What Comes First? Prioritizing Work Tasks: Job Skills Task Box, Ages 14 to 21

This what comes first task box teaches students to prioritize work tasks: do now, do next, or do later, with safety first and a waiting customer before routine work.

Why I made this: A grocery student kept stocking soup while a shopper waited beside him, and later walked past a puddle. He knew both things mattered. He needed a simple rule for which matters more, and the words to use when two things are urgent.

What’s included:

• A 21 page PDF and an editable Word copy

• A teacher page with exact counts and a 2 week plan

• Level A ●: 12 near errorless "which first?" cards with pictures, in 16 point type

• Level B ■: 24 do now, do next, do later sorting cards

• Level C ▲: 24 twist cards (two urgent things, safety first, a mistake to catch)

• A now, next, later sort mat and a "what comes first?" reference page

• 3 practice pages, an answer key with twists marked, a new executive function data sheet, a 10 session graph, a try it for real page with a 5 item adult check, and blank cards

How to use it: Teach the five step "what comes first?" page. Students work one level at a time with self check codes and the sort mat. Then stage a real choice at a job site and use the adult check.

Who it’s for: High school special education teachers, 18 to 21 program teachers, job coaches, and paras building job site judgment with students ages 14 to 21.

Format: PDF, US Letter, 21 pages, plus an editable Word copy. Level markers use a word plus a shape, so it works in black and white.

How this is different: Following Directions on the Job Task Box | Job Skills for Transition teaches following one direction. Community + Workplace Safety Signs Task Cards | Functional Reading Life Skills teaches reading signs. This box teaches choosing what matters most when there is more than one thing to do.

Made by Jeremy D. Gooch, special education teacher and transition coordinator. Drafting and layout had AI assistance; every page was checked by me.