Wages and Who Pays Them
A 40-minute Grade 2 lesson on how townspeople earn and how public and private wages differ.
Wages and Who Pays Them is a free 40-minute Kindergarten to Grade 2 social studies lesson plan for Common Core standard D2.Eco.6.K-2 — explain how people earn money. It is timed across 5 sections, gives the exact wording to use where the wording carries the mathematics, names 3 misconceptions with the teaching move that addresses each, and ends with an exit ticket and a printable worksheet with its answer key.
- Grade:
- Kindergarten to Grade 2
- Length:
- 40 minutes
- Standard:
- D2.Eco.6.K-2
Kindergarten to Grade 2 · Economics
D2.Eco.6.K-2
Explain how people earn income.
Objective
Students will be able to trace a town wage back to where the money came from.
Students are successful when they can
- Says who pays the worker.
- Says where that payer got the money.
- Tells a public wage from a private one.
What you need
- The council minutes and the market list
- Job cards
- The printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan
The lesson
Warm-up — who pays the clerk?
5 min- Ask who pays the town clerk. Nobody hands over money at a counter.
- Hold the question.
Teach — two routes to a wage
13 min- Route one: a trader is paid by whoever buys from them.
- Route two: the clerk is paid by the council, from the fund, which everybody paid into.
- Say the Grade 2 addition: a public wage is paid by people who may never use that service.
- Ask why the town accepts that. Because the service benefits everybody indirectly.
- Sort six workers by route.
“You pay the clerk whether or not you ever go to the town hall.”
Guided practice — trace six wages
12 min- Pairs sort six workers by route and trace the money one step further back.
- They find one paid by both routes.
- Take feedback on that one.
Independent practice
8 min- Students complete the wages page.
- Read each question aloud.
Close
2 min- Name a worker and trace their wage back two steps.
What goes wrong, and why
Each of these is a reasoning error rather than carelessness. The fix addresses the reasoning.
Thinks public workers are paid by the government from nowhere.
Why: The route is long and invisible.
Fix: Trace it to the town fund and then to the people who paid in.
Thinks a trader's takings are all wage.
Why: It all goes into the till.
Fix: Stock and stall costs come out first.
Thinks you only pay for services you use.
Why: That is how a shop works.
Fix: Public wages are paid by everybody, used or not.
If they are not there yet
- Three workers rather than six.
- Give the route and trace one step.
If they finish early
- Find a worker paid by both routes.
- Say what happens to public wages when the fund is short.
- Say why some services are public rather than sold.
Exit ticket
Who pays the town clerk, and where did that money come from?
What to look for: The council, funded by the town. Stopping at 'the council' means the second step needs asking.
Printable practice for D2.Eco.6.K-2
Free to print and copy, answer key included. Each sheet can generate a fresh set of problems for a retake.
- Wages and Who Pays ThemCircle the best answer.
Questions about Wages and Who Pays Them
How long does the Wages and Who Pays Them lesson take?
40 minutes, split across 5 timed sections: warm-up 5 min, teach 13 min, guided practice 12 min, independent practice 8 min, close 2 min. The minutes are stated per section and add up to the stated length, so the plan can be cut or extended at a section boundary rather than abandoned halfway.
Which standard does Wages and Who Pays Them teach?
D2.Eco.6.K-2 — D2.Eco.6.K-2, Economics for Kindergarten to Grade 2: “Explain how people earn income.” In plain terms, explain how people earn money.
What do I need to teach this lesson?
The council minutes and the market list, job cards and the printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan. Everything listed is either ordinary classroom equipment or a free printable from this site — there is nothing to buy and nothing to prepare beyond photocopying.
What mistakes should I expect in this lesson?
Three, each a reasoning error rather than carelessness: thinks public workers are paid by the government from nowhere; thinks a trader's takings are all wage and thinks you only pay for services you use. The plan gives the thinking behind each one and the teaching move that addresses the thinking rather than the symptom.
How do I know whether the lesson worked?
The exit ticket asks: “Who pays the town clerk, and where did that money come from?.” The council, funded by the town. Stopping at 'the council' means the second step needs asking. That tells you whether the class needs a reteach or a thirty-second conversation before you plan tomorrow.
Is there a worksheet to go with Wages and Who Pays Them?
Yes — 1 printable D2.Eco.6.K-2 worksheet, linked at the end of the plan and free like the rest of the site. Each one comes with an answer key and 25 versions, so the practice after the lesson can be a different paper on every desk.
Is Wages and Who Pays Them free to use?
Yes. The plan, its printables and their answer keys are free to read, print and photocopy for your own class, with no account and no email capture. It was last reviewed on 7 September 2026. Please do not resell it or republish it as your own.
Last reviewed 2026-09-07. Aligned to D2.Eco.6.K-2 of the C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards.