Inspired by Heather Millard's post, I designed this assessment for students of a Jesuit high school taking tin the Philippines taking Grade 11 Economics who are studying Macroeconomics. Students play the role of economic analysts and journalists as they create a magazine that captures the macroeconomic story of a country of their choice. By combining data visualizations, written analysis, and the students' creativity, the goal is for students to capture the macroeconomic identity of a country; looking into details such as economic growth, inflation levels, unemployment, the prevalence of poverty, and how inequality persists in that country. They will also be looking at the fiscal and/or monetary policies the governments employed to manage the economy. This project pushes students beyond memorizing theory and just copying numbers they found on the internet. They have to find real data, take a position, and communicate economics to a real audience. This assessment aims to improve student engagement aside from simply just presenting information to the class. This also aims to have students take more ownership in the production of their assessment. For the production of the magazine, students are encouraged to use Pages on their iPads for the design and layout of their magazine.
The magazine is built around five components, each one asking students to engage with macroeconomics from a different angle — analytical, visual, argumentative, persuasive, and creative. Students will produce: (1) a cover page, (2) a news article, (3) a country snapshot, (4) an investment pitch, and (5) a policy cartoon. Each page should be in either letter or A4 size. Feel free to adjust the requirements below to fit your context and level.
- Cover Page: Students design a compelling magazine cover in Pages using their own layout choices, sourced images, and original text. The cover should include a catchy magazine title, a key economic headline or statistic about their country, and a strong visual related to the country that will draw a reader in. Students write a short caption explaining their design choices and what they communicate about the country's economic identity.
- News Article: Students report on a current macroeconomic issue in their chosen country such as rising inflation, a recession, a spike in unemployment, or an austerity programme. Article should be at least three paragraphs sourced from reputable news sites. Writing Tools in Pages helps students sharpen tone and catch errors before submission. At least two relevant and properly sourced images should accompany the article.
- Country Snapshot: The data heart of the magazine. Students build an infographic-style spread profiling four indicators: GDP growth rate, inflation rate, unemployment rate, and a poverty or inequality measure such as the Gini coefficient. Relevant charts should be included and produced by students (instead of sourcing the actual chart online).
- Investment Pitch: A one-pager making the case for foreign direct investment (FDI) in the chosen country. Students highlight economic strengths and what makes the country's fiscal and monetary environment worthy of investment. Visuals are designed by the student in Pages or Canva using sourced images, text boxes, and original graphics.
- Policy Cartoon: Students hand-draw or digitally illustrate a cartoon that captures a macroeconomic tension in their country as identified in their written news article. Drawings can be created on paper and photographed, sketched directly in Freeform with Apple Pencil, or assembled in Pages using shapes and text. A two-to-three sentence explanation must accompany it.
Disclaimer: Sample images were generated with the assistance of AI.
Attach up to 5 files which will be available for other members to download.