Lesson Plans

Here is the bridge to your instructional goals. The case studies all present central economic themes, and these lesson plans guide you on how to dig deeper on those themes. Each lesson plan flows in a way that builds in multimedia content from PBS partners and follows a framework in which students access economic information, process and analyze what they learn, and then act on it in authentic ways. [Grades 9-12]

Making Statements about the State of the Economy

Incorporates the Ripple Effect case study

Students assess the health of the economy, explore and analyze key economic indicators, and create their own economic indices.

Prescription for the Economy

Incorporates the Ripple Effect case study

Students explore healthcare costs and the economic affects on individuals, employers, and the overall economy.

Where Are the Jobs?

Incorporates the Labor Supply case study

Students review employment and unemployment data and their relationships to the economy, analyze trends, and consider the financial and emotional costs of being unemployed.

The Labor Force: Past, Present, and Future

Incorporates the Labor Supply case study

Students analyze labor force data and use what they have learned to create a plan for the skills, education, and training they will need to find employment in an occupation that interests them.

Asset Management

Incorporates the Assets case study

Students learn about different types of assets and how to acquire them, the concepts of appreciation and depreciation, and the importance of diversification.

Test Drive

Incorporates the Assets case study

Students assess the challenges that the auto industry faces and make connections between the recent economic downturn and its effect on consumer confidence, particularly as it relates to purchasing a car.

The Cultivation of Agricultural Subsidies

Incorporates the Sugar Supply case study

Students examine some of the history of and current debate over agricultural subsidies and their effect on a specific U.S. crop -- sugar.

Imports

Incorporates the Sugar Supply case study

Students examine the idea of the balance of trade, specifically the role of imports in affecting the trade balance in the U.S., as well as the future of the U.S. textile industry.