China 八年级（初二） Labour Education (grades 7–9)
Chapters: 4
1. Daily-life labour
Cleaning and hygiene (combined with other tasks from grade 5) · Tidying and storage · Cooking and nutrition · Using and maintaining household appliances
- Cleaning and Hygiene – Cleaning removes dirt. Hygiene means habits that stop germs from spreading. Wash hands with soap for 20 seconds, clean from top to bottom and from dry to wet, keep nails short, cover coughs and put waste in the right bin.
- Tidying and Storage – Tidying means putting things where they belong. First sort what you have, group the same kinds together, give each group a fixed place, keep heavy things low and daily things at hand height, and label every box so anyone can find and return things.
- Nutrition – Nutrition is how we get and use the substances in food. The body needs six groups of nutrients: carbohydrates and fats (mainly energy), proteins (growth and repair), vitamins and minerals (small amounts to keep the body working), and water, plus fibre for healthy digestion. Carbohydrate and protein give about 17 kJ per gram, fat about 37 kJ per gram. A balanced diet gives all nutrients in the right amounts, and energy in should roughly equal energy out.
- Household Appliances: Types, Power and Safe Use – Home appliances turn electrical energy into heat, motion, cold or light. The label shows voltage and power in watts (W). Energy used = power × time, counted in kilowatt-hours (units). Smart plugs and timers switch appliances by schedule or by phone. Safe use means dry hands, a matching socket, no overloaded boards, and regular cleaning and checking of wires.
- Using and Maintaining Household Appliances – Appliances turn electricity into heat, motion or light. Use them safely: dry hands, switch off before plugging, never overload a socket, keep cords undamaged. Care for them by cleaning and descaling. Only small, safe jobs are for children; electrical repairs are for a trained adult.
2. Productive labour
Agricultural production · Traditional crafts · Industrial production · New technology experience and application
- Agricultural Practice: Growing Vegetables and Raising Small Animals – To grow vegetables, loosen soil, sow seeds at about twice their width in depth, give enough water and sunlight, remove weeds and harvest at the right time. To raise small animals such as hens, give clean feed, fresh water, a dry, safe shelter and regular cleaning and health checks.
- Traditional Crafts – A traditional craft is a way of making useful and beautiful things by hand, using local materials and skills passed from one generation to the next. Pottery shapes and fires clay, weaving interlaces warp and weft threads, paper-cutting uses folds to make symmetric patterns, and woodwork joins wood with cut joints. The craft spirit means patience, precision, respect for materials and pride in careful work.
- Industrial Production: From Raw Material to Finished Part – Industry turns raw materials into useful goods in steps. In a simple metal job you measure, mark, cut, drill and check a part. Simple electronics means joining parts like a battery, switch and LED safely. On a factory visit, watch the steps, the safety rules and how every part is checked.
- Making Things: Metal, Wood, Electronics and Digital Fabrication – A design becomes a real object through a making process. Metalwork shapes metal by marking, cutting, filing and drilling. Woodwork follows the grain of the wood. Electronics joins parts on a board with solder. Laser cutting takes material away along a computer drawing, and 3D printing adds material layer by layer.
3. Service labour
Modern service-industry work · Public-benefit work and volunteering
- Customer Service: Keeping Customers Happy – Customer service is all the help a business gives customers before, during and after they buy. Good service means a friendly welcome, quick replies, sound product knowledge, listening through a consultation, and after-sales help such as delivery, repairs, guarantees and returns. Handling complaints well can turn an unhappy customer into a loyal one. Good service brings repeat customers, good reviews and word-of-mouth, and lets a business charge more; poor service loses customers and harms reputation.
- Volunteering: Giving Your Time to Make Things Better – Volunteering means freely giving your time and skills to help others or the environment, without being paid. It grows from values like altruism (caring about others), human dignity (everyone deserves respect) and solidarity. There are many types: helping people, caring for nature, animal welfare, culture and sport, emergency help and online volunteering. A good project follows a cycle: find a real need, plan with the people affected, act safely, then reflect and improve. Volunteering helps the community and also helps the volunteer: new skills, friends, confidence and a stronger sense of belonging. It is one way citizens take part in civil society and influence local decisions.
4. Career planning (7–9)
Linking task groups to career awareness
- Career Planning: From Knowing Yourself to Your First Job – Career planning has five steps. 1) Know yourself: interests, skills and values. 2) Explore career families and find out the work, study needed, pay and demand. 3) Plan a pathway with SMART goals and a plan B. 4) Search for jobs with a CV, cover letter, digital portfolio and interview practice. 5) Make the move from school to work and keep learning, because careers change over a lifetime.