Economics · Week 16 · Government, the Macroeconomy, and Global Trade

Reading the Economy's Pulse

Calculating unemployment and inflation rates and comparing nominal with real data, then checking in on students' own emotional indicators.

Self-awarenessGrade 12About 20 minutesGrade 12, one semester

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Students will: Students distinguish nominal from real data and calculate the unemployment rate, inflation, and real wage change to explain why the economy can look strong in the news but feel weak at home.
SEL skill: Name an emotional indicator and notice how it affects thinking about data
What it looks like: Students recognize and name their own emotional reactions to economic news, using indicators of how they feel the way economists use indicators of the economy.
Content focus: Reading the economy's pulse
Format: Think write pair share

Self-awareness

Self-awareness means recognizing your own emotions, thoughts, and values and how they influence what you do. More self-awareness activities

What you get

A teacher guide with what to say, step by step, plus student pages and a supports page for students with diverse learning needs, including those with IEPs. Print or Project it, or assign it in Google Forms and Google Docs for Google Classroom. Your first 10 activities are free.

Standards

12.5.1: CA History Social Science Content Standard, Grade 12: Principles of Economics (standard 12.5, item 1)
12.5.2: CA History Social Science Content Standard, Grade 12: Principles of Economics (standard 12.5, item 2)
CA HSS Analysis Skill: HI6 Conduct cost benefit analyses and apply basic economic indicators to analyze the economy. (Historical Interpretation)
C3 Framework (national): D2.Eco.11.9-12 Use economic indicators to analyze the current and future state of the economy.
Literacy in history: RH.11-12.7 Integrate quantitative or technical analysis, such as charts and maps, with information in a text.

Fits these textbook chapters

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More self-awareness activities for Economics

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Why Jobs Pay Differently Self-awarenessUsing supply, demand, and productivity to explain differences in wages and mapping the skills students want to grow next.
The Fed and Your Wallet Self-awarenessExplaining how the Federal Reserve influences interest rates and applying the idea of delayed reward to personal saving.

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