Sources of Income

Lesson Content

• Lesson Plan Template:

  CTE Lesson Plan

• CTE Course Info and Benchmark Notes

  
  

  Program Title (as applicable): N/A

  Course Title: Personal Financial Literacy

  Course Number: 8500120

  Career Cluster: Finance

  CIP Number: 09200104PA

  Course Type: Non Career Preparatory

  Standard(s) or benchmarks

  • 03.01 – Identify sources of income

• Unit Outline

  
  

  This lesson is the 1^st in a series of lessons focused on investigating strategies for managing personal and family income. The unit will start by identifying sources of income and then expand on that knowledge to explore how career choices, education, and skills affect income, consider tradeoffs when making financial decisions, and investigate how purchasing power changes over time due to inflation. In totality, the lessons addressing this standard will support students’ understanding of how income, personal goals, and economic factors are things to consider when making short and long-term financial decisions.

• Career Connection

  
  

  Students will apply the career ready practice of attending to personal health and financial well-being, in this lesson plan. By exploring the various sources of income, students may begin to consider how the different sources of income could affect their career choice, future earning potential, and short- and long-term financial goals.

• Learning Objectives

  
  

  Students will be able to:

  • Identify various sources of income
  • Explain key characteristics of specific sources of income
  • Compare and contrast sources of income
  • Consider potential advantages and disadvantages of earning various sources of income

• Prior Knowledge

  
  

  Students should be familiar with/able to:

  • The concept of income and earning money
  • Using technology to conduct informal research

• Guiding Questions

  
  
  • What is income?
  • How can we earn income?
  • What are some advantages and disadvantages to earning different types of income?

• Procedure

  
  

  1. To introduce the lesson, display the “Odd One Out” image (see attachment) and ask students to choose one word that doesn’t belong or isn’t related to the other words.

  • Remind students that there is no right or wrong choice and that they should have a unique reason for choosing one word as the odd one out.
  • Allow students to share their choice and supporting reasons for their choice. Facilitate discussion and use responses as a segue into exploring how income is earned.
  • Explain to students that while these words may all be related, it can be argued that income encompasses all of the other words, making it unique. It can also be argued that 3 of the 4 words (money, currency, and cash) are forms of income. Further explain that most people who work a job earn income, making understanding different sources of income even more important since how we earn income can vary.

  2. Pass out an Exploring Sources of Income handout (see attachment) to each student.

  • Explain to students that they will be conducting research to explore six different sources of income. Encourage students to visit multiple reputable websites for each source of income to compare information and ensure accuracy as they fill in the handout. Remind students to complete the citations section of the handout to correctly cite the websites used.

  3. Once students finish their research, group students in small groups of 3 – 4.

  • Allow students time to share and compare their research on the different sources of income. Students should modify their handouts, as needed, during this time to capture all relevant information for each source of income. If time allows, groups can share out their information for one of the six sources of income.
  • The teacher can circulate around the room to listen to and respond (as necessary) to student discussions. The guiding questions can be used during this time to deepen student understanding and informally assess student learning.

  4. To bring the lesson to a close, have students reflect on what they have learned about the different sources of income using a journal prompt. The teacher can assign either journal prompt or allow students to choose one of the prompts to respond to.

  • Journal Prompt 1: How does knowing the source of income for a job or career influence your interest and/or pursuit of a particular job or career?
  • Journal Prompt 2: Rank the sources of income in order of most appealing to least appealing. Explain your reasoning for your rankings.

• Teacher Notes

  
  
  • The sources of income used in the lesson are not an exhaustive list. Students should understand these sources are common, but they are not the only sources of income. Additionally, the teacher should make it clear that it is possible for a job or career to include two or more sources of income. For example, a waiter or waitress may earn tips in addition to an hourly wage.
  • Students may be less familiar with the sources of income on the 2nd page of the handout. The teacher may need to remind students to include this in their research to better understand and explain each source of income. The teacher may choose to give a brief explanation of these sources of income using the following suggestions:
    • 1099 Role: People who are hired as independent contractors frequently earn income this way. Independent contractors are hired for a specific purpose/job and are distinct from fulltime salaried or hourly wage employees.
    • Dividends: A common type of dividend are stock dividends. These can be earned by being a shareholder or owning stock in a company. “Dividends” earned on interest bearing accounts such as a checking or savings are sometimes labeled as dividends but actually qualify as “interest income” which is a distinct category recognized by the IRS.
    • Capital Gains: When a person or company sells a capital asset (stock, business, land, art, etc.) for a profit, it is recognized as a source of income in the form of what is called a capital gain.

• Optional

  
  

  Differentiation Ideas:

  • Instead of students completing research independently, the teacher can assign student groups 1 of the 6 sources of income to research. The teacher can use a Jigsaw activity to allow student groups to share/present information with the other groups to ensure all students have completed the Exploring Sources of Income handout by the end of the lesson.

  Formative Assessment Ideas:

  • The teacher can use student discussion to informally assess students’ understanding of sources of income and their potential advantages and disadvantages.

  Summative Assessment Ideas:

  • Students can work in small groups to create a short presentation, digitally or using tangible materials, detailing the different sources of income and their group’s opinion on which one is the “best” source of income with supporting information. Extension Ideas:
  • Students can research a future career or job they are interested in and explore the most common source of income for that career or job.