GUIDING QUESTIONS: How do the policies of the federal government affect individuals as well as the economy of the United States?

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1 TITLE: The Government and the Economy LESSON AUTHORS: John Pearson and Jeremy Conrad KEY WORDS: Federal Reserve, Income Tax, Internal Revenue Service, National Debt GRADE LEVEL: 8th TIME ALLOTTED: ~45 minutes SOL:CE.13 The student will demonstrate knowledge of the role of government in the United States economy by a) examining competition in the marketplace; b) explaining how government provides certain goods and services; c) describing the impact of taxation, including an understanding of the reasons for the 16th Amendment, spending, and borrowing; d) explaining how the Federal Reserve System acts as the nation s central bank; e) describing the protection of consumer rights and property rights; f) recognizing that government creates currency and coins and that there are additional forms of money. GUIDING QUESTIONS: How do the policies of the federal government affect individuals as well as the economy of the United States? LESSON OBJECTIVES: 1) TSWBAT Understand and explain the ways the government regulates certain aspects of the economy. 2) TSWBAT Analyze the ways in which government policy affects personal finance, including income taxes. PROCEDURES/PROCESS: JUST DO IT!/Hook: Students will come into class and to find a copy of the 16 th Amendment of their desk. They will be asked to write a brief translation of the Amendment and describe, in their own words, how they think it applies to them as a citizen.(5mins) Transition 1: Hand out excerpts from book by David Spiselman and split class into groups of 3-4. (Objective 1): Student groups will read, review, and take notes (including important questions they may have) on Chapter 7 of David Spiselman. (20 mins) Transition 2: Hand out laptops for internet activity following group work (5 mins) (Objective 2). Students will use the Internal Revenue Service s income tax calculator (available at Encourage them to explore, play around with different numbers, salaries, withholdings, etc. Ask them to write down some of their observations for future reference. (10 mins) Transition 3: Collect laptops and hand out exit slips

2 ASSESSMENT TOOL(S): Informal: o Answers/participation to Just do it activity o Exit ticket CLOSURE/WRITING PROMPT/RUBRIC: (Objectives 1 &2) Before leaving the classroom at the end of the period, students are to complete an exit slip. They will be required to name 3 ways government policy affects the overall economy and 1 way if affects individuals finances. MODIFICATIONS/ACCOMMODATIONS FOR DIVERSE LEARNERS: Learning disabled students may need some assistance reading and writing. Place them with partners who can assist them reading (particularly for the sorting activity). Learning disabled students may copy notes from another student. Learning disabled students may be excused from the actual writing of the exit slip, depending on the severity of their condition. ELL students may need some materials translated. See the ELL teacher for assistance with this if necessary. ADDITIONAL MATERIALS: Copies of the 16 th Amendment to the US Constitution to be read and used as a reference by the students Excerpts from A Teenager s Guide to Money, Banking, and Finance by David Spiselman BACKGROUND/LOOKING FORWARD: Prior to this lesson the class learned about the type of projects that involve government spending, such as highways, the postal service, and national defense. They were also introduced to the ways governments raise money to pay for such services. (fees, taxed revenue, and borrowed funds) After this lesson we will continue with government involvement in the economy by discussing the Federal Reserve system and how it functions as our nation s central banking system ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE: Increased government spending may result in higher taxes; decreased government spending may result in lower taxes. The 16 th Amendment to the United States Constitution allows the government to tax business and personal incomes ESSENTIAL UNDERSTANDINGS: Thegovernmenttaxes,borrows,andspendstoinfluenceeconomicactivity

3 ESSENTIAL SKILLS: Examine and interpret primary and secondary source documents. (CE.1a) RATIONALE/PURPOSE: To teach students the importance of taxes in our national economy Help students understand where their tax money will go and why it is beneficial to pay taxes KEY CONCEPTS: FEDERAL RESERVE: The central banking system of the United States, principally responsible for determining monetary policy. INCOME TAX: A tax on the net income of an individual or business INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE (IRS): An agency of the US government that collects taxes and enforces tax laws. NATIONAL DEBT: The total amount of money owed by the US government to holders of US debt. NCSS THEMES: Production, Distribution, and Consumption: Because people have wants that often exceed the resources available to them, a variety of ways have evolved to answer such questions as: What is to be produced? How is production to be organized? How are good and services to be distributed? What is the most effective allocation of the factors of production (land, labor, capital, and management)? NCSSVII. SWBAT: Explain how the scarcity of productive resources (human, capital, technological, and natural) requires the development of economic systems to make decisions about how goods and services are to be produced and distributed; Compare the costs and benefits to society of allocating goods and services through private and public sectors; Explain the relationships among the various economic institutions that comprise economic systems such as households, businesses, banks, government agencies, labor unions, and corporations; Compare basic economic systems according to how rules and procedures deal with demand, supply, prices, the role of government, banks, labor and labor unions, savings and investments, and capital

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5 Name: Date: Period: EXITSLIP Listthreewaysthatthegovernmentaffectstheeconomy Listonewaythatgovernmentfinancialpolicyimpactsindividuals. 1. Name: Date: Period: EXITSLIP Listthreewaysthatthegovernmentaffectstheeconomy Listonewaythatgovernmentfinancialpolicyimpactsindividuals. 1.