Complications of Fiscal and Monetary Policy: Part 2
Unit 3 · Lesson 3.16 · Last updated June 2026
A 45-minute lesson where students analyze seven sources representing diverse perspectives on government involvement in promoting economic health, then synthesize evidence into a written argument.
Overview
Students explore various perspectives on fiscal and monetary policy to understand the debate surrounding government involvement in promoting economic health. After analyzing seven sources — including political cartoons, speeches, and opinion pieces — students synthesize their findings and classroom knowledge to respond to the prompt: How involved should the government be in promoting economic health?
Learning Objective
- Analyze the complications of fiscal and monetary policy.
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Materials
- Instruction Slides (display during class period)
- Student Handout (1 copy per student)
- Sources (electronic access as "view only" — or 1 printed copy per student) + computer or tablet (1 per student)
- Suggested Responses (1 copy for educator use)
Lesson Sequence
Slides 2–4
- Display Slide 2. Instruct students to silently view the image and consider the prompts for approximately 45 seconds. (An enlarged version is on Slide 3.) Encourage students to share their thoughts with a peer. (Additional educator tips and suggested answers are in the notes section throughout Instruction Slides.)
- Call on several students to share their responses. Explain that just as students used evidence to interpret the circumstances in the image, they will use evidence from various sources to answer a prompt about the government's role in promoting economic health.
- Proceed to Slide 4 and introduce the learning objective for the lesson.
Slides 5–10
- Advance through Slides 5–6. Distribute 1 copy of Student Handout to each student and instruct students to read the "Introduction" portion. Summarize the expectations for completing Part A using the information on Slide 6.
- Display Slide 7. Draw students' attention to "Part B" of their handout. Reinforce the expectation that students use evidence from the sources to support their response to the prompt. Highlight that there are helpful hints and an optional template included in Sources to support students as they write.
- If students are not familiar with citing sources, click to reveal the steps and examples on Slides 8–9 to explain the process.
- Provide each student a laptop or tablet and access to Sources (or distribute printed copies). Allow 35 minutes for students to complete Parts A and B individually. Circulate to answer questions. Reference Suggested Responses for source categorization and arguments.
- After approximately 35 minutes, instruct students to make their final additions to Student Handout and put their device away.
Slides 10–11
- Progress through Slides 10–11. Allow students a moment to read the sentence starter on Slide 11. Ask students to formulate a one-sentence summary of their Part B response using the starter, then share it with a peer.
- Collect Student Handout and review for misconceptions and gaps in understanding. Address common misconceptions prior to Lesson 3.19 (the Part 3 assessment workday).
Aligned Standards
Voluntary National Content Standards in Economics
What Educators Are Saying
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