Curriculum Planning Level: Career Sustaining (CS)

Will your students own businesses someday? Teach them the risks and returns of different forms of business ownership structures, including sole proprietorships, partnerships, corporations, and hybrids. LAPs (Learning Activity Packages) are comprehensive instructional packages that include all elements of a performance-oriented lesson plan. This LAP includes a student handout (with CopyIT! permission) that includes information about types of business ownership, a (So What?) discussion of why...

Laying Down the Law introduces students to the basics of laws and regulations, including the types of law, levels of law, and the important functions of law, namely maintaining order, resolving disputes, and enacting social change. It also teaches students where laws and regulations come from, what they do, and which ones are especially relevant and important to young people today. Equally important—or perhaps more so—students learn how to follow laws in their daily lives, to interact with law...

Channels of distribution move products from manufacturers to consumers. This LAP explores what activities must occur in these channels as well as what it takes to ensure their efficiency and effectiveness. LAPs (Learning Activity Packages) are comprehensive instructional packages that include all elements of a performance-oriented lesson plan. This LAP includes a student handout (with CopyIT! permission) that includes information about channel management, a (So What?) discussion of why it's...

Channels of distribution get products where they need to go. Teach your students about these channels—who participates in them, how they work, and the benefits they provide. LAPs (Learning Activity Packages) are comprehensive instructional packages that include all elements of a performance-oriented lesson plan. This LAP includes a student handout (with CopyIT! permission) that includes information about channels of distribution, a (So What?) discussion of why it's important to learn, ideas...

Successful companies make brand promises to their customers and fulfill them over time. Teach your students about the power of brand promise and their role in keeping it. LAPs (Learning Activity Packages) are comprehensive instructional packages that include all elements of a performance-oriented lesson plan. This LAP includes a student handout (with CopyIT! permission) that includes information about identifying brand promise, a (So What?) discussion of why it's important to learn, and a...

Successful businesses make customer service a priority. Accentuate the Positive (Nature of Customer Relations) will help you teach your students about positive customer relations and how they can help their businesses achieve them. LAPs (Learning Activity Packages) are comprehensive instructional packages that include all elements of a performance-oriented lesson plan. This LAP includes a student handout (with CopyIT! permission) that includes information about the nature of customer...

Successful businesses reach their goals by understanding the importance of a customer service mindset. Use Set Your Mind to It (Customer Service Mindset) to teach your students how they can both cultivate and demonstrate this beneficial attitude. LAPs (Learning Activity Packages) are comprehensive instructional packages that include all elements of a performance-oriented lesson plan. This LAP includes a student handout (with CopyIT! permission) that includes information about customer service...

Difficult customers come in a variety of types, ranging from argumentative to impatient to dishonest. Use Making Mad Glad (Handling Difficult Customers) to teach students the entire range of difficult customer types and provide them with effective guidelines for dealing with each appropriately. LAPs (Learning Activity Packages) are comprehensive instructional packages that include all elements of a performance-oriented lesson plan. This LAP includes a student handout (with CopyIT! permission)...

Customers may complain for many reasons, but skillful employees can use complaints as opportunities to benefit the business. This LAP provides a step-by-step guide for doing so. LAPs (Learning Activity Packages) are comprehensive instructional packages that include all elements of a performance-oriented lesson plan. This LAP includes a student handout (with CopyIT! permission) that includes information about handling customer complaints, a (So What?) discussion of why it's important to learn,...

Government plays an important role in our private enterprise system—but how? This LAP explains how government’s role in business has changed and expanded over the years, as well as how government regulates and protects businesses. LAPs (Learning Activity Packages) are comprehensive instructional packages that include all elements of a performance-oriented lesson plan. This LAP includes a student handout (with CopyIT! permission) that includes information about government and business, a (So...

What are the types of businesses, and how do they fulfill their duty to contribute to the well-being of society? This LAP explains how businesses are responsible to their product users, their communities, their employees, and themselves. LAPs (Learning Activity Packages) are comprehensive instructional packages that include all elements of a performance-oriented lesson plan. This LAP includes a student handout (with CopyIT! permission) that includes information about business and society, a...

Just as the human body needs to accomplish certain activities to live and maintain health, companies need to engage in primary business activities to survive—and thrive. In this LAP, students will discover the core business activities of financial analysis, human resources management, information management, marketing, operations, and strategic management. Students will also learn about the interdependence of these activities and how they shift and adapt during changing circumstances. LAPs...

Writing down everything that you want isn’t easy. That’s because we all have unlimited, competing wants, but our resources are limited. As a result, we must learn to make wise economic choices. Economics is all about decision-making—determining how to get the most satisfaction with the fewest resources. LAPs (Learning Activity Packages) are comprehensive instructional packages that include all elements of a performance-oriented lesson plan. This LAP includes a student handout (with CopyIT!...

What’s the difference between economic and noneconomic wants? What are goods and services? How can goods and services be classified? This LAP answers these questions and explains even more about economic goods and services. LAPs (Learning Activity Packages) are comprehensive instructional packages that include all elements of a performance-oriented lesson plan. This LAP includes a student handout (with CopyIT! permission) that includes information about economic goods and services, a (So...

Economic resources (factors of production) enable businesses to produce the goods and services that consumers want. Regardless of a business’s product or size, a significant consideration affecting the business’s success is its ability to choose and use the best combination of natural resources, human resources, and capital goods. Use this LAP to help your students learn about the different types of resources and their limitations, how to respond to limited resources, and why economic...

Businesses have a lot to do with utility—they can create it, and they can enhance it. That’s why it’s so important for your students to learn what utility is and how businesses influence it. Teach them with Use It (Economic Utility)! This LAP explains the four types of utility, as well as what businesses can do to give their products more utility. LAPs (Learning Activity Packages) are comprehensive instructional packages that include all elements of a performance-oriented lesson plan. This LAP...

Your students might think they understand supply and demand, but do they know about buyer’s and seller’s markets, achieving equilibrium, and elastic and inelastic demand? It’s the Law (Supply and Demand) will teach them all these concepts and more! They’ll learn all about how supply and demand work together and affect every business. LAPs (Learning Activity Packages) are comprehensive instructional packages that include all elements of a performance-oriented lesson plan. This LAP includes a...

Why do we pay what we do for the things we buy? Help your students understand the importance of price, the functions of relative prices (information, incentives, and rationing), and the impact of supply and demand on the prices we pay for products and services. LAPs (Learning Activity Packages) are comprehensive instructional packages that include all elements of a performance-oriented lesson plan. This LAP includes a student handout (with CopyIT! permission) that includes information about...

Each of the four basic economic systems—traditional, communist, socialist, and market—has its own problems and its own way of answering three important economic questions. Help students understand the challenges that economic systems face, the decisions that they must make, and ways in which these decisions impact everyday life. LAPs (Learning Activity Packages) are comprehensive instructional packages that include all elements of a performance-oriented lesson plan. This LAP includes a student...

Do your students know the characteristics that make up the private enterprise system? Do they even know what private enterprise is? With People Power (The Private Enterprise System) you can help students learn the benefits and disadvantages of the private enterprise system, as well as the effects it has on the people who live in it. LAPs (Learning Activity Packages) are comprehensive instructional packages that include all elements of a performance-oriented lesson plan. This LAP includes a...

Owning your own business is risky, but if you do it right, you’ll receive something for your efforts: profit. The financial gains realized from profit provide business owners with a real incentive to build successful businesses. Use Risk Rewarded to teach your students about types of profit, the benefits received from profit, the external and internal factors that affect profit, as well as ways to gain more profit. LAPs (Learning Activity Packages) are comprehensive instructional packages that...

Your students take risks all the time, but do they realize how to translate their everyday risk experiences into the business world? If not, LAP-EC-911—Lose, Win, or Draw (Business Risk) can show them how! Use this LAP to teach your students the types of risk that businesses face, as well as how to handle them. LAPs (Learning Activity Packages) are comprehensive instructional packages that include all elements of a performance-oriented lesson plan. This LAP includes a student handout (with...

Competition isn’t a bad thing—it turns the wheels of our private enterprise economy! This LAP explains the types of competition, the four main types of market structures, and how competition benefits businesses, customers, and society. LAPs (Learning Activity Packages) are comprehensive instructional packages that include all elements of a performance-oriented lesson plan. This LAP includes a student handout (with CopyIT! permission) that includes information about competition, a (So What?)...

Productivity involves working hard and keeping busy, but there’s more to it than that. What can businesses and individuals do to improve productivity? And what will get in the way of productivity? Help your students learn the answers to these questions, as well as the ways that productivity affects businesses, workers, consumers, society, and the economy with Make the Most of It (Productivity). LAPs (Learning Activity Packages) are comprehensive instructional packages that include all elements...

Leading change is an important life and professional skill. Teach your students what it means to lead change with Start the Revolution. This LAP covers how anyone can lead change by taking action, the qualities of effective leaders, the importance of communication, and how to handle resistance. Videos of teen leaders in action offer inspiration. Activities include opportunities to identify effective leadership skills and examine situations that require change leadership. LAPs (Learning...

Your students regularly experience change, but how well do they deal with it? Go With the Flow explains how being adaptable can help students deal with new situations in positive ways that help them learn, grow, and achieve. They’ll also learn the negative consequences of resisting change. This LAP includes activities and videos explaining how a flexible attitude can help students achieve success in many areas of life. LAPs (Learning Activity Packages) are comprehensive instructional packages...

Achievement-oriented people produce high-quality work, demonstrate leadership, and take responsibility. If these are skills you’d like your students to learn about, check out High Hopes. This LAP shows students why an achievement orientation is so important—and what they can do to develop their own. This LAP is packed with videos and activities that engage and inspire students to aim higher, accomplish more, and achieve personal goals. LAPs (Learning Activity Packages) are comprehensive...

Cultural sensitivity is an essential personal skill for improving relationships and creating a more accurate worldview. Being culturally sensitive is also important to succeed academically, professionally, and to compete in today’s global marketplace. With Getting To Know You (Cultural Sensitivity), your students will learn what cultural sensitivity is, why it’s important, and what they can do to become more culturally sensitive. LAPs are comprehensive instructional packages that include all...

Plain and simple, people need other people. This LAP explains interdependence, how to nurture personal and professional relationships, and the ways in which different management styles affect the work environment. LAPs (Learning Activity Packages) are comprehensive instructional packages that include all elements of a performance-oriented lesson plan. This LAP includes a student handout (with CopyIT! permission) that includes information about fostering positive working relationships, a (So...

Coaching is a life skill used to help others achieve more in life, not just on the court or on the field. Share Bring Out the Best with your students so they can learn the traits and skills needed to effectively coach others, as well as the coaching process itself. Videos of coaches in action from students to professionals show that anyone has the potential to coach others. Activities include reflecting on effective coaches, creating a coaching plan, and more. LAPs (Learning Activity Packages)...

Many skills—such as commitment, communication, sharing, controlling conflict, and encouragement—are necessary to become an effective team player. Use this LAP to teach your students about different types of teams, why teams are important, how teams are beneficial, and the ways that teamwork leads to success. LAPs (Learning Activity Packages) are comprehensive instructional packages that include all elements of a performance-oriented lesson plan. This LAP includes a student handout (with...

Successful organizations have clear visions for their futures. But what makes a shared vision successful? This LAP explains the difference between organizational visions and team visions, shows what an effective vision looks like, and describes what team leaders can do to “sell” people on their company’s vision. LAPs (Learning Activity Packages) are comprehensive instructional packages that include all elements of a performance-oriented lesson plan. This LAP includes a student handout (with...

Our world has been shaped by influential people with visions—mental pictures of a better and brighter future. Consider Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech or Walt Disney’s vision of creating the happiest place on Earth. Both individuals had a vision for the future, and both spent their lives working toward creating that future. In this LAP, students will learn the benefits of having a vision, the components of a good vision, and how to create their own personal visions so that...

In today’s fast-paced society, nearly everyone has experienced the stress of being overcommitted. Learning how to manage commitments in a timely manner is an essential skill for everyone to develop. Commit to It! (Managing Commitments in a Timely Manner) helps students understand the concepts of committing and overcommitting, as well as reasons to manage commitments in a timely manner. LAPs (Learning Activity Packages) are comprehensive instructional packages that include all elements of a...

Accepting the uncertainty of life is an important skill for everyone to develop. Embrace the Unknown (Developing a Tolerance for Ambiguity) teaches students about ambiguity and why it is important to tolerate it. It also includes step-by-step techniques to develop and demonstrate tolerance for ambiguity in their personal lives, in school, and in the workplace. The relevant examples and activities will help them connect this topic to their own lives. LAPs (Learning Activity Packages) are...

Being ethical takes a lot more than just doing what’s legal. As this LAP explains, being ethical means doing what’s right, no matter what—even when no one is looking! The LAP also explains the importance of ethical principles, describes the consequences of unethical behavior, and explores the key principles that help with ethical conduct. LAPs (Learning Activity Packages) are comprehensive instructional packages that include all elements of a performance-oriented lesson plan. This LAP includes...

All of us face ethical dilemmas, but what causes them? This LAP explains the difference between dilemmas and ethical dilemmas and describes some of the common reasons why ethical dilemmas occur. It also discusses the actions anyone can take to make the right decisions. LAPs (Learning Activity Packages) are comprehensive instructional packages that include all elements of a performance-oriented lesson plan. This LAP includes a student handout (with CopyIT! permission) that includes information...

How can you spot an ethical dilemma, and what can you do once you discover one? This LAP explains the importance of identifying ethical dilemmas and outlines the steps anyone can take to successfully respond to them. LAPs (Learning Activity Packages) are comprehensive instructional packages that include all elements of a performance-oriented lesson plan. This LAP includes a student handout (with CopyIT! permission) that includes information about recognizing and responding to ethical dilemmas,...

Trust is at the very foundation of all our relationships—with family, friends, and coworkers. To be trustworthy takes work and commitment. Trust in Me (Building Trust in Relationships) teaches students about the characteristics of someone who is trustworthy and techniques to build trust with the people around them. Students will also learn about how trust and ethics are related. LAPs (Learning Activity Packages) are comprehensive instructional packages that include all elements of a...

Be the Change explains how to develop ethical leadership skills. This LAP includes information about what makes an ethical leader and how ethical leaders respond to dilemmas in different situations. It also includes hands-on activities and current links that will make the concept of ethical leadership practical and relevant for students. LAPs (Learning Activity Packages) are comprehensive instructional packages that include all elements of a performance-oriented lesson plan. This LAP includes...

Practice What You Preach (Modeling Ethical Behavior) provides students with the skills they need to model ethical behavior. This LAP explains why ethical behavior is important, demonstrates how people learn by example to behave ethically and provides step-by-step instructions so students can learn how to model ethical behavior. With engaging activities and relevant examples, students will gain the necessary skills to become ethical leaders in the future. LAPs (Learning Activity Packages) are...

Inspired people fill history books—from musicians and artists to world-class athletes, inspiration is the common factor uniting many successful individuals. In this LAP, students will discover the importance of inspiration within organizations and groups of all shapes and sizes. They will learn how to harness the power of inspiration to bring out the best in the people around them, improving their leadership skills and interpersonal relationships along the way. LAPs (Learning Activity...

Careers in business come in many shapes and sizes. The possibilities are endless, but it’s important to know what options are available. Go for It! (Careers in Business) teaches your students about different business careers and what traits, skills, and educational requirements are needed to succeed in the business world. LAPs (Learning Activity Packages) are comprehensive instructional packages that include all elements of a performance-oriented lesson plan. This LAP includes a student...

Part of being a salesperson involves recommending specific products to customers based on their needs and wants. Sounds easy – but it can be more complicated than it seems! In Get Specific (Recommending Specific Products), students will learn how to recommend products in various tricky situations, such as when a product is out of stock or doesn’t suit a customer’s unique needs. LAPs (Learning Activity Packages) are comprehensive instructional packages that include all elements of a...

A company’s selling policies are essential components of its sales practice. In Sell Right (Selling Policies), students will discover the importance of selling guidelines as well as the various kinds of policies that businesses use to help salespeople succeed. Students will also learn about federal regulations that shape company selling policies such as the Federal Trade Commission Act and the Sherman Act. LAPs (Learning Activity Packages) are comprehensive instructional packages that include...