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Day 5: Jigsaw Presentations + Power Pitch Practice + H&L Favorites

Lesson Overview
Time 50 minutes
Objectives Present assigned construction trade to the class; practice and finalize the Power Pitch with peer feedback; favorite construction careers in H&L and update Career Plan
TEKS d(4)(C), d(5)(B), d(3)(H)
Deliverable Jigsaw trade presentation + final Power Pitch + updated H&L Career Plan
Materials Chromebooks, H&L accounts + Workbook (Ch 3 Power Pitch and Ch 16 Career Plan), projector, printed Power Pitch feedback form

Warm-Up (5 min)

WARM-UP: Would you consider working in the construction trades? Be honest, yes, no, or maybe. Write one reason why.

Collect 2-3 responses, do not judge answers. The purpose is to give students space to reflect before presentations. Some students will never pursue trades, but they should leave the week respecting the field and understanding it as a legitimate career path.

Activity 1: Jigsaw Trade Presentations (20 min)

Teams assembled on Day 2 (by trade: Carpenter, Construction Manager, Mason, Heavy Equipment Operator) give their Jigsaw presentations. Each team gets 3 minutes to cover:

  1. Career overview: what does this trade do daily?
  2. Education/training pathway: apprenticeship length, NCCER certs, any licensing
  3. DFW salary range: entry, mid-career, and top earners
  4. Job outlook: is it high-demand? Why?
  5. Trade unions or professional associations for this career
  6. One surprising fact they learned

Classmates listen and complete a note-taking sheet with one key fact per trade. This ensures every student leaves the week with knowledge of all 4+ trades, not just their own.

Facilitation Tip

Use a 3-minute visible timer on the projector. Cut off at 3 minutes hard — students learn to hit the time. This is genuine professional practice: contractors bidding on jobs present under strict time limits.

Activity 2: Power Pitch Practice + Peer Feedback (12 min)

Source: H&L Workbook Ch 3, p. 43, "Step 4: Get Peer Feedback and Make Revisions"

Students pair up and practice their Power Pitch from Day 4. The workbook instructs: "Pair up with a classmate and read your Power Pitch aloud at least two times. Ask your classmate for constructive feedback. Use the suggestions to polish your pitch. Practice reading it out loud at least two more times."

Round 1: Partner A reads their Power Pitch aloud. Partner B gives feedback using the feedback form:

  • Did they introduce themselves clearly? (Y/N)
  • Did they mention experience? (Y/N)
  • Did they mention skills? (Y/N)
  • Did they mention personal traits? (Y/N)
  • One suggestion to make it stronger

Round 2: Partners switch.

Round 3: Each student revises their pitch based on feedback and reads it one more time to their partner. The workbook calls this "polishing", small changes that make the pitch sound more natural and confident.

Students write their final Power Pitch on the workbook page. This is the summative deliverable for the week along with the Classification worksheet.

DOK 3: How does a Power Pitch for a construction apprenticeship differ from a Power Pitch for a retail job? Which part would you change and why?

Activity 3: H&L Favorites + Career Plan Update (10 min)

Source: H&L Workbook Ch 3 (A&C Hat Finder) + Ch 16 (My Next Steps: Career Plan)

Direct students to open H&L and complete three tasks:

  1. Favorite 2-3 construction careers in the Hat Finder from the A&C cluster. Carpenter, Construction Manager, Heavy Equipment Operator, or Mason are natural choices from this week.
  2. Review Building Blocks: Do their Building Blocks (likes, skills, experiences) now connect to construction or trades? Students who helped build something at home, played construction video games, or enjoyed hands-on classes should note the connection.
  3. Open the Career Plan (Ch 16) and make sure A&C is represented alongside their earlier favorites. By this point in the year, students have explored 12+ career clusters. Their Career Plan should show clear trends in what they are drawn to.

Exit Ticket (3 min)

EXIT TICKET (Concept Map / Connection Diagram) · Printable PDF:

A construction career I favorited this week: _____

Connect this career to THREE things:

1. My Day 3 classification (high-skill / high-wage / high-demand — can be 1, 2, or all 3)

Classifications for my career: ___________. In one sentence, WHICH of the three is my BIGGEST reason for favoriting this career?

2. The MacArthur School of ACE Construction pathway (NCCER CORE certification)

Does this pathway lead DIRECTLY to my favorited career or is it a STEPPING STONE? Circle: DIRECT / STEPPING STONE. One sentence why:

3. My Power Pitch (from Day 4-5)

ONE sentence from my final Power Pitch that I would use on a real apprenticeship application:

(d(4)(C), d(5)(B))

Differentiation

  • Support: Allow students uncomfortable with oral Power Pitch practice to submit a written pitch instead. They still get credit for the writing component. They practice it silently with a peer review partner.
  • Extension: "Unexpected Architecture" project (H&L Ch 3, pp. 48-54): design a novelty building landmark for the city of Brighton Ridge. This is the optional multi-step H&L project with a city brief, rubric, and peer review.
  • ELL: Power Pitch feedback form with Spanish column headers. Pair ELL students with bilingual peers. Power Pitch is a life skill. Students may choose the language they are most confident speaking in.