Canada Pension Plan & Social Security: Reading Comp & Venn Diagram

Our students will one day have careers and will need to save for retirement. Do they understand how the government retirement savings plan in their country works? Can they estimate the amount of income they will receive from it when they retire?

This ready-to-use high school reading comprehension activity for students in grades 9-12 will teach your class about the Canada Pension Plan in Canada and United States Social Security Program.

How to Use:

Print a 3-page worksheet for each student.

Students read through the passage individually, in pairs, or as a class.

There are 4 math questions for them to complete to calculate Canada Pension Plan or Social Security Contributions using the real percentages from the reading comprehension passage.

Then, students use what they have read to complete a Venn Diagram comparing and contrasting the two programs: what is the same about them and what is different?

A complete answer key is included to eliminate any guesswork!

Math Skills Required:

Students need to be able to convert percentages into decimals and multiply with decimals. They need to be able to perform operations with financial numbers into the hundred thousands (salaries).

Grades to Use With:

This reading comprehension passage is designed for students in grades 9-12 and is written at a 10th grade level. It could be used with students in a high school special education classroom if they have the required math skills (above) and reading level.

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