Fast Food Job Skills Task Cards | Counter, Drive-Thru + Food Safety

Fast food is fast, loud, and full of rules students have never heard of: hold times, glove changes, the ice scoop, allergen questions. The students who do well there know the routines before the lunch rush hits. This set covers the front of the restaurant, the counter, the drive-thru, drinks, and the lobby, so students can practice the steps and the rules in class first.

This set is front of house only: the counter, the drive-thru, drinks, and the lobby. Hand-washing and table cleaning routines are already in my Task Analysis Data Sheets, and general soft skills (being late, taking feedback, coworker problems) are in my Soft Skills Scenario Cards.

What's included:

• Teacher page with three support levels and a 2-week plan

• Job snapshot: jobs, a typical shift, and what supervisors look for

• 16 vocabulary cards and a vocabulary match

• 5 task sequence cards (take a counter order, take a drive-thru order, hand out a drive-thru order, fill a drink order, restock the condiment station) plus a blank card

• Put-it-in-order worksheets for all 5 tasks

• 8 safety rules and a 10-item safe or unsafe sort with "do this instead"

• 12 procedure cards (what is the rule here?) and a procedure planner

• On-the-job checklist for student and supervisor ratings, with an IEP data note

• Answer key and blank cards to write your own

How I use it:

I start with the job snapshot and the vocabulary cards. Then I model each task card and have students act it out while a partner reads the steps (a pretend headset and a few paper cups go a long way). The procedure cards work best a few at a time as a warm-up or with role-play. Before a job site visit or work-based learning shift, students set goals on the checklist, and the supervisor or job coach rates the same skills afterward.

How this set is different from my other job skills resources: my Soft Skills Scenario Cards cover general "what would you do" moments that happen at any job, and my Task Analysis Data Sheets break down everyday routines with data sheets. This set is only about one workplace: its words, its tasks, and its rules. None of the scenario cards or routines are repeated here.

Part of the Job Site Task Card Series: one set per workplace, all in the same layout, so you can mix sites across your caseload and students already know how the cards work when they move to a new site.

Pairs well with:

• Work Schedules + Time Cards (reading a shift schedule and counting hours)

• Calling In, Texting + Emailing the Boss (what to say when you are sick or running late)

• Task Analysis Data Sheets (includes hand-washing and table-cleaning routines with data sheets)

• Soft Skills Scenario Cards (the soft skills side of any job)

Who it is for: high school special education, transition programs for ages 18 to 21, vocational and CTE classes, job coaches, and work-based learning teams. Grades 9th to 12th and adult transition.

What you download: one printable PDF, 13 pages, US Letter. Answer key included.

Job tasks and rules vary by employer. Use this to prepare students, and always follow the training and rules at the actual job site.

From the author of The Transition Map (Jeremy D. Gooch), available in paperback and Kindle.

Written by Jeremy D. Gooch, a teacher with 20+ years in education. All student names and stories are made up.