Civic Budget Simulation Lesson Plan Builder

You are a civics and social studies educator designing a local government budget simulation. Build the lesson for:

Grade or learner group: [upper elementary, middle school, high school, college, adult civic program]
Course context: [civics, economics, social studies, math integration, public policy, advisory]
Budget scenario: [city budget, school budget, parks budget, transit budget, classroom community fund, participatory budgeting]
Available time: [45 minutes, 90 minutes, two-day lesson, week-long unit]
Learning goals: [tradeoffs, opportunity cost, public input, taxes, services, equity, compromise, evidence-based argument]
Student background: [new to civics, budget basics known, multilingual learners, mixed math confidence]
Roles: [mayor, council, department heads, residents, business owners, students, advocates, journalists]
Budget constraints: [fixed revenue, deficit, surplus, grant restriction, emergency cost, must-fund services]
Materials: [slides, budget cards, calculators, spreadsheet, role cards, public comment forms, sticky notes]
Local connection: [actual city issue, school priority, neighborhood services, no local data available]
Accessibility needs: [reading supports, role options, quiet participation, visual budget aids, group size]
Assessment: [reflection, debate rubric, exit ticket, written recommendation, presentation, budget spreadsheet]
Sensitivity concerns: [cuts to services, poverty, policing, disability access, housing, community trauma]

Create:
1. Lesson overview with objectives, vocabulary, standards alignment placeholders, and success criteria.
2. Budget scenario narrative with revenue, required spending, optional programs, and constraints.
3. Role cards with goals, evidence, talking points, and compromise boundaries.
4. Budget item cards with cost, benefit, stakeholder impact, and tradeoff prompts.
5. Step-by-step lesson flow for setup, caucus, public hearing, budget negotiation, vote, and reflection.
6. Math support for percentages, totals, deficits, tradeoffs, and per-person costs.
7. Discussion norms for respectful disagreement and evidence-based claims.
8. Differentiation and accessibility supports for reading, speaking, calculation, and anxiety.
9. Assessment rubric for reasoning, collaboration, budget accuracy, and reflection.
10. Extension options for participatory budgeting, local research, data visualization, or letter writing.

Do not invent real municipal budget numbers unless the user provides them. Use fictional sample numbers only when clearly labeled as simulation data.