Readings in both class and lab, Module 1:

The Everything Government Book by Nick Ragone

California Voter Information Packet

Historic Documents: Federalist Papers #10 and #51, Declaration of Independence, US Constitution, excerpts from Locke and Montesquieu.

Readings in both class and lab, Module 2:

The Everything Personal Finance In Your 20s and 30s Book by Howard Davidoff

Learn To Earn By Peter Lynch

Readings in both class and lab, Module 3:

New Ideas From Dead Economists by Todd Buchholtz

“That Which Is Seen, and That Which is Not Seen” by Frederic Bastiat

A section from “Introducing Keynes” on the general theory of labor & employment

“The Poverty of Growth” by John Buell

“The Spirit of Enterprise” by George Gilder

Film & Multimedia

Module One:

The Best Man (1964)

Assorted historic campaign commercials

Module Two:

"The Secret History of the Credit Card" from PBS Frontline

Enron: The Smartest Guys In The Room (2005)

The Big Short (2015)

Module Three:

Wag The Dog (1997)

In Class:

1. First Amendment project: Choosing a set of three related First Amendment Supreme Court decisions, researching their background, and analyzing connections between legal precedents in interpreting the Constitution (SS #1-5, ELA # 1,2,5)

2. Checks & Balances Project: Choosing a historic example of a clash between the Executive & other branches, researching the history and analyzing the outcome within an understanding of the real workings of American politics. (SS#1-5, ELA #1-5)

In Lab: California Ballot Project: Choosing an initiative from the current year California ballot, analyzing the opposing arguments found in the voters' guide & who made them, formulating an informed voting decision. (SS #3-5, ELA #1-5)

In Class:

1. Apartment Renting/Personal Budget Simulation: Students use mock adult income profiles to arrange a workable Los Angeles apartment rental situation with roommates & formulating a monthly budget where money is saved. (SS #4, ELA #1,2,5)

2. Mock Investment Portfolio Simulation: Students research both stocks & mutual funds and construct mock portfolios based on different investment goals & based on past performances and/or technical signals. (SS #3,4,5. ELA #1,2)

3. Company History Project: Students research the history of a major American-based corporation, its major & most influential brands/products, and also analyze its current stock performance and investment potential. (SS #1-5, ELA #1-5)

In Lab: Car Buying/Financing Research & Simulation: Students use online resources to price both new and used cars and calculate costs, monthly payments, and work into existing simulated budgeting exercises to determine affordability. (SS #4, ELA #1,2,5)

In Class:

1. Interest Group Project: Students choose & research the history of an influential interest group, its successes, failures and future plans, and its role in everyday politics. (SS #1-5, ELA #1-5)

2. Issue Analysis Project: Students choose a major issue category in American political life & analyze the policy history & proposals from different political viewpoints across the left-right spectrum (possibly from outside it), and then formulate & intelligently defend their own opinion on the issue & what policies they would support and why. (SS #1-5, ELA #1-5)

In Lab: Media Bias Project: Students examine two different media accounts of the exact same event & parse language and overall presentation to detect various forms of subjectivity. (ELA #1-5)