Get 100 inches of string.
Cut it in 4 pieces as follows:
The poorest fifth of Canadians are represented by nothing because they are in debt.
1 piece is 1.3 inches long representing the wealth of the second poorest fifth of Canadians;
1 piece is 6.9 inches long representing the wealth of the middle fifth of Canadians;
1 piece is 17.4 inches long representing the wealth of the second richest fifth of Canadians;
1 piece is 75 inches long representing the wealth of the richest fifth of Canadians;
Script
Say: I am going to show the distribution of wealth in Canada using these strings. I have one hundred inches of string representing 100% of the personal wealth in Canada. It is cut into 5 pieces and each piece represents one fifth of the population of Canada, about 6 million people.
#1. Hold up nothing: Say: the poorest fifth of Canadians have no wealth. They are in debt by an average of over $9000 for each family unit.
#2. Hold up the 1.3 inch string: Say: the second poorest fifth of Canadians have this much wealth: 1.3%.
#3. Hold up the 6.9 inch string: Say: the middle fifth of Canadians have this much wealth: 6.9%.
#4. Hold up the 17.4 inch string: Say: the second to richest fifth of Canadians have this much wealth: 17.4 %.
#5: Hold up the 75 inch string: Say: the richest fifth of Canadians have this much wealth: 75% .
Say: this information is from a Statistics Canada report in 2006.
