For years, we’ve discussed the importance of soft skills like time management, communication and critical thinking. Considered the “bedside manner” of the workplace, these skills enable people to interact effectively and harmoniously with others. They are vital for all career paths — and they have become more important than ever since the onset of the global pandemic. In fact, soft skills are being rebranded as “power” skills to underscore their significance in today’s ever-changing workforce. Now is the perfect time to introduce your students to these essential skills. These free lessons will help!
Use these power skills lessons to teach your students the importance of honesty and integrity, communication and problem-solving, and how to prepare for a job interview. Each lesson includes implementation steps and student activities that you can adapt for your own classroom. In total, there is enough content for up to 10 hours of teaching time.
Lesson #1: Honesty & Integrity
This lesson comes from our Leadership Soft Skills Program. After completing the lesson, your students will be able to:
- Define honesty and integrity
- Complete an honesty and integrity self-assessment
- Identify and analyze real-world stories of honesty and integrity in the news
- Problem-solve workplace scenarios involving questions of honesty and integrity
- Compare and contrast two different quotes relating to honesty and integrity
Lesson #2: Critical Thinking & Problem-Solving
This lesson comes from our RealCareer Employability Skills Program. After completing the lesson, your students will be able to:
- Identify the seven steps to solving a problem effectively
- Practice solving work problems as an individual and as a member of a team
- Understand how the same problem-solving process works in many settings
Lesson #3: Preparing for a Job Interview
Upon completion, your students will be able to:
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- Understand the purpose of an interview
- Identify different types of interviews
- Prepare for and successfully experience a mock interview
- Be able to write a thank you letter
Learn more
Looking for additional resources on teaching power skills? We recommend:
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- This free guide, which features 5 easy ideas for teaching soft skills and includes posters you can print and hang in your classroom
- Our soft skills training tools, which include online programs and activities for any classroom
- This on-demand webinar, “Teaching Employability Skills in Any Class: Ideas for Student Engagement”
