You will learn
- Define employment, livelihood, wage, skill.
- Describe types of work.
- Distinguish formal and informal work.
- Explain fair work and child protection.
Version 0.2 · expanded edition · built from cited public sources Content is based on the official frameworks and sources listed under Sources and standards. No official endorsement is claimed. Written in the style of common primary school assessments. No exam result is promised.
Student lesson
- People earn a living in many ways.
- Skills and education help.
- Work can be formal or informal.
- Children must be protected from harmful work.
Words to know
having a job in which you are paid to work
the way a person or family earns a living
money paid for work, often by the hour or day
an ability gained through learning or practice
1. Discover: A market full of work
Ms Smith asks the class to count the kinds of work at a busy market: farmers selling vegetables, fish sellers, tailors, drivers, builders, nurses at the nearby clinic, teachers. “Each person has a livelihood,” she says. “Some work for wages. Some run their own small business. Many jobs are informal, without written contracts. All honest work has value.” Abu asks, “Can children work?” “Children have the right to learn and play,” says Ms Smith. “The law protects them from harmful work.”
Think: What skill would you like to learn for your future work?
2. Understand: Work and livelihoods
Idea 1: Types of work
A livelihood is how a person or family earns a living. In Sierra Leone many people work in farming, fishing, trading, crafts, mining, transport and construction; others are teachers, nurses, drivers, engineers and public servants. Employment means working for pay, often a wage, or for yourself.
Idea 2: Formal and informal
Formal work has written contracts, regular pay and legal protections. Informal work is often small-scale and unregistered, such as market trading, farming and craftwork, and employs many people. Both are important. Workers should be treated fairly and safely, with fair pay and no discrimination.
Idea 3: Skills and protection
A skill comes from learning and practice. School, training and apprenticeships help people gain skills for work. Children should be in school, not in harmful work. The Child Rights Act and international agreements protect children. Light, safe help at home that does not harm learning is different from exploitation.
3. Worked examples
Example 1 (I show you): Define
Livelihood.
- Think.
- Say.
- Check.
Answer: How a person earns a living.
Example 2 (We do it together): Name
Two types of work.
- Think.
- Say.
- Check.
Answer: Fishing and teaching.
Example 3 (You try): Say
What protects children.
Show the steps and answer
- Think.
- Say.
- Check.
Answer: The Child Rights Act.
Did you know?
Apprenticeships, where learners train on the job, are a major way to gain skills in many West African countries.
Why this matters
Understanding work helps you respect everyone and plan your future.
4. Explore: Work web
Make a web of ten kinds of work in your community. For each write the skill needed, one product or service, and one way it helps others. Choose two that interest you and name the learning needed.
- List.
- Connect.
- Choose.
- Share.
Think about it: what did you notice?
What did you notice? Everyone’s work helps others.
5. Practise
Say it in a sentence
Use these starters when you talk about the lesson. Say them out loud.
- Employment is ___.
- A livelihood is ___.
- A wage is ___.
- A skill is ___.
Guided practice
Question 1. What is employment?
A paid job.
Question 2. What is a livelihood?
Way of earning a living.
Question 3. What is a wage?
Pay for work.
Independent practice
Level 1: Start
- What is employment?
- What is a livelihood?
- What is a wage?
- What is a skill?
- Name a job.
Level 2: Grow
- Why skills?
- Why protect children?
- Why value all work?
Level 3: Stretch
- Make the work web.
- Match skills.
- Choose two.
Answers are in the answer key below. Try first, then check.
6. Apply: Social Studies in everyday life
Name three kinds of work, one skill and one protection for children.
Show a sample answer
Farming, teaching, driving; reading; Child Rights Act.
Another one. Ask an adult about a skill they learned and how it helps their work.
Show a sample answer
Share.
7. Common mistakes
Fix: All honest work counts.
Fix: They should learn.
8. Lesson summary and revision card
- I can define employment, livelihood, wage, skill.
- I can describe types of work.
- I can distinguish formal and informal work.
- I can explain fair work and child protection.
9. Check and master
Answer all 14 questions. You will see feedback after each one.
Your result appears here after you answer every question.
10. Key takeaways
- People earn a living in many ways.
- Skills and education help.
- Work can be formal or informal.
- Children must be protected from harmful work.
11. Next lesson
Exam practice
These questions are written in the style of common school and international primary assessments. Try them on your own, without looking back. Then check your answers in the marking guide. The marks are shown in brackets.
- Define employment and wage. [2 marks]
- Name three types of work in Sierra Leone. [3 marks]
- Explain the difference between formal and informal work. [3 marks]
- Say why children are protected from harmful work. [2 marks]
Total: 10 marks.
Marking guide and model answers
- Employment [1]; wage [1]
- Three [3]
- Formal [1]; informal [1]; example [1]
- Right to learn [1]; safety [1]
Score guide: 9 to 10 = secure. 6 to 8 = nearly there, revise the parts you missed. Under 6 = work through the lesson again with a grown-up.
Printable worksheet
- What is employment?
- What is a livelihood?
- What is a wage?
- What is a skill?
- Name a job.
- Why skills?
- Why protect children?
- Why value all work?
- Make the work web.
- Match skills.
Homework
Draw a work web.
Answer key and marking scheme
| Question | Expected response | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| 1. What is employment? | A paid job. | 1 |
| 2. What is a livelihood? | Way of earning a living. | 1 |
| 3. What is a wage? | Pay for work. | 1 |
| 4. What is a skill? | A learned ability. | 1 |
| 5. Name a job. | Nurse. | 1 |
| 6. Why skills? | To work well. | 1 |
| 7. Why protect children? | They need to learn. | 1 |
| 8. Why value all work? | Everyone helps. | 1 |
| 9. Make the work web. | Web. | 1 |
| 10. Match skills. | Skills. | 1 |
| Total | 10 |
Independent practice answers. Level 1: 1 A paid job.; 2 Way of earning a living.; 3 Pay for work.; 4 A learned ability.; 5 Nurse.. Level 2: 1 To work well.; 2 They need to learn.; 3 Everyone helps.. Level 3: 1 Web.; 2 Skills.; 3 Choose..
Quiz answers: 1 B, 2 C, 3 A, 4 B, 5 C, 6 A, 7 B, 8 C, 9 A, 10 B, 11 C, 12 A, Challenge 1 B, Challenge 2 C.
Mastery and remediation
| Objective | Bronze (Developing) | Silver (Proficient) | Gold (Advanced) |
|---|---|---|---|
| O1 Define employment, livelihood, wage, skill | Shows this with help from an adult or a picture | Does this independently and explains how they know | Explains it clearly and uses it in a new situation |
| O2 Describe types of work | Shows this with help from an adult or a picture | Does this independently and explains how they know | Explains it clearly and uses it in a new situation |
| O3 Distinguish formal and informal work | Shows this with help from an adult or a picture | Does this independently and explains how they know | Explains it clearly and uses it in a new situation |
| O4 Explain fair work and child protection | Shows this with help from an adult or a picture | Does this independently and explains how they know | Explains it clearly and uses it in a new situation |
Courseversity badge thresholds (overall quiz score): Gold = 90–100%; Silver = 80–89.9%; Bronze = 70–79.9%. A badge is never a full record of progress.
If a learner struggles
- Find the misconception: “Only office jobs are real jobs.” All honest work counts.
- Explain another way: use real objects, pictures or actions first, then words.
- Show a simpler example: Make a work poster.
- Guided practice: work through one example together and let the learner try the next one.
- Reassess: use the quiz again or the worksheet.
- Move on when the learner shows Silver-level evidence independently.
For parents and guardians
In this lesson your child studies work. Please talk about respecting every kind of job. You do not need to be an expert to help.
- Thank workers.
- Talk about skills.
- Keep children in school.
- Ask “how do you know?” after each answer, and listen.
- Praise effort, not only right answers. Mistakes are how we learn.
- Ten to fifteen minutes a day is better than one long session.
Teacher package
1–5. Objectives, prerequisites, materials, preparation, duration
Lesson objectives. Learners will: define employment, livelihood, wage, skill; describe types of work; distinguish formal and informal work; explain fair work and child protection.
Prerequisite knowledge. Grade 5 ideas: scarcity, choice, opportunity cost, producers, consumers, supply, demand and prices.
Materials. Pictures, charts. Low-resource options: use chalk or charcoal on a board or wall, drawings in the sand, and objects from the classroom instead of printed materials.
Preparation. Prepare work pictures.
Suggested duration. 45–60 minutes. It can be split into two shorter sessions.
6–9. Teaching procedure, explanation notes, guided and independent activities
Introduction (5 min). Tell the market full of work story.
Explanation (10 min). Teach employment and livelihoods.
Guided activity (10 min). Work web.
Independent activity (10 min). Discuss.
Assessment and reflection (5 min). Ask each learner to say one thing they learned and how they know it.
Key questions. How do people earn a living and why does all honest work matter?
Teacher explanation notes. Start with a picture, story, map or local example. Then talk about what was seen, then draw and write. Always ask “how do you know?” and invite more than one view. Treat every family, culture and community with respect, and never ask learners to share private information.
10–12. Differentiation, formative assessment, common misconceptions
Support. Use pictures, maps, real objects and short sentences, and let learners work with a partner. Let learners point, show, act or draw instead of writing. Extension. Ask learners to find a new example from their own community and explain how they know.
Formative assessment. Listen to learners read and explain, ask “how do you know?”, and check the independent work.
Misconceptions. “Only office jobs are real jobs.” All honest work counts.
13–15. Assessment questions, answer keys, marking scheme
Use the quiz, the 10-mark exam practice and the worksheet on this page. All answers and marking guides are in the answer sections above. Re-check every answer before use.
16–19. Remediation, enrichment, homework, teacher reflection
Remediation. Make a work poster. Enrichment. Find one new example near your home or school, draw or write about it and explain it to someone. Homework. See above.
Teacher reflection. After teaching, record: which ideas learners understood; which misconceptions occurred; which activities worked; which learners need more practice; and what to improve next time.
Sources and standards
This lesson is based on the sources below, and no official endorsement is claimed. Reference starting points: NCSS standards and C3 Framework, Cambridge Primary Humanities and the IB Primary Years Programme. Where a standard code is named, it points to the official framework.
Research used to shape this lesson. Courseversity Social Studies curriculum, Grade 5 Unit 6, topic 8; NCSS C3 Framework, economic decision making, exchange and markets; Cambridge Lower Secondary Humanities, economics and decisions; IB Primary Years Programme, how we organise ourselves. These sources informed the lesson.