Workplace Comprehension: Policies, Schedules and Pay
Read the documents a first job actually hands you and answer what they require.
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 the student's own documents if they have them. The board establishes the reading and a real pay stub proves it transferred, and a real one will raise questions this board does not cover. The call-when-sick item is the most valuable, because the correct answer — call anyway, even though it is inside the window — is the one students get wrong by reasoning from the rule rather than from the purpose of it.
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 documents a first job actually hands you: a schedule reading Tue 4-8, Thu 4-8, Sat 10-6 — how many hours are you scheduled; a policy requiring a call two hours before a shift you cannot work, and you wake up sick an hour before; a pay stub showing gross pay of $420 and net pay of $351.60 — what accounts for the difference; a break policy of one paid fifteen-minute break per four hours.
What to listen for
Watch the pay stub item. Gross against net is the single most common source of confusion in a first job, and a student who expects their whole hourly rate will think they have been underpaid. Notice the schedule arithmetic, which requires reading times across three lines and adding — a language demand and a maths one at once.
Carrying it home
A real pay stub or schedule is the best material there is. Going through one together takes ten minutes and answers questions the student was unlikely to ask.
What's in this activity
- Your schedule reads: Tue 4:00p-8:00p, Thu 4:00p-8:00p, Sat 10:00a-6:00p. How many hours are you scheduled?
- 12
- 14
- 16
- 20
- Policy: 'Call the store manager at least two hours before your shift if you cannot work.' Your shift starts at 4:00 p.m. and you wake up sick at 3:00 p.m. What should you do?
- Say nothing and stay home
- Call immediately and explain, even though it is inside two hours
- Text a coworker instead
- Wait until 4:00 to call
- Your pay stub shows Gross Pay $420.00 and Net Pay $351.60. What accounts for the difference?
- A bonus
- Overtime you earned
- Taxes and deductions
- An employer mistake
- Policy: 'One paid 15-minute break per 4 hours worked, plus one unpaid 30-minute meal break on shifts over 6 hours.' What does an 8-hour shift entitle you to?
- One 15-minute break only
- Two 15-minute breaks and one 30-minute meal break
- One 30-minute break only
- Three 15-minute breaks
- The posting says 'Must be available weekends and evenings.' You have practice every Saturday morning. What is the honest move?
- Say you are fully available
- Say nothing and sort it out later
- Say you are available weekends except Saturday mornings
- Don't apply at all
- A sign reads: 'Employees must wash hands before returning to work.' Who does this apply to?
- Customers
- Managers only
- Every employee
- Kitchen staff only
- Your manager says: 'Restock aisle four, then face the shelves, and clock out by nine.' What do you do SECOND?
- Clock out
- Restock aisle four
- Face the shelves
- Take your break
- Your W-4 asks for withholding information. What is it used for?
- Setting your schedule
- Deciding how much tax comes out of each paycheck
- Reporting your grades
- Choosing your uniform size
Questions
- What grades is this for?
- Ninth through twelfth, aligned with transition and independent living goals.
- Do I need an account?
- No, all sixteen items are free to use here.
- Why is this a language target?
- Because it is comprehension of dense text in an unfamiliar register with real financial consequences. Misreading a policy costs a shift, and misreading a pay stub costs a student's confidence in their employer.
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.