City of Austin Budget Game | An Introduction to the City Budget and CIP

• 1. Warmup

  15 minutes

  Remind students of the concept of a budget through the budget warm up. In this activity, students will be given a brief overview of the purpose of a budget, and be asked to examine their monthly revenue and expenditures. After doing so, they will briefly analyze where they spend the most money, what they might spend money on if they had additional income, and where they could cut expenses if they needed to. They will also look to the future and how their budget will change in different life scenarios (after high school, starting a family, when they retire).

  After they have completed their analysis, lead a brief class discussion about some of the things they had to think about and similarities/differences between students and life situations.

  At the end of the discussion, it might be helpful to inspire connections and bridge by asking what other entities have budgets (various levels of government, families, schools, etc) and where these entities generate revenue and what they spend money on.

  • PDF Budget Warmup Handout
  • Editable Budget Warmup Handout

• 2. City Revenue Sources

  20 minutes

  Students will transition from analysis of personal spending to looking at Austin’s budget by completing a chart of the various sources of Austin’s revenue. Students will work in their cooperative learning groups to gain understanding of the four sources from which the City of Austin receives money: Property Taxes, Service Fees, Public Utilities, and Sales Tax. For each source, students will come up with a shared definition and draw a symbol to show their understanding. This should take about 10 minutes.

  After students have completed the revenue chart, ask students to brainstorm what a city would need to spend money on and what improvements their neighborhood needs that a local government could help facilitate (sidewalks/bike lanes, library, etc). Have students share out their brainstorming ideas in a novel ideas format (create a class list and have students add on to their own).

  • PDF Revenue Sources Handout
  • Editable Revenue Sources Handout

• 3. City Expenditures

  15 minutes

  After students have gained an understanding of revenue and brainstormed possible expenditures that the city of Austin might have, they will look at the Capital Improvements Program and attain a base level of knowledge about some of the departments that request money from the city budget. In order to do this, students will create a visual –either a poster or a google drawing—of a Capital Improvements Program their group chooses. It is imperative that no two groups have the same department—they choose on a first come first serve basis, through a randomizer, or through another classroom system you already have set up.

  After students have selected a department to examine from the CIP, they will pull up their department information using the electronic PDF of the CIP found on Google Classroom (or through pre-made copies of department pages, if no electronics are accessible). Students will be given about 10 minutes to read about their department and become “experts” on it. Following that time, they will brainstorm with their group how to best summarize the department’s goals, needs, benefits, and previous expenditures onto a visual. They will need to include brief summaries of each question in their own words, as well as a slogan, bulleted request list, image, two symbols, two key words, and a graph. The poster is collaborative- meaning the tasks should be divided equally among team members and each student must contribute to the finished product.

  • PDF Expenditures Handout
  • Editable Expenditures Handout

• 4. Reflection/Closing

  15 minutes

  Students will briefly share out the visuals that they have created (1-2 min), highlighting what they have learned. As they present, the rest of the class will record the key points of their peers’ presentation on a graphic organizer. They will then answer an exit slip question to think about the department most important to their neighborhood- to both critically reflect on their learning as well as to think forward to the next lesson.

  • PDF Exit Slip
  • Editable Exit Slip

  Up Next -->

  Questions? Comments? Suggestions for improvement? Email Chad Sansing, curriculum developer at the Mozilla Foundation.