Government & The Economy Unit
$32.95
Give students a macroeconomics lens to view the US government’s role in the economy, touching on the Federal Reserve, taxes, and the federal budget, with this highly engaging, simulation- and real-world-filled 4-5 week Government & The Economy unit.
Included are over 20 activities, simulations, and projects to develop macroeconomic awareness and asks, “How much is the US government actually involved in the economy?”
Description
This unit can be done well in 4-5 weeks and supports standards from various states.
Students will master key economic concepts like:
- Federal Budget & Debt — mandatory & discretionary spending, entitlements like Social Security & Medicare, national debt, deficit spending, treasury securities
- Federal Reserve System — interest rates, monetary policy, FOMC & FAC, branch & member banks
- Taxes — income, payroll, sales, & other taxes; progressive, regressive, proportional taxes, tax return, tax policy
- Money — bartering, types of money, functions of money, characteristics of money
Included in this Government & The Economy Unit:
Overview Materials
- Teacher Unit Overview with general notes, links, standards, and a pacing guide
- Daily Lesson Plans with step-by-step details, planning, and lesson takeaways
- Detailed Answer Keys for each activity
- Unit Essential Questions and Standards handouts with review questions and “I Can…” checklists
- Concept Notes sheet for building deep and nuanced mastery of concepts
- Bell Ringer slides to introduce each activity
Major Topics & Activities
- Government’s Role in the Economy: Analyze the basic roles the government plays and research the impact of landmark economic legislation with a one-pager gallery walk project
- The Federal Budget & Debt: Guess what the government spends its money on, then compare with its actual budget; explore the growing debt problem and debate the possible solutions
- The Federal Reserve & Monetary Policy: Simulate the Fed’s various powers and analyze its recent actions to influence the economy
- Types of Taxes & Tax Policy: Compare various taxes used by federal & local governments; simulate proposing a tax hike plan
- Government & The Economy Review Games: Simulate the Fed’s various powers and analyze its recent actions to influence the economy
Lecture Kit
- 95-Slide Deck: introduce concepts with images and real-life examples; broken into 20-30-minute sections to deliver throughout the unit
- Guided Notes & Test Bank: support and assess learning with these no-prep tools
- Extensive Speaker Notes & Handout: extended explanations and examples, both embedded in the slide deck and a separate handout
Outside Materials: These are listed at the beginning of the unit and in detail within the individual lesson plans. They include:
- Recent related news articles
- Optional: real paper and coin currency, real pay stub
This bundle includes 150 PDF pages, plus Google files.
What grades is this intended for?
This was designed for high school, but some included resources could still work for upper middle school, especially if are willing to customize things as necessary.
What supports are included? How can I modify this?
All sorts of supports are included in each activity, like graphic organizer notes, visuals, and definitions, and the lecture slides are designed with clear, focused content on each slide.
Google versions of student materials and lecture slides are editable to tailor for your students’ needs.
Is this editable? What file types does this resource come in?
The main resource is a secured, non-editable PDF file intended to be printed.
Included are links to editable Google files, to customize to your classroom needs and assign digitally if you choose.
What standards does this address?
Several! Standards vary, but this resource supports these from various states:
- Describe & evaluate the role of the government and evaluate government rules and regulations in the US free enterprise system
- Explain the spending categories in the U.S. federal budget, the US government’s use of deficit spending, and the national debt
- Explain the structure of the Federal Reserve System and its tools to implement US monetary policy
- Analyze the actions of the Federal Reserve and their impact on the nation’s money supply
- Explain the functions and characteristics of money
- Describe different types of taxes at the local, state, and national levels and the impact of each on households and the economy
- Analyze and evaluate the costs and benefits of different taxes and efforts to change tax policies
What are the terms of use for this resource?
This resource, including all ancillary files, may be used as needed for regular, non-commercial single-classroom use between a teacher and their students.
This includes printing copies and sharing digital files with students through a secure platform, like Google Classroom or Canvas, email, or a classroom-only shared drive.
The using and sharing of any part of this resource in any manner outside the above-mentioned capacity is strictly prohibited. Prohibited uses include, but are not limited to,
- posting files on the open internet or in a Facebook group
- emailing files to or sharing print copies with others (without purchasing additional licenses)
- uploading or storing files in a shared cloud drive accessible by anyone other than students
- including any part, or any derivative work, within any commercial endeavor like curriculum development, professional training, or for-profit teaching like Outschool, or selling this resource as your own in either print or digital formats
Doing so violates the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), copyright law, and these terms.
By downloading this resource from Let’s Cultivate Greatness, the original user has been granted one license for a single teacher (or number of teachers matching the number of licenses purchased) and their students at any one time.
Let’s Cultivate Greatness retains the full copyright of this resource.
