How Should Congress Allocate Money?

Overview

In this lesson students discover how the government spends money. Students will then determine what they think are (or should be) priorities for national spending.

Grade Levels

5 – 8

Objectives

Students will:

• Identify the major spending categories of the federal budget.
• Draw a pie chart that shows what they think are priorities for national spending.

Estimated Time

2 days

Materials Needed

• E-Learning Module: Federal Budget Allocation
• Overhead projection device
• Internet connection
• 8½" x 11" white, multi-purpose paper
• Markers

Procedure

Day 1

1. Explain to students that there is never enough money to pay for everything citizens want. An important job of Congress is to determine how much money they expect the Government to receive, where it will come from, and how to spend the money.
2. Use an overhead projection device to show students the screen in the Federal Budget Allocation activity that lists the categories of spending in 2005. Briefly discuss each category.
3. Have students conduct research to learn more about each category. Ask students to find out what services are provided in each category, name some ways each category affects their own lives, and find out the minimum amount of money needed to provide the services in the category. Students may find this information by visiting the U.S. Government Printing Office at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/usbudget/fy05/browse.html or the Office of Management and Budget Web site at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2005/ Tell students to carefully and accurately write this information because they will use it to complete the Federal Budget Allocation Activity.

Day 2

1. Have students complete the Federal Budget Allocation activity. Tell them they should use the information they collected while conducting research about the categories.
2. After all of your students have completed the activity, discuss their general thoughts and reactions. Ask students if they were surprised about the allocations. Have them explain why or why not. Have several student volunteers discuss how they think the money should be allocated.
3. Ask students to name some issues that Americans are currently concerned with. For example, students may say homeland security or health care. Discuss how these concerns may affect how Congress allocates spending in the future.
4. Have students look at the spending categories in the Federal Budget Allocation Activity once again.
5. Divide the class into groups of four. Have each group create a pie chart on white multi-purpose paper that shows how they would allocate funds for the current fiscal year. Students should consider current events and issues that Americans are currently concerned with when making allocations. Remind them that people often have to make compromises when creating a budget.
6. Ask each group to explain how they prioritized spending for the federal budget and why they chose the allocations shown on the pie chart.

Extension Activity

Have students visit the Government Printing Office Web site at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/usbudget/about.html and compare the federal budgets for the past four years. Students should notice how the allocations have changed.

Assessment

Basic Concepts and Processes

Ask your students to respond to the following requests for information and assess their knowledge of key concepts taught in this lesson.

1. Identify at least 10 spending categories for the federal budget.
2. Describe how Congress decides to allocate money that citizens pay into the government.

Scoring Guide for Pie Chart and Paper

Elements	Possible Score	Assigned Score	Notes
The total of all the categories equals 100%.	20
The categories reflect events and issues that Americans are currently concerned with.	20
Includes a description of how the group prioritized spending.	30
Includes description of why the allocations were chosen.	30

Lesson Plan Feedback

If you have suggestions for improving this lesson plan, or if you have ideas for others using the module, please let us know. We value your input. Thank you!

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