of industry certification. Certification names, exam versions, prices, and roadmaps change, so the required lesson does not depend on memorizing them or searching for prices.

Teacher Readiness Checklist

Before the week

Confirm Xello rosters and open the locked My Interests and About Me teacher resources in Canvas.
Test makecode.microbit.org on a student-filtered Chromebook.
Choose the primary build route and its backup before Day 3.
If using hardware, count boards and data-capable cables and test one full connect/download cycle. Update firmware only when a board fails the official connection check and troubleshooting guidance points to firmware.
Plan teams of four for Days 3-5. Per team, prepare one Chromebook, one scenario card, one matching three-card sort, one block-order guide, one Program Evidence sheet, and one micro:bit plus data-capable cable only when using hardware.
Assign Driver, Navigator, Tester, and Evidence Recorder. In a team of three, the Tester also records. Rotate Driver and Navigator after the Button A branches are complete.
Choose one durable backup method for the class: screenshot, share link, downloaded .hex, or signed paper trace. Label the digital or paper turn-in location before Day 3.
Do not make one 13-item student packet. Print only the pages students write on; post reusable references digitally or provide one copy per pair or team.

Default quantities

Day 1: one Career Cards packet per pair, one Career and Interest Check per student, one rostered Chromebook per student for Xello.
Day 2: one Route Data Guide per pair, one comparison and one Route Decision per student, one model per pair only when students need it at the desk.
Day 3: one complete build/evidence set per team of four and one Day 3 exit check per student.
Day 4: one role-play script per pair, one Customer Service Check per student, one monitoring roster for the teacher.
Day 5: one Program Evidence sheet per team, one individual connection per student, and one rostered Chromebook per student for Xello.

Print/post in teaching order

Week at a Glance

Day	Topic	Core experience	Required evidence
1	IT Support Careers	Fixed four-role comparison + Xello Add interests	Two-career and interest check
2	Education Routes	Dated BLS route guide + three-route comparison	Comparison and route decision
3	Troubleshooting Logic	Build, simulate, or trace a three-step sequence	Program Evidence begins
4	Testing and Customer Service	Partner test, revision, and safe role-play	Revision record + customer-service check
5	Transferable Skills	One-minute demos + Xello Add skills	Program Evidence + individual connection

District Instructional Moves

Stop and Jot: Day 1, students mark one task, preparation fact, and transferable skill before comparing roles.
QSSSA: Day 2 route recommendation. Question: Which route should the student investigate first? Stem: “The student should investigate ___ because . A tradeoff is .” Signal: table tent or hand signal. Share: partner, then selected class responses. Assess: listen for one accurate preparation fact and one tradeoff.
Chunking: Day 3, model one MakeCode block or paper-logic move at a time; students test after each chunk.
Think-Pair-Share: Day 4 partner test. Silent notice, partner evidence exchange, one revision decision.
Active Monitoring: Day 4 role-play. Track acknowledgment, plain language, one step at a time, and calm response.
Stop and Jot: Day 5, students record one specific skill example before opening Xello so the profile entry is evidence-based rather than a random click.

Emergent Bilingual and Accessibility Supports

Put word banks and sentence stems at the point of use; do not hide required directions in an accordion.
Allow English, Spanish, or bilingual planning and role-play. Score the evidence and reasoning, not accent or English mechanics unless meaning is unclear.
Use the model comparison, bilingual step cards, bilingual role-play script, oral rehearsal, speech-to-text, screen magnification, and a written-chat alternative.
Assign flexible team roles: driver, navigator, tester, and evidence recorder. Every student still completes the individual Day 5 connection.
Keep the paper route equal. Students are graded on sequence, testing, career evidence, and transferable-skill reasoning—not hardware speed or public performance.

Absence and Platform Rules

H&L unavailable: use the fixed career cards; no required evidence is lost.
Xello unavailable: record the issue, complete the paper reflection, and schedule the completion action for catch-up.
MakeCode unavailable: use the paper trace and partner initials.
Student absent Day 3 or 4: complete the same paper logic/test record or join the assigned team's durable evidence on return.
Student absent Day 5: submit a written lightning-demo script or explain privately, then complete the individual connection and Xello catch-up.

Safe Trim and Cleanup Points

Day 1: cut optional H&L browsing and the whole-class share first. Protect the fixed career evidence, 15-minute Xello block, and written connection.
Day 2: cut CompTIA browsing and shorten the share to one response. Protect all three route rows and the written recommendation.
Day 3: at minute 35, move a team without working Button A to the equal paper trace. Stop all building at minute 40; test, back up, complete the exit check, then return hardware.
Day 4: cap file recovery at three minutes and use the backup or paper trace. Run one role-play round instead of two when needed; protect the test, revision, and individual check.
Day 5: stop demos at minute 20 and move unfinished teams to a written or private route. Protect the full 20-minute Xello block and individual submission.

Optional Whole-Group Slide Deck

When produced, the optional deck must carry the complete daily teaching sequence from bellringer through submission/cleanup. Build it as a 1280×720 HTML/CSS storyboard, render to high-resolution PNGs, assemble as full-slide images in PowerPoint, add speaker notes with teacher moves and a [Sources] section, then inspect the exported PowerPoint. It is an optional teaching surface; the paired Canvas guides and evidence artifacts remain the lesson source of truth.