Inquiries--Ready Made for Use
The majority of the inquiries below were developed as part of the New York State Social Studies Toolkit, a project funded by the New York State Education Department to aid teachers in aligning instruction to C3 Framework and Inquiry Arc inspired state standards. Additionally, there are links to inquiries developed by EconEdLink, in conjunction with the IDM model from C3Teachers.
These inquiries have been aligned to the corresponding grade level and content standard for the 2016 revision of the California History/Social Science Framework and corresponding content standards. New York state standards are not aligned perfectly to those of the State of California; teachers can modify these Inquiries to meet appropriate grade-level expectations and instructional approaches. |
Grade 12-Principles of Economics
California Framework Unit of Study and Related "Essential Questions" |
Inquiry Title Description |
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Who's to Blame for the Great Recession? By investigating the compelling question of who is to blame for the Great Recession, students untangle key aspects of the financial crisis including, but not limited to, the role of government in financial oversight and the degree to which the Federal Reserve and others were prepared for and responded ably to the crisis; the role of consumers and the extent to which they escalated the debt crisis and contributed to the housing bubble; and the role of financial institutions in creating, bundling, and insuring new investment products and the extent to which these put the economy in jeopardy. |
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Does It Matter What I Want to Be When I Grow Up? (Labor Markets) The importance of understanding labor markets in this inquiry is twofold: (1) students should be able to understand some of the changes that exist and persist in today’s labor markets, especially labor demand (or derived demand), and (2) students will benefit from understanding fluctuations in supply and demand and how they affect wages. |
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Economics and Happiness: Can Americans Be Happier? 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 could be happier as a country. By investigating three studies of global happiness and the platforms of three American political parties, students develop a deep understanding of the relationship between values, economic policy, and how we view economic happiness and could improve upon it. |
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Gender Wage Gap: What Should Be Done About It? This inquiry looks at the complexity of the gender wage gap issue through all four social studies disciplines. Students examine the structural factors that influence women’s choices as well as historical (e.g., Equal Pay Act of 1963) and pending (e.g., Paycheck Fairness Act) legislative efforts. Ultimately, students must find a way to measure the gender wage gap, determine if it is an issue worth addressing, and, if so, how to best address it, including private and public sector solutions. |
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Globalization and Free Trade: Worth the Price? Drawing on disciplinary experts who disagree on a fundamental free-market economic tenet, this inquiry asks students to investigate the dispute over free trade. By considering the arguments of professional economists who may use the same data but come to very different conclusions, students examine the “price” of free trade as it relates to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). In understanding the arguments for and against free-trade policy in general and applying such concepts to existing policy more specifically, students can gain clarity about this age-old debate and become participants in a contemporary discussion involving international trade. |
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Corporate Social Responsibility: Taxes and Social Conscience 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 to basic principles of human rights. Although corporations are said to provide jobs and direct investment in the economy, some argue that corporations should expand their missions to solve local and global problems. After considering the costs, benefits, and realities of corporate social responsibility (CSR), students should be able to make claims supported by evidence as to whether corporations should develop a conscience beyond their bottom line. This inquiry embeds the Taking Informed Action sequence throughout. |
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