EARNING INCOME

Explore the big idea of earning income and the associated concepts, competencies, and academic standards at various grade levels.

 

Big Idea & Essential Questions

Earning capabilities over a lifetime are maximized by career planning, education, and job choices.

  • What impacts a person’s earning potential over a lifetime?

  • How do people develop a career plan?

  • What factors do people consider when accepting a job?

 

Core Concepts & Competencies

Within the Pennsylvania Personal Finance Instructional Framework, the big idea of earning income includes four core concepts. The competencies for each can be found below or download the PDF version which includes a correlation to the Pennsylvania Academic Standards.

  • Career Plan

  • Earning Income

  • Net Pay

  • Taxes

 

High School (Grades 9-12)

Career Plan: Analyze a career goal and develop a plan and timetable for achieving it.

Career Plan: Investigate and present the educational/training requirements, lifetime income potential, and primary duties of at least two jobs of interest.

Earning Income: Hypothesize the future income needed to maintain a desired standard of living.

Net Pay: Analyze and calculate net pay.

Taxes: Explain the purposes of tax-related forms and complete samples.

 

Middle School (Grades 6-8)

Career Plan: Describe the risks, costs, and rewards of starting a business.

Earning Income: Describe various sources of personal income, including wages, gifts, rent, interest, commissions, tips, etc.

Taxes: Describe taxes and deductions subtracted from gross pay.

 

Elementary (Grades 3-5)

Career Plan: Explain the difference between a career and a job and why people work.

Earning Income: Explain the differences in earning by those in different jobs and with different skills and education.

Taxes: Give an example of how governments use taxes we pay.

 

Primary (Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 2)

Career Plan: Differentiate between work and play and identify jobs in the community.

Earning Income: Identify ways children and adults acquire money.

Taxes: Explain why the price of an item can be different from the actual amount paid.