ALEX Classroom Resources

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SS2010] ECON (12) 9 :

9 ) Describe methods used to measure overall economic activity, including the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the Consumer Price Index (CPI), inflation, and unemployment.

•  Explaining how overall levels of income, employment, and prices are determined by spending decisions of households, businesses, and government; net exports in the short run; and production decisions of firms and technology in the long run

•  Identifying structural, cyclical, and frictional unemployment

•  Describing stages of the business cycle and how employment and inflation change during those stages

This week, Adriene and Jacob teach you about macroeconomics. This is the stuff of big picture economics and the major movers in the economy--taxes, monetary policy, inflation, and policy. We need this stuff because if you don't have a big picture of the economy, crashes and panic are more likely. Of course, economics is extremely complex and unpredictable. Today we'll talk about GDP as a measure of a country's economic health, the basics of economic analysis, and even a little about full employment and unemployment.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SS2010] ECON (12) 9 :

9 ) Describe methods used to measure overall economic activity, including the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the Consumer Price Index (CPI), inflation, and unemployment.

•  Explaining how overall levels of income, employment, and prices are determined by spending decisions of households, businesses, and government; net exports in the short run; and production decisions of firms and technology in the long run

•  Identifying structural, cyclical, and frictional unemployment

•  Describing stages of the business cycle and how employment and inflation change during those stages

Why are some countries rich? Why are some countries poor? In the end, it comes down to productivity. This week on Crash Course Econ, Adriene and Jacob investigate just why some economies are more productive than others, and what happens when an economy is more productive. We'll look at how things like per capita GDP translate to the lifestyle of normal people.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SS2010] ECON (12) 9 :

9 ) Describe methods used to measure overall economic activity, including the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the Consumer Price Index (CPI), inflation, and unemployment.

•  Explaining how overall levels of income, employment, and prices are determined by spending decisions of households, businesses, and government; net exports in the short run; and production decisions of firms and technology in the long run

•  Identifying structural, cyclical, and frictional unemployment

•  Describing stages of the business cycle and how employment and inflation change during those stages

[SS2010] ECON (12) 11 :

11 ) Explain how the government uses fiscal policy to promote the economic goals of price stability, full employment, and economic growth.

•  Defining fiscal policy and the use of taxation and government purchases

•  Comparing government deficits and the national debt

In this interactive game from iCivics, students will learn to control the budget of the federal government. They will choose how federal revenues should be raised and how taxpayers’ money should be spent. They must also decide how to fund programs that are important to them, without setting taxes too high or borrowing too much money. This game can be played when teaching a lesson on the economy for reinforcement or after as an assessment.

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