Content in the classroom setting emphasized the accumulation of literacy and numeracy skills, such as spelling, fractions, and vocabulary. The most obvious indicator of this accumulation was a class schedule that divided the students' learning by schooling subjects. This schedule was not strictly adhered to though, and personal or pressing issues from the lives of the students sometimes became the content focus. In addition, students also learned about employability, which was a chance to discuss work–related issues, such as safety procedures and employment rights. The knowledge focus of the classroom, which was predominantly school–based, was supported by the types of materials used, including commercially produced workbooks and stories that emulated a skills–building approach to literacy. Although the materials were often supplemented by instructor–created materials and the program's own curriculum, the focus of these materials was also on the accumulation of skills and facts. For example, students could learn the words for the equipment in the coffee shop by doing a vocabulary exercise or a word search puzzle.

The coffee shop, on the other hand, focused on the development of practical employment skills (such as using a cash register) in addition to soft skills (such as prioritizing activities). While in the coffee shop, students also learned a new literacy practice that was integrated into their home routine. Knowledge was gained by performing the various jobs, such as baker and cashier, which were needed to operate the coffee shop. Each job was accompanied by a written job description, which became the material used to support learning. The learning goal was to achieve independent mastery of each of the coffee shop jobs. By successfully completing the jobs, students gained both practical and soft skills related to employment. One specific job (a baker) helped them to acquire a new literacy practice—reading recipes to bake. This was the only example during the study in which a new literacy practice was acquired.

The job placement sites were chosen to allow students to gain, then market, experience that they may not have been able to obtain otherwise. The focus of the job placements was two–fold: to successfully complete the various activities of specific jobs in order to apply for the same or similar jobs; and to learn about workplace culture. Similar to the coffee shop dynamic, the students were assigned specific jobs, such as a produce clerk in a grocery store or childcare assistant in a daycare, and were expected to perform the jobs independently. The various activities of the job were the knowledge focus, and materials directly related to doing the job were used in support. For example, as a produce clerk, Tom had to read, sort, and display signs for various produce. The signs were the materials used to support the knowledge focus, which was learning to display produce. He was not engaged in activities (such as writing the produce in alphabetical order or using the words on a spelling test) which were not directly related to his ability to do the job. Instead, he learned to identify and match the written name of the produce with the actual produce. He was engaged in sorting, classifying, and matching activities as opposed to spelling, alphabeticizing, and writing activities, which were not needed to do the job.