Exploring the Minimum Wage
Unit 2 · Lesson 2.16 · Last updated June 2026
A 45-minute lesson where students analyze real data and competing arguments about the federal minimum wage, vote with their feet from multiple perspectives, and assess how their thinking changed.
Overview
Students learn about the discussion surrounding the federal minimum wage. They "vote with their feet" several times throughout the lesson to indicate their own opinion as well as the opinion of an assigned role, and assess the extent to which their thinking changed as a result of the lesson. This lesson builds directly on Lesson 2.15 (Labor Markets).
Learning Objective
- Analyze competing arguments about the federal minimum wage.
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Materials
- Instruction Slides (display during class period)
- Corner Votes pp. 4–7 (class set — 1 copy; tape one page in each corner of the classroom before class)
- Student Handout pp. 8–9 (1 copy per student)
- Minimum Wage Data pp. 10–11 (class set — 1 copy per pair)
- Minimum Wage Reading pp. 12–13 (1 copy per student)
Lesson Sequence
Slides 2–4
- Before class: tape one page of Corner Votes in each corner of the classroom. Pro Tip: Tape the responses in the same order they appear on Slide 2 to minimize confusion.
- Display Slide 2. Distribute 1 copy of Student Handout to each student. Direct students to write their responses to the activator in the "My initial vote and reasoning" section of Student Handout. Students should not discuss their thoughts with anyone at this point. (Additional educator tips and suggested answers are in the notes section throughout Instruction Slides.)
- Proceed to Slide 3. Tell students to move to the corner of the room that best aligns with their thinking and discuss their reasoning with 1 to 2 peers. Allow 30 seconds. Call on 1 to 2 students from each corner to share their thinking, then have students return to their seats.
- Proceed to Slide 4 and introduce the learning objective. Remind students that not all economists agree on this topic — the goal is for students to better understand and articulate their own thinking, not to find a "right" answer.
Slides 5–19
- Progress through Slides 5–7. Allow pairs time to answer the questions on Slides 6–7. Clarify responses as needed.
- Proceed to Slide 8. Students discuss their answers to the prompt with their partner.
- Display Slide 9. Distribute 1 copy of Minimum Wage Reading to each student and 1 copy of Minimum Wage Data to each pair. Explain that students will have 20 minutes to review the six sources provided, adding notes to the chart on Student Handout. Tell students they will use these notes in the next portion of the lesson to effectively communicate how a person in a particular role might respond to a proposed change to the federal minimum wage. Circulate while students work to answer questions.
- Advance to Slide 10. Assign roles by counting students off by 4. Students who are number 1 take on Role 1, number 2 takes Role 2, and so on. Tell students to write the description of their role next to "My assigned role is" on Student Handout.
- Display Slide 11. Students take approximately 3 minutes to write their response to the prompt on Student Handout.
- Proceed to Slide 12. Staying in their assigned role, students move to the corner of the room that best aligns with how they believe someone in their role might respond.
- Display Slide 13. Students discuss the prompt with 1 to 2 peers in their corner.
- Advance to Slide 14. Ask all students assigned Role 1 (still in their chosen corner) to raise their hands. Have 1 or 2 students explain their "vote."
- Using Slides 15–17, repeat Step 12 for Roles 2–4.
- Proceed to Slide 18. Students discuss the prompts with a peer near them. Call on 2 to 3 partnerships per prompt to explain their responses.
- Display Slide 19. Explain that students are no longer beholden to their assigned role. Tell students to move to the corner that best aligns with their own current thinking (which may be the same corner as Step 10). Click to reveal the remaining text and direct students to tell a peer in their corner if their current vote changed from their initial vote in the activator.
Slides 20–21
- Advance through Slides 20–21. Students return to their seats and write their responses in the "Exit Ticket" section of Student Handout. Note: Encourage students to include specific data from the sources. Collect Student Handout and Minimum Wage Data. Consider polling students to determine how many changed their responses since the initial activator vote.
Aligned Standards
Voluntary National Content Standards in Economics
What Educators Are Saying
This was an excellent lesson in that it required students to use evidence to support their arguments. Lesson plan instructions were clear and notes provided were easy to follow.
I find the lessons engaging and fun for the students. They keep student interest while teaching complex concepts.
I appreciate the fact that you all have found the data, graphs, charts, etc. and curated them already.