Federal Reserve Bank
Government Spending and Taxes
What types of government programs are designed to improve economic inequity in the United States? Introduce your learners to government programs, such as low-income housing, Social Security, and Medicaid, how they work to improve...
Council for Economic Education
Government Spending: Why Do We Spend the Way We Do?
Students examine the categories for federal spending using the internet to locate them. They create a list of expenditures noting them as government purchases or transfer payments. They analyze the patterns of spending during the past 40...
Federal Reserve Bank
Income Taxes
Most adults dread April 15 — tax day! Tax preparation can be intimidating even for adults. Build confidence by leading individuals through the process and then give them a scenario to practice. The exercise uses tax vocabulary to give...
Federal Reserve Bank
Choices Are Everywhere: Why Can’t We Just Have It All?
Here is a resource covering a range of terms and concepts regarding scarcity, opportunity cost, and government debt in economics.
Curated OER
Your Tax Dollars at Work
In order to understand how tax dollars are spent, young economists use given data and graph it on a circle graph. Circle graphs are highly visual and can help individuals describe data. A class discussion follows the initial activity.
Council for Economic Education
The Role of Government: The Federal Government and Fiscal Policy
Give learners a crash course in balancing the books on the United States federal government level with an economics and government resource. Class members engage in a warm-up discussion and brainstorming session before answering...
Council for Economic Education
Tax Time Scavenger Hunt
Is a 1040EZ tax form really easy? Scholars investigate the complexities of the United States taxation system with an economics lesson. Using a wide variety of web sources, they interpret IRS taxation rules and regulations to better...
Curated OER
Taxes in U.S. History: Tax Reform in the 1960s and 1980s
Students explain the content, purpose, and impact of the Tax Reform Acts of 1969 and 1986.
Curated OER
Citizenship Worksheet 5 - Local and State Government
The Tenth Amendment of the United States Constitution delegates rights that have not been defined by the federal government to the states. But what are the responsibilities of state governments? What about county and city governments?...
Curated OER
Labor, Choice, and Sales Tax
Students consider the idea of earning and spending money. In this money management lesson plan, students discuss the concept of saving and spending money through the reading of a story and by completing several activities that involve...
Curated OER
The Tax Man Cometh
Learners examine websites and resources related to Bush's 2001 tax plan. They discuss the history of taxes and other tax topics. They look for evidence in the local newspaper of government spending at work.
Curated OER
The Role of Government
Students are introduced to the economic roles of the federal government. Using the internet, they read information related to government spending and the actual dollar amounts attached to budget items. In groups, they develop their own...
K12 Reader
What is a Tribal Government?
What is life like on a Native American reservation? Learn about the ways a tribal government works with a reading comprehension activity. After reading a short passage, kids use context clues to answer five comprehension questions.
Curated OER
Parliament and Government
Students examine the roles of those in Parliament. In this British government lesson plan, students participate in a mock election and conduct research regarding the difference between Parliament and government.
Curated OER
Constitution Basics and Political Spectrum
Have learners try their hands at an online quiz. There are 32 multiple choice questions all related to the three branches of the US government. Questions regarding US economics are also included.
Curated OER
Cartoons for the Classroom: Unemployment
It's the classic paradox in this political cartoon analysis; any jobs plan requires extra government spending. However, the unemployed aren't willing to concede to more federal spending for what they want most, jobs. Background...
Federal Reserve Bank
Monetary and Fiscal Policy in Times of Crisis
Following the 2008 financial crisis in the United States, why did fiscal policymakers increase government spending and reduce taxes? Discover the motivation behind these actions and learn about the separate functions of monetary and...
American Bar Association
What Is Separation of Powers?
Who has the power? Scholars investigate the creation of the three branches of government in the United States Constitution. They analyze just why the framers created the branches the way they did.
Curated OER
Government & Politics: Chapter 11.1
In this government worksheet, students reference their textbook to answer 27 fill in the blank questions and 3 short answer questions regarding the Constitution and the powers of Congress.
Curated OER
Micro Economics - Personal Budgeting
Students explore the real world as it relates to money and how people use it. In this money management lesson, students jump into the real world as they role play with money through spending, saving, being married, single, having...
Curated OER
Spending Public Money
Students work in small groups. They imagine that they are the council committee. Students choose from a list of projects to be funded. They have one hundred thousand dollars to spend and they have to spend the money on a project that...
College Board
2000 AP® Macroeconomics Free-Response Questions
When a country faces a recession, the government has various options: decrease taxes to stimulate consumer spending or increase taxes to fund projects. Which works best? Young economists ponder this question, along with how an increase...
Curated OER
Your First Job
High schoolers determine that they are responsible for paying income taxes through withholdings on earned income. They examine the Form W-4.
Curated OER
What Works and What Doesn't: The Potential and Limitations of Fiscal Policy
Twelfth graders study micro- and macro-economies. They examine theories about fiscal policy and the relationships between consumption and output, tax policy and government spending changes. They also consider how economic perspectives...