Topics: Civic Education and Engagement; Persuasive Writing and Speaking
Grade Level: Grades 9-12
Subject Areas: Civics and US Government; Economics
Time Required: 3-4 hours. This lesson plan is designed for four to five class periods of 50 minutes. It can be adapted, however, to accommodate other schedules in either an in-person or virtual format.
In this lesson plan, high school students debate our nation’s priorities by establishing their own “simulated” federal budgets. After analyzing the proposed FY 2022 discretionary budget, students design a FY 2023 budget with a group of their peers. Through the simulation, students will learn the importance of the budgeting process and that decisions concerning how our government spends its money form the basis of most national government policy.
This lesson plan is designed for 4 to 5 class periods of 50 minutes. It can be adapted, however, to accommodate other schedules in either an in-person or virtual format. This program can also be adapted for a school-wide event, with teachers facilitating groups of 10-15 students in their budgeting sessions.
- evaluate how money had been allocated in the proposed FY 2022 discretionary budget.
- consider the additional needs of our nation in FY 2023.
- discuss the programs and issues that they think are important and consider how much money should be allocated to those programs.
- discuss the pros and cons of deficit spending.
- design their FY 2023 discretionary budgets.
- present their rationales for their budgets to the larger group.
Handouts (all included in the downloadable pdf):
- Understanding the Federal Budget
- What Role Should the Government Play in the Economy?
- Rules of the Game
- Functional Areas with Budget Details
- National Defense Spending
- Special Interest Groups Requests
- Tally Sheet
- Game Board (to be enlarged to 11” X 17”)
- 167 white poker chips and 10 red poker chips
- A "virtual" version of the Game Board is available here.
1. For homework, have students read Understanding the Federal Budget and answer the reading comprehension questions.
2. Discuss the reading in class and the process of federal budgeting.
3. For homework, have students read What Role Should the Government Play in the Economy? and ask them to provide a written response to the question “What is your view of the government’s role in the economy?”
4. Discuss the reading and their responses to the question. Highlight differences between discretionary and mandatory spending. (20 minutes)
5. Provide students with the Rules of the Game handout. Discuss the rules and explain that students will only be dealing with government spending, not taxes—and only with discretionary spending, not mandatory spending. Remind students that at the end of the group budgeting, they will need to be able to explain their budgets. (What programs were they eliminating by cutting a particular functional category? What programs were they enriching by adding to a particular functional category?) (30 minutes)
Have students review the materials for homework and ask them to be prepared to discuss and create their budgets the next day.
6. Divide students into groups of 5-6. Supply each group with:
(a) a game board and poker chips (or virtual game board)
(b) Functional Areas with Budget Details handout
(c) National Defense Spending handout
(d) Special Interest Groups Requests
(e) Tally Sheet
7. Ask students to consider first how the funds were allocated in President Biden's proposed FY 2022 budget. Do they agree with his priorities? What would they like to see changed? What categories/programs are important to them?
8. Ask students to read the Special Interest Groups Requests and consider whether or not it would influence their budgeting decisions.
9. Have students reconfigure the budget to represent their own priorities. As you monitor each group’s progress, make sure they know that they will need to justify their budgeting decisions to the rest of the class. When they are finished, have them fill in the tally sheet and submit it to you.
If students need more time to budget, you can have them continue their discussions the following day.
10. Share the budgets of all the groups with the class, and have students discuss their decisions.
11. For a follow-up to the students’ budgeting, have them consider the following questions:
A. What programs did they choose to cut? Why did they choose to cut those programs over others?
1) How will the program cuts they have made affect specific groups (the elderly, students, environmentalists, people with low incomes, foreign aid recipients, etc.)?
2) Have them write a letter to the head of an organization whose funding will be cut and explain why they have cut the funding.
B. What programs did they choose to enrich? Why did they choose to enrich those programs over others?
(1) How will the programs they have enriched affect specific groups (the elderly, students, environmentalists, people with low incomes, foreign aid recipients, etc.)?
(2) Have them write a press release to be read by the president’s press secretary, describing the reasons they have enriched these programs.
C. What are the tradeoffs they foresee in diminishing some programs while protecting or enriching others? What might be some of the political “fallout” of their decisions? How might they address this “fallout”? Have students write a brief paper on these tradeoffs and respond to the potential political “fallout.”
D. Were there any arguments made by their classmates during the budgeting workshop that surprised them? Why?
Analytical Perspectives, Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2022
Most of the figures used for this budget simulation program were taken from the Outlays section of the Analytical Perspectives, Table 20-1 – Budget Authority and Outlays by Function, Category and Program.
Summary Tables, Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2022
Some of the figures used in the “Understanding the Federal Budget” handout were taken from the Summary Tables in President Biden’s proposed 2022 budget (p. 40; Table S-4: Proposed Budget by Category).
Other Valuable URLs
Policy Basics: Introduction to the Federal Budget Process
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities provides this introduction to the laws and procedures for the Congress to create a federal budget.
National Priorities Project
This organization provides analyses of federal data “so people can prioritize and influence how their tax dollars are spent.” Their website includes a summary of the federal budget process: https://www.nationalpriorities.org/budget-basics/federal-budget-101/federal-budget-process/
The Concord Coalition
This organization describes itself as “dedicated to educating the public about the causes and consequences of federal budget deficits, the long-term challenges facing America's unsustainable entitlement programs, and how to build a sound economy for future generations.”
America's Historical Struggle With Debt and Taxes
This 10-minute video from the PBS NewsHour (2012), includes Paul Solman’s interview with Simon Johnson. It’s dated, but interesting.
'Red Ink': Understanding Why the U.S. Has So Much Debt
This is Paul Solman’s 2012 interview with The Wall Street Journal's David Wessel about his new book "Red Ink," a primer to the budget. It is also dated, but interesting.
Status of Appropriations Legislation for FY 2022
This web page can help you keep track of what parts of the FY 2022 budget have been passed, and what is pending.
Bureau of the Public Debt
This U.S. Department of the Treasury website includes a link to the most current calculation of the U.S. debt.
This government website provides maps and data that show how and where our foreign assistance dollars are spent.
Connections to Curriculum (Standards)
Common Core State Standards
- ELA College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, and Language
- ELA – Reading Informational Texts, Writing, Speaking and Listening, Language, and Literacy in History/Social Studies for grades 9-10 and 11-12
C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards
- Discipline 1 - Developing questions and planning inquiries
- Discipline 2 - Applying disciplinary concepts and tools (Civics and Economics)
- Discipline 3 - Evaluating sources and using evidence
- Discipline 4 - Communicating conclusions and taking informed action
National Council of Teachers of English: Standards 1, 3, 4, 5, 6
Massachusetts History and Social Science Framework
- GOV.T1: Foundations of government in the United States
- GOV.T4: : Political parties, interest groups, media, and public policy
- ECON.T4: The role of government
Massachusetts English Language Arts Framework
- Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, and Language