11 th Grade Economics. Teacher: Mr. Fredrickson. Phone: Course Description

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1 11 th Grade Economics Teacher: Mr. Fredrickson Phone: Course Description This course will provide students with an understanding of the way in which our society organizes its limited resources to satisfy unlimited wants. Throughout the semester students will be introduced to the basic principles that form the foundation of the social science that is economics. Using these principles students will be analyzing economic issues that face the United States economy. This course places an emphasis on the student developing an economic way of thinking and problem solving that can be used in their lives as consumers, members of the workforce, responsible citizens and effective participants in the global economy. Grading Group work and 130 Participation Weekly Journal 170 Homework 100 Exams 40 points each) 200 Total Points 600 A % B % C % D % F- 59.9% and below Group Work and Participation- Stock exchange project and in class activities (22% of your grade). This will include Socratic discussions, debates, and games created to develop your economic decision making skills.

2 Weekly Journal- You will be responsible for maintaining a current economic events journal throughout the semester. I will provide the articles, materials, or prompts to help guide you throughout the semester to build your ability to analyze economic issues using economic models and theories. You will provide a one paragraph analysis regarding the article. This will be used to show growth throughout the semester (28% of your grade). Homework- Will be used to build competence working with economic models and concepts in order to help to build the skills needed (17% of your grade). Exams- There will be four exams and one final comprehensive exam. 3x5 notecards will be allowed for students to write notes and use during tests. This will assess your knowledge and application economic concepts(33% of your grade). Big Goal: You will become an active and informed citizen in our democratic republic by learning how to use economic decision making to understand how economic principles influence local, state, national, and international policies. As an active and informed citizen you will: 1. Define and apply basic economic concepts such as scarcity, supply/demand, opportunity costs, production, resources, money, economic growth, markets, costs, and competition. 2. Understand the roles in the economic system of consumers, producers, workers, investors, and voters. 3. Identify and evaluate economic issues from a variety of media and apply problem solving skills to make decisions about the best solution or position. Learning Objectives: You will develop the ability to read and create graphical representations (charts, graphs, models) of market forces to simplify complex problems. You will be able to think critically on a complex topic and create an informed argument for or against a policy. You will analyze data to determine the health of an economy. You will learn to think in the abstract and draw connections between content and the real world. Tentative Class Outline: Unit 1

3 Introduction to Economics & Basic Economic Concepts Week 1 Foundational Economic Concepts ( , , ) Week 2 Economic Systems ( , , , ) Unit 2 Supply, Demand & Market Efficiency Week 3 Demand ( ) Week 4 Supply ( , ) Week 5 Market Efficiency ( , , , ) -Exam 1- Unit 3 Business Organization & Financial Markets Week 6 Business Organizations & Structures ( , ) Week 7 Financial Markets ( ) Unit 4 Business Cycles & Measuring Economic Performance Week 8 Employment, Labor, and Wages ( , ) Week 9 Economic Performance and Instability ( , ) -Exam 2- Unit 5 Taxes & Government Spending Week 10 Sources of Government Revenue and Fiscal Policy ( ) Week 11 Government Spending and Programs ( , Unit 6

4 Banking & Monetary Policy Week 12 Economic Policy Issues/Debates ( , ) Week 13 Consumer Spending ( ) Week 14 The Fed & Monetary Policy ( ) -Exam 3- Unit 7 The Global Economy Week 15 International Trade ( ) Week 16 Exchange Rates ( ) -Exam 4- Unit 8 Consumer Economics Week 17 Personal Budgets and financial planning ( ) Week 18 Exam Review -Final Exam- Explanations of Emphasis: Most emphasis will be given to units 1-3. These are the building blocks of economics and cannot be shortchanged. Only when students have a solid understanding of these units can they move into units 4-6. That is why 7 weeks were allotted to allow for students to go in depth on the basics and spiral into the higher order thinking skills in units benchmarks are covered in these units. Units 4-6 were in the middle as far as importance. They were also given 7 weeks due to the nature of the standards being more complex requiring high order thinking skills. Group work will focus more on analysis and interpretation of US markets. 11 benchmarks are covered in these units.

5 Least emphasis will be given to units 7 and 8. Unit 7, while important for further study in economics, will not be covered as in depth as the previous units. We will stick to the basics of International Trade to allow students to understand how this affects our economy. It is important that they have a basic understanding of personal finance but it is my opinion that once a student has learned to think economically they will naturally understand budgets and planning for the future. 4 benchmarks are covered in these units.