Wealth

This lesson examines the increasing wealth disparity between government representatives and the people they serve. Students read and share their ideas about lack of working-class representation in government and how this impacts lawmaking policy at all levels.

In this brief activity, students consider Oxfam's finding that the world's richest 1% will own half of global wealth by 2016.   

The world's richest 85 people have as much wealth as half the people on earth. Students develop graphics or concepts to demonstrate this extreme inequality, express their thoughts and feelings about it, consider four ways people are working to address the problem, and discuss how they might take...

This activity uses a 6-minute video about wealth inequality that has gone viral on the internet with small-group activities to help students explore what they think U.S. wealth distribution currently is, what they think it should be, what it actually is, and what they might do about it.  (For a non...

Students consider opposing views about taxes and wealth, analyze charts about wealth distribution, and decide how they think wealth should be distributed.

Readings and activities to help high school students better understand the growing gap between rich and poor and consider the issue in light of this year's presidential election.

Readings and activities to help high school students better understand the growing gap between rich and poor and consider the issue in light of this year's presidential election. 

Through three readings, students examine U.S. joblessness and hunger as well as the country's huge deficit, then consider conflicting views on how to address these problems. Discussion questions and suggestions for further inquiry and citizenship projects follow.

Readings and activities on WorldCom, the profitable world of stock options, and other financial shenanigans and what Congress & the President are doing about it.

The new president-elect faces many challenges. Two student readings outline the economic crisis and Obama's prescriptions for addressing it. Discussion questions follow.