Could saving really harm the economy? Discover the paradox of thrift and how decreases in consumption can affect economic recovery and various markets and industries.

Why do markets operate inefficiently when the world's resources are so limited? Review the various types of unemployment that exist and why some resources, especially human resources, go unused.

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...

Explore the dual role of prices as signals and incentives, and discover how prices are determined by buyers and sellers in the United States economy.

How can we accurately estimate what the economy should produce now and in the future? Have your pupils tackle this question as they learn about real versus potential GDP and as they review data regarding the output gap in...

Here is a resource covering a range of terms and concepts regarding scarcity, opportunity cost, and government debt in economics. 

Discover the impact and importance of data releases about current economic conditions in the United States. Your class members will learn about data revision and the GDP, and how these figures can alter people's views on the economy.

Excerpts from John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath and from John Fante's Ask the Dust, as well as a variety of primary source documents provide the background for an examination of the migrant experience from 1920-1945.

When it comes to all the ways money management and financial responsibility weave into our daily lives as adults, make sure students are prepared to locate resources for managing their finances, such as a financial advisor. 

Angkor Wat, a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Cambodia, is the focus of a lesson plan that asks class members to consider factors that could result in the destruction of these archeological treasures. Pupils listen to a...

Is there value in preserving indigenous languages that are almost extinct? That's the question posed to viewers of a short film about the attempt of one Native American woman who is creating a dictionary for Wakchumni, the language of...

Celebrate Black History Month with the help of 10 ideas that delve deep into the history, major events, contributions, famous African Americans, and sheds light on how scholars today can take a proactive stance on current civil rights...

Barrio de Paz is the story of Nelsa Libertad Curbelo, a nun, who works with the gang youth of Guayaquil, Ecuador. The 17-minute documentary focuses on her explanations for the rise of gangs and for how gang culture reflects...

Is cattle ranching on Santa Rosa island viable or non-viable? Rather than focusing on the issues of the transition of Santa Rosa island from a privately owned island cattle ranch to a national park, class members are asked to consider if...

After watching West of the West's documentary The Lone Woman of San Nicolas Island, class members imagine how Juana Maria/Karana may have felt about living alone on the island for 18 years and craft a blackout poem or a narrative in...

Looking for resources that explore alternative perspectives of the Christopher Columbus story? Check out the images, videos, cartoons, primary source documents, and other texts in a packet designed to spark...

Synthesizing information from a PBS documentary Ralph Bunche: An American Odyssey, its companion website, and several other resources (links to which are provided), high schoolers evaluate whether Bunche did all he could to advance the...

In groups, learners review one of four selected Supreme Court cases. The whole class watches a video introducing the four cases, and then small groups dive into Internet research in an attempt to write a two-paragraph summary of the...

Think about the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence with your budding historians. They analyze the importance of historical documents by examining several famous documents, and then they complete activities that check...

Introduce learners to allegorical art with four bronze sculptures by Francesco Bertos. After modeling how to recognize bias and allegory in Bertos' Africa, class groups examine the other three sculptures in the series before creating...

A bank of 12 words derived from Latin roots cern, jur/jus, and leg scaffolds this exercise for learners who situate the words in challenging sentences. Makes a nice cross-curricular supplement to social studies and law. Quiz results can...

Students examine maps of Lebanon, Vietnam and Nigeria, discuss relationship between ethnicity, land and conflict, review material from case studies, complete comparison chart, and write essays comparing two of the case studies.

Learners examine the US Constitution, Bill of Rights, and Supreme Court cases in order to broaden their understanding of the US Judicial System. They research a variety of textual and Internet resources to create a tri-fold brochure,...

The land has always provided its inhabitants with resources that allow them to survive. However, sometimes resources run scarce and sharing becomes an important task. Help little ones understand why and how people have shared resources...