Middle School Resource

Managers of the Future

In this activity, students will develop problem-solving strategies and interact effectively with business partners.

Activity:

• Students are divided into groups. The teacher provides students with several pictures of people in different types of dress (e.g., business, casual, sloppy), and with the names of different occupations, mounted on heavy paper. (Have more pictures than occupations.) Students match the pictures of people (explaining they are only to look at dress) with the occupations they think they will hold.
• Teacher asks students why they made the specific matches, moving the discussion to professional images and the importance of “dressing for success.”
• Students identify the criteria for appropriate dress for business.
• Teacher and students identify one day as “Dress for Success Day,” and the students are to dress according to the criteria.
• Students discuss any reactions they had to their dress and how dressing up impacted their feelings toward their work (school work) and interactions with others.
• Students interview managers of community businesses concerning their roles and responsibilities. They also discuss appropriate and inappropriate behavior in the workplace.
• Teacher reads examples of possible “business–related problems,” and the students propose solutions. The managers talk with the students about their solutions.
• Students develop an “Appropriate Behavior Checklist” for the classroom.
• Students discuss both appropriate dress and behavior in the workplace.

Related NY State Academic Standards: W.7.7, W.7.11, CDOS.I.1.1.E, and more!

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