Civics Today Citizenship, Economics, & You

Chapter 23: Government and the Economy

Web Activity Lesson Plans

Introduction
In this chapter students read about the important role that our government plays in the economy. By studying economic indicators the government determines whether the economy is in a period of expansion or recession. One goal is to keep inflation under control. One statistic that gives economists insight into the growth of the economy is the Consumer Price Index.

Lesson Description
In this lesson students will visit the site of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. They will read about the Consumer Price Index and how it is created. After answering several questions, they will create their own market basket for teens. They should check current prices in their area. One month later they can recheck prices, and compute the average change in price.

1. The learner will be able to describe the components of the consumer price index.
2. The learner will be able to create a market basket of goods and services for teens.
3. The learner will be able to calculate the change in price on the market basket for teens that they created.

1. The CPI is a measure of the average change over time in the prices paid by urban consumers for a market basket of consumer goods and services.
2. The BLS decided what to include in the market basket by interviewing five thousand families over a three-year period to study their spending habits.
3. The eight major categories included in the market basket are food and beverages, housing, apparel, transportation, medical care, recreation, education and communication, and other goods and services.
4. The CPI is released every month.
5. Students' market baskets will vary.