Course Syllabus

Economics

Teacher’s Name: Jessica Barrier   Room #: 222

Email address: Barrier.Jessica.L@muscogee.k12.ga.us

*Please Note: Teacher should respond to all email within a 24 hour period

Economics Required: Senior This course provides opportunities for students to study basic principles concerning production, consumption, and distribution of goods and services. Content builds an understanding of the essential components and benefits of the free enterprise system. Students study such concepts as scarcity, economic interdependence, the market system, prices, economic stability, and governmental activity. They examine the role of government in the American economic system and explore selected aspects of international economic systems. Students are provided opportunities to acquire competencies and knowledge of practical economic functions.

*This course has a state mandated End of Course Test which comprises 15% of the final grade.

Economics Units of Study

Fundamental Economic Concepts

• The student will explain why limited productive resources and unlimited wants result in scarcity, opportunity costs, and tradeoffs for individuals, businesses, and governments.
• The student will give examples of how rational decision making entails comparing the marginal benefits and the marginal costs of an action.
• The student will explain how specialization and voluntary exchange between buyers and sellers increase the satisfaction of both parties.
• The student will compare and contrast different economic systems and explain how they answer the three basic economic questions of what to produce, how to produce, and for whom to produce.
• The student will describe the roles of government in a market economy.
• The student will explain how productivity, economic growth, and future standards of living are influenced by investment in factories, machinery, new technology, and the health, education, and training of people.

Microeconomic Concepts

• The student will describe how households, businesses, and governments are interdependent and interact through flows of goods, services, and money.
• The student will explain how the Law of Demand, the Law of Supply, prices, and profits work to determine production and distribution in a market economy.
• The student will explain how markets, prices, and competition influence economic behavior.
• The student will explain the organization and role of business and analyze the four types of market structures in the U.S. economy.

Macroeconomic Concepts

• The student will illustrate the means by which economic activity is measured.
• The student will explain the role and functions of the Federal Reserve System.
• The student will explain how the government uses fiscal policy to promote price stability, full employment, and economic growth.

International Economics

• The student will explain why individuals, businesses, and governments trade goods and services.
• The student will explain why countries sometimes erect trade barriers and sometimes advocate free trade.
• The student will explain how changes in exchange rates can have an impact on the purchasing power of individuals in the United States and in other countries.

Personal Finance Economics

• The student will apply rational decision making to personal spending and saving choices.
• The student will explain that banks and other financial institutions are businesses that channel funds from savers to investors
• The student will explain how changes in monetary and fiscal policy can have an impact on an individual’s spending and saving choices.
• The student will evaluate the costs and benefits of using credit.
• The student will describe how insurance and other risk-management strategies protect against financial loss.
• The student will describe how the earnings of workers are determined in the marketplace.

Textbook Title & Author (in-class use ONLY)

Economics Principles & Practices. Clayton

                                                                            Materials Needed             

1” 3-ring binder

Loose leaf notebook paper (college or regular rule)

4 dividers (preferred with pockets)

300 note cards (4x6 or larger)

Color pencils/markers/crayons

Grading & Homework Policy

• All work will be turned in on-time. In the event that an assignment is turned in late, there will be a 10 point deduction PER DAY for 5 days. After five days, the assignment can earn no more than a 50 for a grade.
• All on-time, good effort assignments can be re-submitted for additional credit if corrections are made to the work. A re-submission can result in a higher grade, but never full credit. This applies to test corrections as well.
• Test corrections can be made if necessary. The format of corrections is very specific and will be reviewed after our first test.

70% Summative Assessment (Tests, Homework, Quizzes, etc)

30% Formative Assessment (In-class assessment of student understanding)