Recession Lesson Plan

TITLE: OUR CHANGING ECONOMY

OVERVIEW:

In this lesson students will understand the indicators economists use to judge the health of the U.S. economy. Students will use an article from the NewsHour as the basis for lesson activities. Students will conduct research on varied aspects of the U.S. economy. They will then create a mock news broadcast that focuses on the current downturn in the economy and its impact on diverse segments of society.

Grade Level: High School

Subject Area: Language Arts, Civics, Economics

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

· Students will conduct research to learn about varied components of the U.S. economy

· Students will create a presentation that synthesizes and summarizes their understanding of varied aspects of the United States economy

· Students will conduct a survey and critically analyze and compile results.

· Students will critically analyze and interpret information from a variety of source materials

To assess students' understanding of the above learning objectives, teachers may rate students on the quality of written work, presentations and participation in group discussions.

BUILDING BACKGROUND:

The purpose of the Building Background Activities is to give students background knowledge of basic concepts and vocabulary necessary to understand the lesson activities, to motivate their interest and engage them in the lesson topic, and to encourage them to make connections between what they already know about the topic and new ideas.

Activity One

1. Write the words "U.S. Economy" in the center of a circle. Ask the students to brainstorm ideas regarding their knowledge of this topic. Record students' ideas on a blackboard to use as a shared reference throughout the rest of the lesson activities.

2. Share the following article with the class from PBS Online NewsHour at http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/features/july-dec01/economy_11-14.html. Ask the students to create a brief written response to the article. (Could be assigned as homework the night before.)

3. Divide the students into pairs to share their thoughts.

4. Ask for student volunteers to share their responses with the entire class.

Activity Two

1. Ask each student to conduct a survey of at least five people of varied ages based on the following question. (Could be a homework assignment over 2 days or weekend):

· How is our economy impacting your life?

2. After the students have completed their surveys, divide them into small groups and ask them to compare and discuss their results.

3. Create a class chart that categorizes the results of the surveys.

4. Have each group choose two quotes that they feel are representative of their results.

5. Use these quotes to create a backdrop/stage set for the mock television broadcast the students will create in the following activity. Encourage students' creative use of drawings, word art, collages, and photographs in creating the backdrop for the production.

PRIMARY LESSON ACTIVITY:

The purpose of this activity is to give students opportunities to explore diverse elements of the U.S. economy. They will read a variety of source materials, engage in small group discussion, and create a presentation based on what they have learned.

1. Tell the students that they are going to create a mock television program that focuses on the impact of the current economic condition in the United States. Brainstorm ideas for a title and vote to select the best one.

2. Divide the students into small working groups. Each group will be assigned a different part of the production.

Group One: Interviews

Group One's goal is to create interviews that highlight the impact of the economy on everyday people. The students should conduct research on the impact of the economic downturn on various industries, and use what they have learned to create four imaginary characters that represent diverse occupations. They should create an imaginary interview scenario with each of the four characters. Some possible examples include an airline mechanic, a retail employee, an elderly person living on a fixed income, a teenage consumer, a homeless person, an artist or musician, and a single working parent.

Some good Web sites to begin their research include the following:

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/economy/july-dec01/jobfair_10-26.html
http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20011012/3535567s.htm
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12152-2001Oct17.html
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-000081746oct13.story?coll=la%2Dheadlines%2Dpe%2Dbusiness
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A55452-2001Nov19.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A55649-2001Nov19.html

Group Two: Graphics

The goal of Group Two is to create the graphics and sound for the mock television production. It should create visual representations for the following terms:

Recession
Unemployment
Stock Market
Boom & Bust Cycle
Net Income

This group is responsible for deciding when to use these graphics to enhance the content of the mock television production.

Some good Web sites to begin research include the following:

http://pittsford.monroe.edu/jefferson/calfieri/economics/EcoGlossary.html
http://economics.about.com/library/recession/blrecdef.htm?terms=recession
http://www.nber.org/cycles/recessions.html
http://www.tbtimes.com/economic_stats.htm

The students may also click on the hot links in the article for further vocabulary.
Group Two may also choose to include music or other audio to enhance the production.

Group Three: Experts

This goal of this group is to create brief reports that reflect expertise on a variety of topics related to the economy. The students will choose four topics, explain what they are and what has happened recently. They may choose from the following list of topics to create their reports:

The Stock Market
Unemployment
Retail Sales
The Airline Industry
The Music Industry

Some good Web sites to begin research include the following:

http://www.tbtimes.com/economic_stats.htm
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/economy/economy.html
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0873746.html
http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20011119/3635268s.htm

Group Four: Government Efforts

This group will focus on the role of the government in the helping the economy. It should create segments focusing on tax cuts, the Gross Domestic Product and the Federal Reserve.

Some good Web sites to begin research include the following:

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/economy/economy.html
http://www.bea.doc.gov/bea/dn1.htm
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20011120/us/attacks_economy_2.html
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20011120/pl/bush_107.html

3. As a class, decide how you will stage the production. Choose a narrator/moderator and decide how to integrate the different group segments into a coherent production.

4. If possible, stage a performance for students in other classes or parents, and videotape.

5. Show the students the videotape and ask them critique the content.

EXTENSION ACTIVITIES:

The purpose of these extension activities is to give students opportunities to engage in further explorations regarding lesson topics.

Activity One

1. Create a game that could be used to teach 10, 11 and 12-year- old students the basic information that you have learned from the article and lesson activities.

Activity Two

1. Organize an "Economics in Your Community Fair" for students and community members. Focus on a problem that is a result of the current economic downturn and generate community-based solutions to effect positive change.

2. Share your information by creating a Web site.

STANDARDS
McRel K-12 National Standards www.mcrel.org

Economics
Understands the roles government plays in the United States economy.
Understands basic features of market structures and exchanges.

Language Arts
Gathers and uses information for research purposes.
Contributes to the overall effort of a group.
Uses reading skills and strategies to understand a variety of informational texts (e.g., textbooks, biographical sketches, letters, diaries, directions, procedures, magazines, essays, primary source historical documents, editorials, news stories, periodicals, catalogs, job-related materials, schedules, speeches, memoranda, public documents, maps).
Uses discussions with peers as a way of understanding information.

Civics
Understands how politics enables a group of people with varying opinions and/or interests to reach collective decisions, influence decisions, and accomplish goals that they could not reach as individuals (e.g., managing the distribution of resources, allocating benefits and burdens, managing conflicts).

Potential research sites for this lesson plan:

http://www.eh.net/ehresources/howmuch/dollarq.php http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/features/july-dec01/economy_11-14.html

To find out more about opportunities to contribute to this site, contact Leah Clapman at lclapman@newshour.org