Inflation, unemployment, recession, and economic growth affect people in real ways. Through interactive lessons, this module teaches students about fiscal policy, the avenue by which Congress and the president attempt to influence the economy. Three modules that would further students understanding of the content are GDP and Pizza, The Unemployment Short Modules, and The Fed's New Monetary Policy Tools. This content from Econ Lowdown also features alignment to national Financial Literacy and/or Economics standards.

Inflation, unemployment, recession, and economic growth affect people’s lives. This module teaches students about fiscal policy, the avenue by which Congress and the president can attempt to influence the economy. Other modules that would further students understanding of the content are GDP and Pizza, Government Budgets, The Story of Unemployment, and Monetary Policy. This content from Econ Lowdown also features alignment to national Financial Literacy and/or Economics standards.

Explore how civil liberties are protected under the Bill of Rights. Through a study of foundational documents like the Constitution and key Supreme Court cases like Barron v. Baltimore, New York Times v. The United States, and Roe v. Wade, learn about the ongoing debate about the scope and reach of the Bill of Rights. The episode covers issues like state's rights, the complexity of freedom of speech, due process of law, clear and probable danger, and libel. [14:04]

Learn more about Congress and why it's so important for a healthy democracy. Through a study of foundational documents like the Constitution and completing a careful analysis of lawmaking (and lawmakers!) students learn why Congress is an integral part of American government and politics. [11:21]

Electoral behavior and trends in voter turnout are explored. Through a study of foundational documents like the Constitution, particularly the Bill of Rights, students learn about how suffrage- the right to vote- has changed over time, the forces that push people toward and away from the voting booth, and the power of political ads to shift public opinion. [13:06]

Learn about the details of lawmaking- how it works and how it sometimes doesn't work. Students watch video, examine the lawmaking process and pay special attention to recent Congressional filibusters. [12:56]

Explore the wide spectrum of political participation. Through a study of foundational documents like the Federalist Papers, students learn about the various ways to participate in government beyond running for office and voting in an election. The episode covers political mandates, factions, pluralism, lobbyists, political action committees, and much more. [12:14]

Explore the importance of public opinion in shaping national politics. Through a study of foundational documents like The Federalist Papers and the overlap between policy and popular beliefs, students learn about polling design and how random sampling, survey reliability, margins of error, and data analysis guide our understanding of public opinion. [12:19]

Learn about the Electoral Process. Students watch video, study, and analyze how senators, representatives, and the president of the United States are elected. [15:04]

Explore the intersection between media and politics. Through a study of foundational documents like the Constitution, specifically the 1st Amendment, students learn about the evolution of media, the impact of political ads on policy, bias in the media, and the effects of media framing, priming, and agenda setting in the shaping of American government and politics. [11:59]

GDP and Pizza: Economics for Life is designed to help students in civics, economics and other social studies classes grasp challenging economic content - and to explain why these topics are important for citizens to understand.

Section One covers:

the definition Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
the components of GDP
per capita GDP

Section Two covers:

real vs. nominal GDP
levels vs. percentage change
importance of a growing economy
trend growth rate
uses for GDP data
automatic stabilizers

The module includes numerous interactive checks for understanding, video clips of a Fed economist explaining concepts and everyday examples that will make sense to students. In addition, students complete a pre- and post-test to assess learning. This content from Econ Lowdown also features alignment to national Financial Literacy and/or Economics standards.

GDP: Measurement and Growth is the second short module in the GDP and Pizza: Economics for Life series. This series is designed to help students in civics, economics and other social studies classes grasp challenging economic content - and to explain why these topics are important for citizens to understand.

GDP: Measurement and Growth assumes students already understand the basics of GDP as well as GDP per capita and standard of living. It covers:

real vs. nominal GDP
levels vs. percentage change
importance of a growing economy
trend growth rate

The module includes numerous interactive checks for understanding, video clips of a Fed economist explaining concepts and everyday examples that will make sense to students. In addition, students complete a pre- and post-test to assess learning. This content from Econ Lowdown also features alignment to national Financial Literacy and/or Economics standards.

GDP: Policy is the third short module in the GDP and Pizza: Economics for Life series. This series is designed to help students in civics, economics and other social studies classes grasp challenging economic content - and to explain why these topics are important for citizens to understand.

GDP: Policy assumes students already understand the basics of GDP as well as GDP growth and measurement. It covers:

uses for GDP data
automatic stabilizers

The module includes numerous interactive checks for understanding, video clips of a Fed economist explaining concepts and everyday examples that will make sense to students. In addition, students complete a pre- and post-test to assess learning. This content from Econ Lowdown also features alignment to national Financial Literacy and/or Economics standards.

GDP: What Is It? Is one of three short modules that are part of a series GDP and Pizza: Economics for Life. The series is designed to help students in civics, economics and other social studies classes grasp challenging economic content - and to explain why these topics are important for citizens to understand.

This first short module, GDP: What Is It? covers:

the definition Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
the components of GDP
per capita GDP

The module includes interactive checks for understanding, video clips of a Fed economist explaining concepts and everyday examples that will make sense to students. In addition, students complete a pre- and post-test to assess learning. This content from Econ Lowdown also features alignment to national Financial Literacy and/or Economics standards.

Fair elections are at the heart of American democracy, but many people argue that politicians have been undermining this American ideal through the practice of what is called gerrymandering. Gerrymandering has been described as the process of politicians picking their voters instead of the voters picking their politicians. In order to really understand this concept, you need to know how voting districts work. In this episode of Above the Noise, host Myles Bess breaks down gerrymandering, and how politicians on both sides of the aisle use sophisticated software to rig the voting system in their party's favor. [5:17]

The federal government’s budget is in the news almost every day. We hear about programs being implemented and others being reduced or eliminated in lawmakers’ attempts to agree on a final budget. Regardless of the decisions being made, peoples’ opinions and wants vary. As you can imagine, a federal lawmaker’s job is not easy.

In this module, your students will play the role of a freshman lawmaker in the U.S. House of Representatives trying to serve his or her constituents’ goals and the long-term goals of the United States. Along the way, they’ll learn about the federal budget process and how federal government initiatives and programs are funded. This content from Econ Lowdown also features alignment to national Financial Literacy and/or Economics standards.

Want to learn about the Federal Reserve? Have no fear! In Plain English describes the structure and functions of the Federal Reserve System in an easy-to-understand interactive format.

Topics include:

Why Do We Need a Federal Reserve?
Board of Governors
Federal Reserve Banks
Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC)
What Does the Federal Reserve Do?
Independence and Accountability

The Federal Reserve System is an important – but complicated institution. Make sense of the Fed in a format that is explained – In Plain English. This content from Econ Lowdown also features alignment to national Financial Literacy and/or Economics standards.

Want to learn about the Federal Reserve? Have no fear! En Lenguaje Sencillo describes the structure and functions of the Federal Reserve System in an easy-to-understand interactive format.

Topics include:

Why Do We Need a Federal Reserve?
Board of Governors
Federal Reserve Banks
Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC)
What Does the Federal Reserve Do?
Independence and Accountability

The Federal Reserve System is an important – but complicated institution. Make sense of the Fed in a format that is explained – En Lenguaje Sencillo. This content from Econ Lowdown also features alignment to national Financial Literacy and/or Economics standards.

It's Your Paycheck! is designed for use in high school personal finance classes. The curriculum contains three sections-"Know Your Dough," "KaChing!" and "All About Credit." The lessons in each of these sections employ various teaching strategies to engage students so that they have opportunities to apply the concepts being taught. Each lesson includes black-line masters of the handouts and visuals needed to teach the lesson. This content from Econ Lowdown also features alignment to national Financial Literacy and/or Economics standards.

Students participate in an activity to learn about checking accounts, savings accounts and check cashing services. Students learn the components of a check, and they organize and enter information into an account register - in order to determine the balance. Students learn why maintaining account records is important. Students balance a monthly account statement.