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
Federal Budget Lesson Plan and Fiscal Ship Student Game
The federal budget has never been so fun! Using an interactive game, high schoolers choose from a variety of policy options after identifying goals and try to balance these changes in policy with a federal budget.
Curated OER
Budget Debate: How Would You Balance the Federal Budget?
Learners examine how to balance the federal budget. In this American economics lesson, students read the provided article "Congress Debates Cutting the Budget." Learners then collaborate in small groups to determine how to balance the...
Curated OER
I'm The Taxman!
Students develop an understanding of how federal revenues are gained by taxes. This foundation enable students to decipher changes in federal tax policy. Groups of students study different types of taxes and prepare presentations on each...
Curated OER
Should America Balance the Federal Budget?
Young scholars analyze the federal budget of the United States. In this national debt lesson, students listen to their instructor present a lecture regarding the details of the balancing the federal budget. Young scholars respond to...
Curated OER
The Five W's of Tax Day
Use April 15th to teach your students the fundamentals of the American federal tax system.
Federal Reserve Bank
FRED in the Classroom: Debt and Deficit
Here is a hands-on activity where your class members will discover different ways to measure the government's financial situation and work to add data and redraw graphs in order to calculate the ratio of gross federal debt held by the...
Curated OER
A Look at Individual Federal Income Tax
High schoolers investigate the concept of a personal federal income tax. They conduct research and participate in class discussion in order to deal some of the issues. They include why there is an individual income tax and how the money...
Curated OER
What is Taxed and Why
Students are exposed to the need for federal, state and local governments to tax constituents to provide goods and services for their residents. They identify the different kinds of taxes and give examples of the goods and services taxed.
Curated OER
Law Day: Constitutional Law Outline
Students receive information about laws. Some of the categories include powers of the federal government, federal powers vs. state powers, and the Bill of Rights. It is in an outline form that looks like the student follows along with...
Curated OER
Understanding Tax: Your Role as a Tax Payer
Every adult should know that it is their responsibility to help fund public goods and services by paying taxes. Help young people get a handle on the history, evolution, purposes for, and reasons why they should pay taxes too.
iCivics
Taxation
A paycheck stub can offer loads of information on the taxes American citizens pay. This resource not only includes analysis of a stub as an activity, but also provides a wealth of informative reading material on such topics as the...
State Bar of Texas
McCullough v. Maryland
Can a state government tax the federal government? The Supreme Court case McCullough v. Maryland explores different governments in the United States. Scholars research the court's decision with a video and discussion. They formulate...
Curated OER
Raising Money for Government Services
Students evaluate how money is raised to pay for government services. They describe why governments need revenue to provide goods and services. They create a list of government expenditures at the federal, state and local levels. They...
Curated OER
Paying for Government Services
Students identify major sources of revenue for government spending and identify the type of tax that makes up the largest percentage of the federal budget. They are introduced to the major services provided by local, state and national...
Bill of Rights Institute
Preserving the Bill of Rights
Consider how America's founding fathers and their experiences contributed to the rights we all enjoy today. A collection of reading, writing, and collaborative exercises prompt high schoolers to think about the ways their current lives...
Curated OER
The Role of State Government and the State Constitution
Students examine sections of the Nebraska Constitution and the U.S. Constitution, and compare/contrast the two. They research policy issues, and decide whether they should be solved at the state or federal level.
Curated OER
Debt and Deficits
Learners identify, research and interpret the national debt and deficits of the past through today and why it has risen significantly in the last 20 years. They analyze the size and impacts and discuss the various policy measures for...
Curated OER
Taxes: Where Does Your Money Go?
Students study taxes and the role that they place in our lives. In this economic lesson, students explore the reality of taxes, how they work, why we pay them, where the money goes and how to make the most of the money you pay into taxes...
Curated OER
Public Policy & The Federal Budget
Students, in groups, represent a single deparment in the executive branch and research the work of their department and their current budget via a provided Internet site and then must decide how to cut their budget for an emergency.
Curated OER
Balancing the Budget
Students identify the different components that make up the federal budget. They discuss the relationship between government revenues and spending and between budget deficits and the national debt. Students predict how changes in...
Curated OER
The Taxpayer's Rights
Students examine rights of taxpayers and procedures the IRS uses to process tax returns
Curated OER
State Government Debt in Utah: Rapid Growth in Recent Years
Students examine growth of debt in Utah state government from 1991 to present, compare general obligation debt and revenue debt incurred by state, identify four primary methods used by governments to finance projects, and complete...
Federal Reserve Bank
Investing in Yourself: An Economic Approach to Education Decisions
What is the difference between physical capital and human capital, and in which should you invest? While considering the concept of return on investment, take a look at the payoffs and consequences of investing in training and education.