Types and sources of income
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Introduction
Students learn about the various types of employment and ways of earning an income in Australia, including earned and unearned income and income from government pensions and allowances. They investigate the relative significance of different sources of income and interpret data to identify trends over time.
This activity addresses the role of consumers in the economy, particularly in relation to earned and unearned income. The topic may also have relevance for topics that relate to the distribution of income.
See also:
Student learning resources
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Sources of income
Income and income sources
Writing paragraphs in Economics
Significance of income sources
Suggested activity sequence
This sequence is intended as a framework to be modified and adapted by teachers to suit the needs of a class group. If you assign this activity to a class, your students will be assigned all student resources on their 'My learning' page. You can also hand-pick the resources students are assigned by selecting individual resources when you add a work item to a class in 'My classes'.
- Elicit students’ understanding of type of employment and income. Ask them for single words and phrases that might describe employment or income types, such as part-time, casual. Write the words they come up with on the board.
- Students read the income section of the explainer and complete part 1 of the Types and sources of income worksheet.
- Students read the rest of the explainer.
- Invite students to share the terms they are unfamiliar with and record them on the board. Ask other students to define these, clarifying misunderstandings or definitions as they do. Define any remaining terms.
- Students complete part 2 of worksheet.
- Explicitly teach how paragraphs are structured or refer students to the paragraph model.
- Students complete the data analysis worksheet, which includes writing one or more paragraphs.
- Discuss with students their findings from this data analysis and anything that surprised them.
- Think-pair-share:
- How might sources of income change in the future? Think about current trends such as the ageing population.
- How might the way people work change in the future? Think about the impact of recent events such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Students choose one of these questions and individually write a quick response.