Reading a Job Posting
Decode the vocabulary and the implied requirements of a real entry-level posting.
Session summary (SOAP)
Stays on this screen. Nothing is saved or sent.
Mark a card Correct, Correct with cue or Incorrect and the summary writes itself here.
How to run it
Bring a real posting alongside these. The board establishes the vocabulary and an actual listing proves it transferred — and it will contain terms this board does not cover, which is the point. Preferred qualifications is the most valuable item, because students routinely disqualify themselves from jobs they could get by reading it as required. Twenty minutes covers the set with a real posting.
Cueing ladder
Start at the top. Add support one step at a time.
- IndependentPresent the item and wait 5 seconds of quiet before helping.Log as correct
- PromptAsk 'What's your first step?' or 'What would you say here?'Log as cued
- Two choicesOffer two responses and talk through which one fits the situation better.Log as cued
- ModelRole-play it yourself first, then the student tries it.Log as cued
Adjust it
Give the student a written script to read from during the role-play.
Drop the script, and play a less helpful partner who asks a follow-up question.
Matching IEP goal
Given a real-life scenario, Student will give a clear, appropriate response in 4 of 5 opportunities across 3 consecutive sessions, given no more than one prompt.
Send it home through the parent portal →About this activity
Sixteen questions about the language of a real entry-level posting: entry level, no experience required, must be 16 or older — are you eligible; compensation $15.50 an hour, twenty to twenty-five hours a week — about what is gross weekly pay at twenty hours; preferred qualifications means what; please submit a resume and two references — what is a reference. Job postings are written in a register nobody teaches.
What to listen for
Watch for self-disqualification. A student who reads preferred qualifications as a barrier, or no experience required as a trick, is losing opportunities to a reading problem. Notice the pay calculation, which requires arithmetic on top of comprehension and is where the language demand and the maths demand interact.
Carrying it home
Job listings are free and plentiful. Reading one together and asking what each section is actually requiring takes ten minutes and is directly useful.
What's in this activity
- A posting reads 'Entry level; no experience required; must be 16 or older.' You are 16 with no job history. Are you eligible?
- No, you need experience first
- Yes
- Only with a doctor's note
- Only at 18
- 'Compensation: $15.50/hr, 20-25 hrs/week.' About what is gross weekly pay at 20 hours?
- $155
- $310
- $387
- $620
- 'Preferred qualifications' means ___.
- Required in order to apply
- Illegal for them to ask
- Nice to have, but not required
- Only for managers
- 'Please submit a resume and two references.' What is a reference?
- A copy of your ID
- A past pay stub
- A cover letter
- A person who can vouch for your work
- The posting closes with 'Position open until filled.' What does that mean?
- Apply by Friday
- There is no fixed deadline, so apply soon
- The job is already taken
- You must apply in person
- 'This position requires standing for long periods and lifting up to 30 lbs.' Why is that in the posting?
- To discourage applicants
- To describe the physical demands of the job
- To set the pay rate
- To list the dress code
- The application asks for your 'availability.' What should you give?
- Your favorite shift
- Your GPA
- The days and hours you can actually work
- Your home address
- The email says 'We will contact qualified candidates for an interview.' You hear nothing for two weeks. What is the reasonable read?
- You definitely got the job
- You may not have been selected; a polite follow-up is reasonable
- They certainly lost your application
- You should reapply ten more times
Questions
- What grades is this for?
- Tenth through twelfth, under transition and vocational goals.
- Is it free?
- Yes, all sixteen items play with no account.
- Why is this a language target?
- Because a job posting is a dense text in an unfamiliar register with real consequences for misreading. That is a reading comprehension task, and for a transition-age student it is a high-value one.
Use this board with your caseload
With a free account, every correct, cued and incorrect mark is saved to the student and scored against their IEP goal, with the data written up for you. Assign it as home practice through the parent portal.
Track progress freeFree for SLPs. No card, no trial clock.