A FAIR SHARE? Session plan

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Gervais Joseph
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1 Oxfam Educatin A FAIR SHARE? Sessin plan Age range: 7 4 years Ttal time: 60 min+ Outline Learners will increase their awareness f what tax is, hw the mney is spent and ur shared respnsibility fr public services. They will start t understand why it is imprtant t pay tax, and thrugh playing a simulatin game, discuss and draw their wn cnclusins abut whether everyne pays their fair share f tax. They will cnclude by reflecting n hw things might be made fairer. Learning bjectives T appreciate what fairness means. T understand why we pay tax and knw sme ways in which the mney is spent n public services. T knw that nt everyne pays their fair share f tax and cnsider ways f making things fairer. T be able t cllabrate and discuss ideas with thers in a grup. T be able t justify their pinins and ideas t thers. Learning utcmes Learners will: Identify sme services that are paid fr by the gvernment using mney frm taxes Play a game t develp their understanding f hw taxes are cllected and spent Use this game t help them cnsider whether everyne in sciety pays their fair share f tax Discuss their ideas with thers in a grup. Key questins What is tax? What is the mney spent n? D yu think yur grup paid a fair share f tax? What abut the ther grups? Why d yu think this? D yu think the game shuld be made fairer? If s, hw wuld yu make it fairer? Resurces Display cpy f What can we buy? (Resurce sheet ). Cpy f Tax haven label (Resurce sheet ). Cpies f the Grup descriptins (Activity sheet ) ne descriptin fr each grup. Cpies f the Tken templates (Activity sheet ) ne sheet fr each grup. Cpies f the Scenari cards (Activity sheet 3) ne scenari fr each grup. Scissrs. Clured pencils. Curriculum links These activities have links t several curricular areas, especially maths/numeracy (numbers and mney), English/literacy (racy), citizenship, Scial Studies and PSHE/PSE. Cpyright Oxfam GB. Yu may reprduce this dcument fr educatinal purpses nly. Page A Fair Share? Sessin Plan

2 Oxfam Educatin Activity (30 min) What is tax and what des it pay fr? Nte: Yu will need a large bag f cunters fr this activity. Tell learners that they are ging t be given sme cunters. Explain that they will be able t use these cunters t buy things fr themselves r the class t use. Distribute the cunters s that sme learners have ne, sme have tw and sme have five. Display r distribute cpies f What can we buy? (Resurce sheet ). This sheet shws hw much the different things that learners can buy will cst: swimming pl (0 cunters), playgrund equipment (30 cunters), laptp (0 cunters), bicycle ( cunters), ftball ( cunters), recrder ( cunters), reading bk ( cunters), pencil ( cunter). Ask learners which items they culd affrd t buy n their wn. Sme learners will be able t affrd t buy mre things than thers. Ask learners which items nbdy wuld be able t affrd n their wn (swimming pl, climbing frame, cmputer and bicycle). Discuss hw learners culd affrd t buy all these things withut getting any mre cunters. Agree that learners culd buy the mre expensive items by using sme, r all, f their cunters cllectively. Invite learners t jin in grups with thers t buy smething. Discuss the fllwing questins, encuraging learners t give reasns fr their ideas: D yu think it s fair that sme peple had mre cunters than thers? Hw wuld yu distribute the cunters mre fairly? When sharing yur cunters with thers in a grup, d yu think everyne shuld cntribute the same r different amunts? Fr example, thse with mre cunters culd share mre than thse with fewer cunters. Nw ask learners t think abut what things we need in ur cmmunities fr us all t have healthy, happy and safe lives. Think: Ask learners t think n their wn fr a minute. Pair: Give learners a cuple f minutes t share their thughts with a partner. Share: Spend a few minutes discussing learners respnses as a whle grup. Yu may wish t give learners a cuple f examples t prmpt their thinking. Pssibilities include: schls and teachers; hspitals, dctrs and nurses; the plice; fire fighters; the Armed Frces; rads and railways; caring fr the elderly; waste cllectin and recycling; museums and libraries; prtecting the cuntryside; building new huses and prviding supprt fr peple unable t wrk. Discuss where learners think the mney cmes frm t pay fr things like this in their cmmunity. Draw ut that the gvernment uses mney it cllects frm peple and businesses t pay fr these things. This mney is called tax. Yu may wish t explain hw this tax cllected, fr example as a prprtin f the mney that peple earn r as part f the prfit that businesses make. Tax is als included in the price f many f the gds we buy (this is called value added tax r VAT fr shrt). In the same way that learners shared their cunters t buy things, ur taxes are used cllectively t lk after ur cmmunities. Paying tax is imprtant as it pays fr things that we all need t have happy, healthy and safe lives. Cpyright Oxfam GB. Yu may reprduce this dcument fr educatinal purpses nly. Page A Fair Share? Sessin Plan

3 Oxfam Educatin Differentiatin Make it harder: Ask learners t investigate what different cmbinatins f items they culd buy by sharing their cunters as a class. Activity (30 min+) Sharing it ut fairly? Nte: The value f tkens and tax being asked fr belw are fr the purpses f the game nly and d nt reflect the actual incmes f and amunts f tax paid by individuals and businesses. Yu may wish t share this detail with learners. Befre starting the activity, label ne unused table in the class as fllws: Tax haven (a place t hide yur mney frm the gvernment). A label is prvided in Resurce sheet. Explain that learners are ging t play a game t help them understand a bit mre abut hw taxes are cllected and spent. It will als help them t think abut whether everyne pays their fair share f tax. Organise learners int five grups, ideally with fur t six peple in each grup. Tell learners that they nw represent a new cmmunity, with each grup representing different peple in it. Tell learners that they will be wrking tgether in their grups t make as many tkens as they can. Hwever, they will need t use sme f their tkens t pay tax, in the same way that peple and businesses need t pay tax using sme f their earnings r prfit. Tell learners that this tax will be used t pay fr services and facilities in their cmmunity. As a link t the previus activity, yu may wish t ask learners fr ideas f things that this tax mney might need t be spent n. Give each grup a cpy f ne f the Grup descriptins (Activity sheet ) and ask learners t read their descriptin. Distribute cpies f the Tken templates (Activity sheet ), scissrs and clured pencils. Each grup shuld have ne sheet f tkens. Explain that learners need t wrk tgether in their grups t cut ut the tkens and clur them in carefully. The number n the tken represents its value. Yu may wish t first ask learners t wrk ut the maximum pssible value f tkens that they culd make using their template sheet. Give learners sme time t start making their tkens. After a few minutes, ask learners t stp making tkens and explain that they will need t chse ne persn in their grup t be a tax cllectr. These peple shuld cme up and cllect the first Scenari card fr their grup (Activity sheet 3). This card will describe smething that tax needs t be cllected fr and hw much tax their grup needs t pay. The tax cllectr needs t cllect the crrect number f tkens and give them t the mayr (yu the teacher!). Tell learners that they can start making tkens again. Repeat the abve several times, giving the tax cllectrs a different scenari fr their grup (and a different amunt f tax t be cllected) each time. The tax cllectr shuld als keep a recrd f hw much tax their grup pays in ttal. After all the scenaris have been given ut and the taxes cllected, ask learners t calculate the ttal value f the tkens that they have left. Cpyright Oxfam GB. Yu may reprduce this dcument fr educatinal purpses nly. Page 3 A Fair Share? Sessin Plan

4 Oxfam Educatin Invite ne learner frm each grup t nw share with the rest f the class the descriptin f their grup, the ttal value f the tkens they made and hw much tax they paid verall. Ask grups 4 and t explain their use f the tax haven and ask grup t explain hw they influenced the gvernment t avid paying tax. Ask learners t discuss the fllwing questins in their grups: Hw did yu feel during the game? D yu think yur grup paid a fair share f tax? Why d yu think this? D yu think the ther grups paid a fair share f tax? Why d yu think this? D yu think the game shuld be made fairer? If s, hw wuld yu make it fairer? Allw time at the end f the game fr learners t share their thughts and ideas tgether as a whle class. Yu may want t draw ut the fllwing pints: Paying taxes is generally cnsidered t be a gd thing as it an imprtant way f raising mney fr essential services such as schls, hspitals, rads and clean water. Hwever, the amunts f tax that peple and businesses pay is ften highly cntested. Peple pay different amunts f tax depending n hw much they earn. Sme incme is tax free, and abve this there are different rates depending n which tax band yur incme falls int. This mean that thse wh earn mre (are in a higher tax band) shuld pay a larger prprtin f their incme as tax than peple wh earn less (are in a lwer tax band). Similarly, bigger businesses that make a bigger prfit usually pay mre tax than smaller businesses. Hwever, sme richer peple and bigger businesses hide their mney away - ften in tax havens - s that they can avid paying tax. A tax haven is a cuntry r place where peple r cmpanies can register t pay lwer rates f tax than in their wn cuntries. Big businesses may als put pressure n gvernments t prvide tax breaks, exemptins and lwer rates s that they pay as little tax as pssible. See the separate Backgrund infrmatin t find ut mre. In the first tw scenaris f the game, the lwer incme families and small businesses paid less tax than the higher incme family and big business. Mst peple agree that as the latter are earning mre mney, this is fair. Yu may wish t discuss this further. In the last tw scenaris, the higher incme family and big business were able t chse t pay less tax than they shuld by hiding sme f their tkens in a tax haven r by using their influence t negtiate a tax break with the mayr (gvernment). Sme peple in ther incme grups may als avid paying tax by nt being truthful abut hw much they earn (r hw much prfit their businesses make). Hwever, it is ften easier fr thse with the mst mney t avid paying tax n a massive scale. In many cases, they are able t d this legally by finding lphles in current natinal r internatinal law. When peple dn t pay their fair share f tax it is the prest peple (f which there are mre wmen than men) wh lse ut the mst as they are the peple wh are mst reliant n the public services paid fr by taxes. It is particularly difficult in the glbal Suth t raise Fr further details n Incme Tax rates and Persnal Allwances, see Cpyright Oxfam GB. Yu may reprduce this dcument fr educatinal purpses nly. Page 4 A Fair Share? Sessin Plan

5 Oxfam Educatin the amunt f tax needed t invest in these essential services such as healthcare and educatin. Organisatins such as Oxfam are campaigning and putting pressure n large cmpanies and gvernments t make the tax system fairer. See the separate Backgrund infrmatin t find ut mre. Differentiatin Make it harder: Ask learners t cme up with their wn ideas fr what services the taxes cllected shuld be spent n. Each grup culd take turns at cming up with an idea. Learners culd calculate what percentage f their ttal tken value their grup paid in tax, bth fr the different scenaris and verall. These figures culd then be cmpared between the different grups, and with actual incme tax rates (see abve). Further ideas Ask learners t think abut their jurney hme frm schl (r the area where they live). What different services and facilities are there? Which f these d yu think are paid fr by the gvernment using taxes? Which f these services and facilities d yu and yur family use? Which f these services and facilities d yu think are the mst imprtant? Why d yu think this? Learners culd als take phtgraphs (r cllect images) f services and facilities in their lcal cmmunity that are paid fr using tax mney. Learners culd use a diamnd nine t rank sme f the services and facilities paid fr using taxes in rder f hw imprtant they think these areas f spending are. Give learners (r ask them t think f) nine areas f spending t cnsider (see the list in Activity fr ideas). Organise learners int grups f three r fur and ask them t write each service r facility n a separate sticky nte. In their grups, learners shuld then rank these in a diamnd frmatin, in rder f hw imprtant they think the area f spending is. The area they think is the mst imprtant (in ther wrds, that the mst mney shuld be spent n) shuld be placed at the tp, fllwed by a rw f the next tw, then a rw f three and s n. Allw time at the end f the activity fr learners t share their rankings and their reasns fr these with ther grups. Fr further infrmatin see p. 9 f Oxfam s Glbal Citizenship in the classrm: A guide fr teachers: Use the HMRC s Junir Tax Facts vide and resurces fr 8 t year lds t find ut mre abut what taxes are and hw the mney is spent: Cpyright Oxfam GB. Yu may reprduce this dcument fr educatinal purpses nly. Page A Fair Share? Sessin Plan

6 Oxfam Educatin Nte: The abve resurce is nt the prperty f Oxfam, and Oxfam is nt affiliated with this rganisatin fr the purpses f this resurce. Any views expressed in the abve resurce, r by this rganisatin, d nt necessarily reflect the views f Oxfam. Use this shrt film by Oxfam (Hw Kids Make Things Fair) t prmpt discussin arund what inequality means and hw resurces (in this case biscuits!) culd be shared mre fairly. Yu culd set up a similar scenari in the classrm and see hw learners respnd. Last year saw the biggest increase in billinaires in histry, with ne new ne being added t the list mre frequently than every tw days. These billinaires, f which the vast majrity are men, saw their wealth increase by $76bn in mnths. This huge increase culd have ended glbal extreme pverty seven times ver. Instead, last year 8% f wealth created wrldwide went t the richest % whereas the prest half f the wrld saw n increase in their wealth at all. It is difficult t appreciate the enrmus disparities in wealth between the richest and prest. Supprt learners t use the Frbes rich list t investigate the wealth f the richest peple list in mre detail: Use Oxfam s maths resurces t investigate inequality within and between cuntries. See Everyne Cunts (fr 8 t year lds) and Mre r Less Equal? (fr t 6 year lds) Taxatin, in particular the amunt f tax that peple and businesses pay, is ften a cntrversial issue. See Oxfam s Teaching Cntrversial Issues guide fr supprt n hw t have meaningful cnversatin abut cmplex and challenging tpics in the classrm: Terms f use Cpyright Oxfam GB Yu may use these phtgraphs and assciated infrmatin fr educatinal purpses at yur educatinal institutin. With each use, yu must credit the phtgrapher named fr that image, as well as Oxfam. Yu may nt use the images and assciated infrmatin fr cmmercial purpses r utside f yur educatinal institutin. All infrmatin assciated with these images relates t the date and time that prject wrk tk place. Oxfam (08) Reward Wrk, Nt Wealth: T end the inequality crisis, we must build an ecnmy fr rdinary wrking peple, nt the rich and pwerful. plicy-practice.xfam.rg.uk/publicatins/reward-wrk-nt-wealth-t-end-the-inequality-crisis-we-must-build-an-ecnmyf Cpyright Oxfam GB. Yu may reprduce this dcument fr educatinal purpses nly. Page 6 A Fair Share? Sessin Plan

Resurce sheet Swimming pl - 0 tkens Image

7 Oxfam Educatin What can we buy? Resurce sheet Swimming pl - 0 tkens Image credit: labc Playgrund equipment - 30 tkens Image credit: frankes Laptp - 0 tkens Image credit: lescinqailes Bicycle - tkens Image credit: aguerrer Ftball - tkens Image credit: BriceByer Recrder - tkens Image credit: zeimusu Reading bk - tkens Image credit: frankes Pencil - tken Image credit: blpht Cpyright Oxfam GB. Yu may reprduce this dcument fr educatinal purpses nly. Page 7 A Fair Share? Sessin Plan

8 Oxfam Educatin Resurce sheet Tax haven (a place t hide yur mney frm the gvernment) Cpyright Oxfam GB. Yu may reprduce this dcument fr educatinal purpses nly. Page 8 A Fair Share? Sessin Plan

9 Oxfam Educatin Grup descriptins Activity sheet Lw incme family Grup Yu are a family that makes hardly any tkens, even thugh yu wrk very hard. Yu have t give away sme f yur tkens in tax which means yu have very little mney left. Yu ften struggle t buy enugh fd t eat and pay the bills n time. Middle incme family Grup Yu are a family that makes quite a few tkens. Yu use sme f yur tkens t pay tax but yu still have enugh mney t pay fr the things that yu need and are able t d nice things like g n hliday at least nce a year. Small business Grup 3 Yu are a small business. Only a few peple wrk fr yu. Yur business is ding kay and yu make quite a few tkens thugh nwhere near as much as the big businesses. Yu need t use sme f yur tkens t pay tax but yur business is still making a small prfit. High incme family Grup 4 Yu are a family that makes a lt f tkens. Yur mther is a chief executive f a large supermarket chain and yur father is the chairman f a bank. Yu live in a big huse, g n several hlidays each year and never wrry abut nt having enugh mney. Yu have s many tkens that yu can hide sme f them away t avid paying taxes. Big business Grup Yu are a big business. Yu have many peple wrking fr yu and yur cmpany buys and sells things all ver the wrld. Yu make a lt f tkens. Yu have s many tkens that yu can hide many f them away t avid paying taxes. Yu als put pressure n the gvernment t change the tax rules s that yu can pay as little tax as pssible. Cpyright Oxfam GB. Yu may reprduce this dcument fr educatinal purpses nly. Page 9 A Fair Share? Sessin Plan

10 Oxfam Educatin Tken template - Grup Activity sheet a Cpyright Oxfam GB. Yu may reprduce this dcument fr educatinal purpses nly. Page 0 A Fair Share? Sessin Plan

11 Oxfam Educatin Tken template - Grup Activity sheet b Cpyright Oxfam GB. Yu may reprduce this dcument fr educatinal purpses nly. Page A Fair Share? Sessin Plan

12 Oxfam Educatin Tken template - Grup 3 Activity sheet c Cpyright Oxfam GB. Yu may reprduce this dcument fr educatinal purpses nly. Page A Fair Share? Sessin Plan

13 Oxfam Educatin Tken template - Grup 4 Activity sheet d Cpyright Oxfam GB. Yu may reprduce this dcument fr educatinal purpses nly. Page 3 A Fair Share? Sessin Plan

14 Oxfam Educatin Tken template - Grup Activity sheet e Cpyright Oxfam GB. Yu may reprduce this dcument fr educatinal purpses nly. Page 4 A Fair Share? Sessin Plan

15 Oxfam Educatin Scenari cards - Grup Activity sheet 3a A new playgrund is being built in the lcal park. Yu need t pay ne tken in tax. The rads in the twn need resurfacing. Yu need t pay ne tken in tax. The schl needs mre bks and cmputers. Yu need t pay tw tkens in tax. The hspital needs sme new equipment and t emply mre nurses. Yu need t pay three tkens in tax. Scenari cards - Grup A new playgrund is being built in the lcal park. Yu need t pay tw tkens in tax. The rads in the twn need resurfacing. Yu need t pay tw tkens in tax. The schl needs mre bks and cmputers. Yu need t pay three tkens in tax. The hspital needs sme new equipment and t emply mre nurses. Yu need t pay fur tkens in tax. Scenari cards - Grup 3 A new playgrund is being built in the lcal park. Yu need t pay tw tkens in tax. The rads in the twn need resurfacing. Yu need t pay three tkens in tax. The schl needs mre bks and cmputers. Yu need t pay fur tkens in tax. The hspital needs sme new equipment and t emply mre nurses. Yu need t pay five tkens in tax. Cpyright Oxfam GB. Yu may reprduce this dcument fr educatinal purpses nly. Page A Fair Share? Sessin Plan

16 Oxfam Educatin Scenari cards - Grup 4 Activity sheet 3b A new playgrund is being built in the lcal park. Yu need t pay three tkens in tax. The rads in the twn need resurfacing. Yu need t pay five tkens in tax. The schl needs mre bks and cmputers. Yu have been asked t pay ten tkens in tax. Hwever, yu can decide hw many tkens yu wish t pay. If yu dn t want t pay sme r all f it, take the spare tkens ver t the tax haven table t hide away. The hspital needs sme new equipment and t emply mre nurses. Yu have been asked t pay fifteen tkens in tax. Hwever, yu can decide hw many tkens yu wish t pay. If yu dn t want t pay sme r all f it, take the spare tkens ver t the tax haven table t hide away. Scenari cards - Grup A new playgrund is being built in the lcal park. Yu need t pay ten tkens in tax. The rads in the twn need resurfacing. Yu need t pay fifteen tkens in tax. The schl needs mre bks and cmputers. Yu have been asked t pay fifteen tkens in tax. Hwever, yu can decide hw many tkens yu wish t pay. If yu dn t want t pay sme r all f it, take the spare tkens ver t the tax haven table t hide away. The hspital needs sme new equipment and t emply mre nurses. Yu have been asked t pay twenty tkens in tax. Hwever, yu can decide hw many tkens yu wish t pay. Send ne f yur grup t speak t the mayr t negtiate a tax break. Yu culd ffer yur supprt fr their party in the next electin in return fr aviding paying this much tax. Cpyright Oxfam GB. Yu may reprduce this dcument fr educatinal purpses nly. Page 6 A Fair Share? Sessin Plan

Lecture # 22 Cost-Benefit Analysis

Lecture # 22 Cost-Benefit Analysis Lecture # 22 Cst-Benefit Analysis I. Intrductin t Cst-Benefit Analysis (CBA) Public fficials ften use cst-benefit analysis t decide whether a prject is wrthwhile. Cst-benefit analysis can be used t guide