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Module 5 Sources of Income

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We will all make a great many “money decisions” over the course of our lives. We will make decisions about earning money, spending, saving, borrowing, investing, and donating. The first challenge, before making decisions about how to use money is, of course, to find ways to earn money. Obtaining money is a task most of us wish was easier than it is.

Regardless of how much money you make, or will earn, it is important to make good money decisions – and to know how to manage money. Most of the money you will get in your lifetime will likely come from your hard work and labour. There are certainly other ways to earn money. But most will likely come from wages and salaries you earn by working for an employer – or from money you make working for yourself as an entrepreneur.

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Teacher's Guide

This lesson plan can be used as a companion to Module 5 of Money and Youth – Sources of Income.

Relevant Subjects and Topics:

Business Studies, Finance, Entrepreneurship, Family Studies, Money Management

Background Information:

As students grow older and enter their teen years they begin to be exposed to various sources of income. Part time jobs are the most obvious source of the money but frequently other sources of income arise. In any case, as they start to have access to a revenue source it becomes more imperative that they develop good money management skills at as early a stage as possible in order to set them on the right path for future years. One of the important things for them to understand is that there are different sources of income, each with its own advantages and concerns. This lesson will focus the students on these general revenue sources and have them examine the advantages and challenges of each.

Outcomes:

At the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

  • Identify various sources of income
  • Explain the advantages and challenges associated with each
  • Demonstrate an understanding of how they can put money to work for them

Time for Implementation:

One class period.

Teaching and Learning Strategies:

Period One: 60 minutes

  • Begin the lesson by asking the students to indicate if they have any source of income.
  • Record a list of their responses.
  • Once the list is complete see if the items can fit into one of the following categories:
    1. Wages and Salary
    2. Self-employment
    3. Interest, Inheritance
  • Once this has been done, indicate to the students that each of these types of income have their advantages and demands.
  • Inform the students that they are going to go through a jigsaw activity.
  • Arrange the class into four home groups and have the students number off with the 1st group starting with 1, the second group with 2, the third group with 3 and the last group with 4.
  • Once they have numbered off have the students re-group into their numbered groups. These will be the expert groups.
  • Assign one of the following tasks to each group:
    1. What are the benefits and concerns about working for others?
    2. What are the benefits and concerns about being self-employed?
    3. How do you have your money make you money – for example, investing, interest? What are the demands placed on you when you do this?
    4. What should you do with additional revenue sources such as government transfers, inheritances, lottery winnings?
  • Allow the groups time to complete their task and then have them reform into their home groups at which time they will report back to their members.
  • Once this has been completed, refer them to pages 49 to 58 of Money and Youth and have them compare their answers to what is found in the book.
  • Conclude the lesson by responding to any questions or concerns that arise from the comparison.

Handouts/Resources:

  • There are no specific handouts unless the pages referred to must be reproduced.

Evaluation:

  • The expert group reports could be handed in for evaluation.

Modifications or Suggestions for Different Learners:

  • The group work activity allows the students to utilize their various skill levels of listening, speaking and recording.

Additional Related Links:

Additional Possible Activities:

  • The students could research what it is like to be self-employed to see if it fits their personality.
  • The students could research various investment strategies to see which ones are of interest to them.
  • The students could complete the “Employability Skills” questionnaire on page 64 of Money and Youth.
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Parent Resources

Why is this important?

As children develop into more independent adolescents and leave childhood allowances behind they need to develop an awareness of other sources of income and what is required to acquire them. Their first venture into this area is usually through a part-time after-school job. The income from this source develops their money-management skills beyond those learned with their allowance. But there are other sources of income that they need to be aware of and some of these actually use their money to make more money. It is important for us as parents and guardians to make our children aware of these alternate sources. By helping them develop an understanding of how to manage these sources of income we can help them take advantage of what they have to offer and embark on a prosperous adult life.

Ways to engage your child and fun things to do.

Adolescents, for the most part, have a part-time job that provides income for them. It could include babysitting, home maintenance, such as cutting lawns and shoveling snow, or it could involve being employed by a local merchant. We could use this as a starting point to get them considering other sources.
  1. Ask them to indicate to you if the money they are making is sufficient to meet their current needs. After this discussion, ask them if they think their financial needs are going to increase as they get older. Ask them to indicate some of the financial challenges that they think lie ahead. With this information, ask them to suggest where they might get the additional revenue and then brainstorm with them other areas that might generate money for them (see the links provided below).
  2. Ask your child if they are saving any of their money. Ask them how they might go about having that money work for them – i.e., investing it or saving it in an interest-bearing savings account.
  3. Talk about risk and reward with investments and the old adage “If it seems too good to be true – it probably is.” (See link below)
  4. Ask your child if they know what is meant by compound interest. Review with them how it works and examine what they might do with any savings they have.
  5. Ask them if they think they would like to be employed by someone or work for themselves (entrepreneur) and discuss the merits and concerns of each.

Additional Background and Related Websites and Resources

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