Daily Learning Contract
- Topic: Labor Classification
- Objective: Students will analyze fixed labor-market evidence and classify four skilled-trades occupations under a published course rule.
- TEKS: d(5)(A), d(5)(B)
- Demonstration of Learning: Four supported classifications, a trend comparison, and one local-data limitation.
Time: 50 minutes
TEKS: d(5)(A), d(5)(B)
Evidence: four-career classification and limitation
This is Major 1, Part A. Students submit it once through the Day 3 Canvas activity or the labeled paper route. Keep it available for the combined score on Day 5; students do not copy it into another packet.
Default digital route: one Canvas-capable device per student. Paper route: one four-page landscape packet per student. Students classify independently; pairs may compare one label before each student revises their own evidence. Project this model: Electricians are high-wage under this course rule because $62,350 is above $49,500. That national median does not prove a DFW starting wage.
Fixed May 2024 U.S. evidence
| Occupation | Median | Growth 2024–34 | Annual openings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electricians | $62,350 | 9% | about 81,000 |
| Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters | $62,970 | 4% | about 44,000 |
| HVAC Mechanics and Installers | $59,810 | 8% | about 40,100 |
| Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers | $51,000 | 2% | about 45,600 |
50-minute flow
- Warm-up — 5 min. Explain why growth rate and annual openings answer different questions.
- Publish the course rule — 8 min. Review the high-skill, high-wage, and high-demand definitions from the overview. Label them as classroom comparisons.
- Model one occupation — 7 min. Cite the number or preparation fact for every yes/no decision.
- Classify four occupations — 25 min. Students use one page per occupation, then compare a growth trend and openings pattern.
- Exit — 5 min. State one conclusion and one limitation of using national data for a local career choice.
Teacher key
All four medians exceed $49,500. Electrician, plumber/pipefitter/steamfitter, and HVAC growth exceed 3.1%; welder growth does not. High-skill judgments must cite the published preparation/credential rule rather than the student's opinion. A high number of replacement openings does not erase a slower growth rate, and neither measure proves a DFW shortage or starting salary.
Monitor, pivot, and trim
- Minute 13: Students can state which threshold belongs to wage, demand, and skill. If one-third use annual openings as the demand rule, re-model growth versus openings.
- Minute 25: Electrician and Plumbing decisions cite exact evidence.
- Minute 40: HVAC and Welding are complete; Welding is not high-demand under the 3.1% rule even with 45,600 annual openings.
- Minute 46: The comparison and national-to-local limitation are present.
- Safe trim: Accept concise citations. Protect all four classifications, the growth/openings comparison, and the limitation. Collect the single private 0-point evidence route or labeled packet for the mapped Day 5 score.
Access route
All required data is fixed and labeled. Students do not search job boards or estimate missing values. Accept calculator, typed, enlarged, dictated, or paper responses and score the evidence chain rather than English mechanics.