This inquiry leads students through an investigation of taxation in the United States. By investigating the compelling question, “Do taxes help or hurt United States citizens?” students will evaluate the pros and cons of taxes on the citizens of the United States. Students will discover the different ways that the government collects taxes, how they spend the revenue from it, what categories and tax brackets people fall into when filing their taxes, and how various socio-economic groups are affected by taxes on their income.
Economics
The Heart of Social Studies
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This inquiry leads students through an investigation of taxation in the United States. By investigating the compelling question, “Do taxes help or hurt United States citizens?” students will evaluate the pros and cons of taxes on the citizens of the United States. Students will discover the different ways that the government collects taxes, how they…
This inquiry leads students through an investigation of fair trade. By investigating the compelling question “Is Fair Trade Fair?” students evaluate the rise of fair trade as it relates to several specialty industries; such as the coffee industry. The formative performance tasks build on knowledge and skills through the course of the inquiry and helps…
This inquiry leads students through an investigation of economics and the impact of new technologies on our world. By investigating the compelling question “Is the United States ready to be a cash free society?” students evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of abandoning the dollar for the new methods of payments. The formative performance tasks build…
There has been much debate about the role of corporations and how they function in today’s global society. Arguments abound as to whether or not these entities pay their fair share of taxes to the governments of the countries in which they operate and whether or not they have a social responsibility to act according…
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Nobel Prize–winning economist Milton Friedman once said, “There is a standard cliché which I am sure you have all heard, that if you have two economists in one room, you are bound to have at least three opinions.” Drawing on disciplinary experts who disagree on a fundamental free-market economic tenet, this inquiry asks students to…
This inquiry leads students through an investigation of recent studies that try to quantify a country’s happiness through different economic measures. By investigating the compelling question about whether Americans could be happier, students consider the ways in which economic values (e.g., freedom, security, sustainability) impact our perspectives on happiness and the extent to which we…
This inquiry leads students through an investigation of campaign finance by examining election costs, expenditures, and the complex relationships between candidates and political-action committees. By investigating the compelling question “Does money matter in political campaigns?” students dissect contemporary political campaigns in order to assess whether or not campaign-finance reform should take place. In investigating contemporary…
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The goal of this inquiry is to help students understand the various factors that caused the United States to be on the winning side in World War II. The compelling question “Why was the US on the winning side of World War II?” engages students with both the economic and military factors that contributed to…
This inquiry explores some of the dynamic changes occurring in the US labor markets through the investigation of the compelling question “Does it matter what I want to be when I grow up?” The importance of understanding labor markets in this inquiry is twofold: (1) students should be able to understand some of the changes…
The goal of this inquiry is help students understand the central debate about the government’s role in fostering economic opportunity over the past half century. As this is a historical inquiry, it focuses on the motivations, actions, and impacts of two particular US presidents: Lyndon Johnson and Ronald Reagan. Their economic programs stand in for…