What made you decide to undertake a tax based programme and specifically the Part of something bigger kit for your students?
As a Social Studies teacher, I wanted my Year 10 students to develop a better understanding of how tax fits into everyday life rather than seeing it as something only adults deal with. Financial literacy is an increasingly important part of preparing students for life beyond school, and this resource aligned well with our curriculum focus on citizenship, economics and community participation. The kit presented tax in a way that was authentic, interactive and relevant, rather than simply teaching facts and definitions.
If you were to re use this resource in the future, how would you see yourself doing this? (Eg, as a full unit, separately in other units of work, integrating into cross curricular lesson plans)
I would definitely use it again as a complete unit. The sequence of lessons builds students' understanding progressively, from exploring what tax pays for, to interpreting payslips, and finally examining how tax decisions affect society. I could also see parts of the resource being integrated into our Economics, Social Studies and Careers programmes, particularly when discussing government, citizenship, employment and financial capability. The flexibility of the activities also makes it easy to adapt for different classes.
How effective was the Melani interactive in increasing your students' understanding of tax?
How would you rate the change in your own understanding of Tax systems and what it contributes to, prior to engaging with the kit?
Which part/s of the kit did you find the most useful in supporting you to teach financial literacy and why?
The employee tax stories, the personalised payslip activities and the business tax story were particularly effective. They moved financial literacy beyond simply calculating tax and encouraged students to think about employment, budgeting, deductions and the role tax plays in supporting communities. I also found the comparison between the supermarket system and the national tax system an excellent way of introducing systems thinking and helping students understand why governments make spending decisions.
How would you rate the change in your students understanding of Tax systems and what it contributes to, prior to engaging with the kit?
Which part/s of the kit grabbed the attention of your students and engaged them the most?
The role-playing elements around the Super Saver Supermarket were by far the most engaging. Students really enjoyed creating identities for their employees, building tax stories and following those characters through the activities. The interactive payslips, Melani activities and designing their own tax spending system also generated excellent discussion and debate. These activities encouraged every student to participate and led to some thoughtful conversations about fairness, priorities and civic responsibility, rather than simply focusing on "how much tax people pay."
How useful would you say the kit was at extending students overall financial literacy?
