US Debt

One subject that my students love to talk about is the US debt. There are numerous reasons why, but I feel one reason is that they know it will effect them directly. I also think they like talking in big numbers. Whatever the case may be, I always start off by showing them the US Debt Clock. There is so much going on here, that I have to take some time to explain what they are looking at. It is difficult to wrap one's head around the massive numbers and I think this video does a good job in making the numbers visible. I also show I.O.U.S.A. though some of the numbers have changed, the overall issues have not. Here is the 30 minute version. This lesson is always a winner in my classroom.