Economics for Teachers Lesson

PlanAsh Nash and Josh Thomas

Class DescriptionPROFILE #2: Yours is a freshman high school class that includes 25

students. Half are male and half are female. Your students are generally from upper middle class homes (the student parking lot is full of newer Mustangs, VWs, and even a few Hummers). 4 of your students are LD

(learning disabled), 2 in reading and 2 in math. The class is co-taught with a Special Education Para-professional.

Standards Chosen

• Macroeconomic Concepts• SSEMA1 The student will illustrate the means by which

economic activity is measured.• C- Explain how economic growth, inflation, and

unemployment are calculated. • D- Identify structural, cyclical, and frictional unemployment

Students Will…

• The students will learn about the factors of economic growth (GDP), inflation (CPI), and unemployment (unemployment rate) by viewing a brief PowerPoint. Included in this PowerPoint will be a link to the Bureau of Economic Analysis (to display GDP statistics) and the Bureau of Labor Statistics (to display inflationary statistics). Links:

• Bureau of Economic Analysis- www.bea.gov (economic growth)• Bureau of Labor Statistics- www.bls.gov (inflation,

unemployment)

MacroeconomicsEconomic growth, inflation, and unemployment.

Quick ReviewGross Domestic Product (GDP)• The market value of all final goods and services produced in a country in a calendar year.Economic Growth• An increase in real output as measured by real GDP or per capita real GDP.Unemployment• The number of people in the civilian work force over the age of 16 without jobs who are actively seeking work. Consumer Price Index (CPI)• A price index that measures the cost of a fixed basket of consumer goods and services and compares the cost of

this basket in one time period with its cost in some base period. Changes in the CPI are used to measure inflation.

Inflation• A rise in the general or average price level of all the goods and services produced in an economy. Can be caused

by pressure from the demand side of the market (demand-pull inflation) or pressure from the supply side of the market (cost-push inflation). 

Calculating Economic Growth

Bureau of Economic Analysis- www.bea.gov (economic growth)

GDP Real GDP&

Calculating Inflation and Unemployment

Bureau of Labor Statistics- www.bls.gov (inflation, unemployment)

CPI & Unemployment Rates

POP QUIZ

• Take out a sheet of paper and answer the following questions. A few sentences-paragraph will suffice for each question.

1.) Explain what Gross Domestic Product growth statistics measure.

2.) Explain what Consumer Price Index statistics measure.

Summative AssessmentStudents will first perform a summative assessment and write a few-sentence/paragraph reflection for each of the following questions.1.) Explain what Gross Domestic Product growth statistics measure.

• ANSWER: (Gross Domestic Product measures the dollar value of all goods and services produced in the US economy in one year with the inflation (REAL GDP) distortion removed to allow comparison to other time periods)

2.) Explain what Consumer Price Index statistics measure.• ANSWER: (The Consumer Price Index (CPI) measures the change in the overall

cost of a variety of consumer goods and services to show the inflation/deflation of the American dollar.)

Types of UnemploymentStructural Unemployment• The type of unemployment resulting from people's present abilities, skills, training and location not

matching up with available job openings that reflect the basic structure of the economy.  Cyclical Unemployment• Unemployment caused by fluctuations in the overall rate of economic activity or phase of the

business cycle. Frictional Unemployment• Unemployment that is always present in the economy, resulting from temporary transitions made

by workers and employers or from workers and employers having inconsistent or incomplete information.

“Unemployment Across the United States”Group Project

• In this lesson, you will learn the differences among frictional, cyclical, and structural unemployment, studying the situations in three American communities. Then you will have the opportunity to interpret data tables from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, comparing national unemployment data with data from your local community. After identifying the major employers and industries in your own community, you can hypothesize why your community's unemployment rate compares as it does with the national average. Finally, you will analyze the effects of the types of local industry and diversification on changes in local unemployment rates.

Formative Assessment• The project/assignment will first be modeled by the instructor. Providing

students with a concrete example of what they must do will benefit each and every student, especially the learning disabled. Each student will be placed into groups of 4 (6 groups total); these groups will be given one of three regional areas from around the United States (Kokomo, Indiana; College Station, Texas; Tulare County, California) to act as the focal point for their assessment. Each group will research (using the Bureau of Labor Statistics) the unemployment rate of that particular area. They must formulate a one-page personal essay (to be done by each member of the group, individually) of their findings and present these findings together as a group in front of the class. In their essays and presentations, they must describe the industry of their county, identify the unemployment patterns of their county, make comparisons of their region’s rates to national unemployment rates, explain in terms of diversity and specialization their specific region’s structural, cyclical, and frictional unemployment potentials, and finally, provide an economic development initiative that would best suit that region’s economy based on demographics, industry, etc.

Assignment

• You will be placed into groups of 4. First, your individual assignment is to write a one page reflection over your findings. Then, as a group, you will discuss your findings in a presentation to the class.

Groups• Groups will be assigned by the teacher. Groups will be random, aside from the

fact that the two reading-disabled students will be placed into the same group and the two math-disabled students will be placed into the same group. This will allow the teacher and paraprofessional to provide assistance to cover these students’ needs. For example, the paraprofessional can work with the math-disabled students providing manipulatives or other assistance to aid the students with their dealing with statistical information. On the other hand, the teacher could aid the reading disabled students in their respective group and possibly provide alternative/adjusted readings. The modeling exercise performed by the teacher will clear up most of the problems, as providing an example will show the students what needs to be done.

Resources

Link for Assignment

• Educator Version from EconEdLink:http://www.econedlink.org/lessons/index.php?lid=351&type=educator