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Week 5: Under the Hood — Automotive Careers

4th Six Weeks | Transportation, Distribution & Logistics Cluster | 5 class periods (50 min each)

Lesson Objective

Students explore the H&L Automotive & Collision Repair pathway (Ch 15), complete the H&L "Delivery Connection App" workbook activity to think like a warehouse manager designing a focus group, research ASE certification and apprenticeship pathways, compare salaries across automotive careers in the DFW area, and understand how the Ratteree pathway lets students start automotive training in high school.

Demonstration of Learning

"I can describe at least three automotive careers with their certification requirements, complete the H&L Delivery Connection App activity, explain the apprenticeship and ASE certification model, and compare salaries between automotive careers and a career from another cluster."

TEKS Alignment

  • d(1)(B): Explore and describe the CTE career clusters (Day 1 Transportation cluster browse).
  • d(1)(C): Identify career opportunities within one or more career clusters (Days 1, 5).
  • d(2)(A): Research and describe applicable academic, technical, certification, and training requirements (Day 2 ASE).
  • d(2)(B): Use available resources to research and evaluate educational and training options for one or more careers (Days 3, 4).
  • d(3)(G): Investigate opportunities for career preparation through apprenticeships and community/technical colleges (Days 2, 4).
  • d(5)(E): Use resources to compare salaries of at least three careers in the student's interest area (Days 3, 5).

Materials Needed

Career Connection

The automotive industry is one of the largest employers in America, and the DFW metroplex is a major hub for dealerships, fleet maintenance, collision centers, and diesel repair. What makes automotive careers different from most others students have explored is the apprenticeship model: many technicians enter the field through paid on-the-job training combined with technical school, earning money while they learn. ASE (Automotive Service Excellence) certification is the industry standard, and Irving ISD's Ratteree Career Development Center offers the Automotive pathway for students to begin ASE preparation during high school.

What is Happening at Irving ISD? Automotive is offered at Ratteree Career Development Center as a travel-to career-center pathway. Students from any home high school can attend Ratteree for part of their day and prepare for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) certification.

Vocabulary

  • ASE (Automotive Service Excellence): The nationally recognized certification for automotive professionals. Tests cover engine repair, brakes, electrical, HVAC, and many more specialties.
  • Apprenticeship: A training model where a worker learns a trade by working alongside experienced professionals while also taking classroom instruction. Usually paid.
  • Diesel Technician: A professional who maintains and repairs diesel engines used in trucks, buses, construction equipment, and generators.
  • Collision Repair: Restoring vehicles damaged in accidents, bodywork, painting, frame straightening.
  • Trade School: A postsecondary institution focused on hands-on technical training, usually 6 months to 2 years.
  • Focus Group: A small group of experienced professionals brought together to give input on a product or service before it launches (the H&L Ch 15 workbook frame for the week's activity).

Bridge to Theory (Hats & Ladders)

H&L Chapter 15: Transportation, Distribution & Logistics (pp. 257-261) provides the "Delivery Connection App" Career Lab activity used as the anchor on Day 1 of this week. The workbook frames a warehouse manager joining a focus group to help app developers design FleetConnect, a real-time communication app for warehouses, drivers, and clients. The activity teaches the design process used in real product development AND teaches students the role focus groups play. Students design their own warehouse communication app sketch and pitch the features.

The chapter also lists the Automotive & Collision Repair pathway and the Diesel & Heavy Equipment Maintenance pathway, both of which are the focus of this week's salary research and Ratteree exploration.

IISD Instructional Strategies

  • Sentence Stems: Salary comparison, "An Auto Technician with ASE certification earns approximately $_ per year. Compared to , the salary is higher/lower by $__. The education takes _ years and costs approximately $___."
  • Think-Pair-Share: Day 2 apprenticeship vs. college discussion.
  • Active Monitoring: Day 3 salary worksheet checkpoint, verify each student has used at least 3 different sources (BLS, H&L, CareerOneStop) before submitting.
  • Visual Comparison Chart: Day 4 timeline graphic comparing the Ratteree pathway (free, in-HS) to UTI/Lincoln Tech (after HS, paid tuition).

Week at a Glance

Day Focus Key Activities Deliverable
1 H&L "Delivery Connection App" + Automotive Pathway H&L Ch 15 Delivery Connection App Career Lab + automotive Hat browse Completed Delivery Connection App sketch
2 ASE + Apprenticeship Model ASE.com research + Apprenticeship vs. College comparison chart Completed Apprenticeship vs. College chart
3 Salary Showdown 3-career salary comparison + cross-cluster comparison Completed Automotive Salary Comparison worksheet
4 Ratteree Pathways Irving ISD pathway research + UTI/Lincoln Tech comparison Cardwell vs. trade school comparison notes
5 Cross-Cluster Salary Presentation + H&L Favorites Class presentations + H&L Climber Profile updates Cross-cluster salary presentation

Formative Assessment

  • Delivery Connection App sketch + Auto vs. Collision Venn exit ticket (Day 1): d(1)(B), d(1)(C)
  • Apprenticeship vs. College chart + Sam-scenario dilemma exit ticket (Day 2): d(2)(A), d(3)(G)
  • 3-career Salary Comparison worksheet + matrix exit ticket (Day 3): d(5)(E), d(2)(B)
  • Ratteree vs. trade school notes + Dani MCQ exit ticket (Day 4): d(2)(B), d(3)(G)
  • Cross-Cluster Salary Presentation + favorited-career concept map exit ticket (Day 5): d(5)(E), d(1)(C)

Summative Assessment

Cross-Cluster Salary Presentation (Day 5): Students present their salary comparison of one automotive career vs. one career from a different cluster they explored earlier this year (e.g., Auto Tech vs. Nurse, Diesel Tech vs. Software Developer). Scored on accuracy of salary and education data (d(5)(E)), understanding of certification and apprenticeship pathways (d(2)(A), d(3)(G)), and quality of career evaluation criteria (d(2)(B)).

Differentiation

Scaffolded Learning

  • Pre-filled salary data for one of the three automotive careers on the comparison worksheet
  • Simplified apprenticeship vs. college chart with visual timeline graphics already drawn
  • Allow students to use CareerOneStop's Compare Occupations tool for side-by-side data instead of manual research
  • Pre-filled Delivery Connection App sketch frame with feature labels (chat, GPS, alerts, roles)

Extensions

  • Build a detailed cost analysis comparing the free Ratteree pathway to attending UTI after graduation (~$30-50K tuition)
  • Research the transition from gas vehicles to electric vehicles and how it is creating new automotive careers (EV technician, battery diagnostics)
  • Interview a local automotive professional in person or via video about their career path and bring back 3 quotes for the Day 5 presentation

ELL Language Support

  • Pre-teach: Apprenticeship = Aprendizaje, Certification = Certificación, Mechanic = Mecánico, Collision Repair = Reparación de colisiones, Trade School = Escuela técnica
  • Bilingual salary comparison worksheet with Spanish headers and sentence stems
  • CareerOneStop has Spanish-language career videos for many automotive careers, confirm and assign as needed
  • Visual timeline comparing apprenticeship vs. college pathways is accessible across language levels