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syllabus
1. Welcome to Senior Economics. We will study the basics of economics so you are prepared to
continue on to college level work and understand the many ways economics is used in the
media. It is important to think of economics as a crucial tool for becoming an engaged
citizen. You will be using skills you have learned in many of the classes you have taken in all
subjects over the past four years. Of major emphasis during this class is what it means to be
consumer in a complex and changing society. While this will guide many of the experiences we
will have this coming semester, we will also look at ways economics can address social and
personal problems. Over the course of the semester, we will be examining current economic
events from a variety of perspectives. You will become economically literate.
Revised:
Welcome to Senior Economics. You will study the basics of economics so you are prepared to
continue on to college level work and understand the many ways economics is used in the
media. You will develop a powerful tool for your citizenship toolbox by beginning to think like
an economist. You will understand complex issues from the viewpoints of a consumer,
producer, and society as a whole. You will address social and personal problems through an
economic lens and examine current economic events using this lens, and become economically
literate in the process.
1. You will become an empowered consumer. To do this, you will develop skills in personal
finance, economic decision making, and political economy. Throughout the course you will track
your monetary flows and analyze economic literature in the media to develop what it means to
be an empowered consumer. You will also complete problem sets to analyze economic
problems from the lens of an economist.
Revised:
You will become an empowered economic thinker. You will accomplish this by developing
skills in personal finance, economic decision-making, and political economy. You will gain
confidence in your ability to manage your finances, to make sound rational decisions, and to
understand the richness of the economy as a whole. You will track your monetary flows and
analyze economic literature in the media from multiple perspectives. You will also complete
problem sets to formally analyze economic problems from the lens of an economist.
1. You will take control of your own personal finances, apply economic analysis to real world
problems, and become economically literate. These objectives will allow you to understand the
world as an informed consumer and use available information to make informed and
empowered decisions. In order to accomplish this, you will obtain a firm grasp on what it means
to think like an economist, how demand and supply works, how markets differ, why markets fail,
and how the macroeconomy functions as a complex system of producers and
consumers. Finally, you will make personal judgments about how economics is used in the real
world.
Revised:
After taking this course, you will confidently:
-
Control your personal finances
-
Apply economic analysis to real world problems
-
Read and understand economic literature
You will master these skills by understanding:
-
How to think like an economist
-
How demand and supply work
-
How markets differ
-
Why markets fail
-
How the macroeconomy functions as a complex system of producers and consumers
All of these skills and understanding will allow you to make personal judgments about
economics in the real world.
1. The grade breakdown is as follows:
Class Participation and Attendance - 15%
Coursework/Problem Sets - 25%
Personal Finance Journal - 5%
Economic Current Event Summaries - 10%
Weekly Quizzes - 25%
Microeconomics Exam - 10%
Macroeconomics Exam - 10%
A = 90-100
B = 80-89
C = 70-79
D = 60-69
F = 0-59
Revised:
The grade breakdown is as follows:
Class Participation and Attendance - 15%
Coursework/Problem Sets - 25%
Personal Finance Journal - 5%
Economic Current Event Summaries - 10%
Weekly Quizzes - 25%
Microeconomics Exam - 10%
Macroeconomics Exam - 10%
A = 90-100
B = 80-89
C = 70-79
D = 60-69
F = 0-59
Class Participation and Attendance - Skill building activities will be done daily. Therefore, it is
critical that you are in class everyday.
Coursework/Problem Sets - Economic analysis is based on the ability to apply differing
techniques to problems. You will practice these skills by completing example problems in class
and problem sets individually.
Personal Finance Journal - You will keep a weekly journal monitoring your spending and
reflecting on the consequences of the transactions.
Economic Current Event Summaries - You will summarize four articles in the media dealing
with economic topics.
Weekly Quizzes - Quizzes will be taken weekly to measure your understanding of the material
covered that week.
Exams - The exams will allow you to demonstrate mastery of the content presented during the
class, they will include multiple choice and problem based questions.
1. Course Outline:
The course is divided into five units Demand and Supply (weeks 1-4)
Market Structure (weeks 5-7)
Applied Microeconomics (weeks 8-10)
Macroeconomics (weeks 11-16)
Economic Judgments (weeks 17-18)
Week 1: Introduction to Economic Thinking and Personal Finance
- 9.2.1.1.1, 9.2.2.2.1, 9.2.2.2.3, 9.2.3.3.1, 9.2.3.4.1
Week 2: Demand and the consumer
- 9.2.4.5.3
Week 3: Supply and the producer
- 9.2.4.5.4
Week 4: Demand and Supply
- 9.2.4.5.5, 9.2.4.5.6
Week 5: Market Structure
- 9.2.2.2.4, 9.2.4.5.2, 9.2.4.6.1, 9.2.4.6.2
Week 6: Markets Structure
- 9.2.2.2.4, 9.2.4.5.2, 9.2.4.6.1, 9.2.4.6.2
Week 7: Market Structure
- 9.2.2.2.4, 9.2.4.5.2, 9.2.4.6.1, 9.2.4.6.2
Week 8: Resource Markets
- 9.2.4.7.1, 9.2.4.7.2, 9.2.2.2.2
Week 9: Resource Markets/Market Failure
- 9.2.4.7.3, 9.2.4.8.1
Week 10: Market Failure
- 9.2.4.8.2, 9.2.4.8.3
Week 11: Basics of Macroeconomics
- 9.2.4.5.1, 9.2.5.9.1, 9.2.5.9.2, 9.2.5.9.3
Week 12: Economic Fluctuations
- 9.2.5.10.1
Week 13: Economic Fluctuations
- 9.2.5.10.2
Week 14: Fiscal Policy
- 9.2.5.11.1
Week 15: Monetary Policy
- 9.2.5.11.2
Week 16: International Economics
- 9.2.3.4.2, 9.2.5.12.1, 9.2.5.12.2
Week 17: Economic Issues
- 9.2.3.4.3, 9.2.5.11.3, 9.2.5.11.4
Week 18: Wrap-up
Revised:
The course is divided into five units Demand and Supply (weeks 1-4)
- Essential question: How can we model economic behavior?
Market Structure (weeks 5-7)
- Essential questions: How perfect is perfect completion? How can we better model complex
consumer producer relationships?
Applied Microeconomics (weeks 8-10)
- Essential question: How can economics authentically analyze real world problems?
- Key project - Community Market Failure Project
Macroeconomics (weeks 11-16)
- Essential Question: How can we analyze something as complex as the economy?
Economic Judgments (weeks 17-18)
- Essential question: How can economics inform your opinion of current events?
- Key project: Competing economic theories debate
Week 1: Introduction to Economic Thinking and Personal Finance
- 9.2.1.1.1, 9.2.2.2.1, 9.2.2.2.3, 9.2.3.3.1, 9.2.3.4.1
Week 2: Demand and the consumer
- 9.2.4.5.3
Week 3: Supply and the producer
- 9.2.4.5.4
Week 4: Demand and Supply
- 9.2.4.5.5, 9.2.4.5.6
Week 5: Market Structure
- 9.2.2.2.4, 9.2.4.5.2, 9.2.4.6.1, 9.2.4.6.2
Week 6: Markets Structure
- 9.2.2.2.4, 9.2.4.5.2, 9.2.4.6.1, 9.2.4.6.2
Week 7: Market Structure
- 9.2.2.2.4, 9.2.4.5.2, 9.2.4.6.1, 9.2.4.6.2
Week 8: Resource Markets
- 9.2.4.7.1, 9.2.4.7.2, 9.2.2.2.2
Week 9: Resource Markets/Market Failure
- 9.2.4.7.3, 9.2.4.8.1
Week 10: Market Failure
- 9.2.4.8.2, 9.2.4.8.3
Week 11: Basics of Macroeconomics
- 9.2.4.5.1, 9.2.5.9.1, 9.2.5.9.2, 9.2.5.9.3
Week 12: Economic Fluctuations
- 9.2.5.10.1
Week 13: Economic Fluctuations
- 9.2.5.10.2
Week 14: Fiscal Policy
- 9.2.5.11.1
Week 15: Monetary Policy
- 9.2.5.11.2
Week 16: International Economics
- 9.2.3.4.2, 9.2.5.12.1, 9.2.5.12.2
Week 17: Economic Issues
- 9.2.3.4.3, 9.2.5.11.3, 9.2.5.11.4
Week 18: Wrap-up
1. Benchmarks are addressed primarily in numerical order. Exceptions are the economic reasoning
and think skills standards which pervade the entirety of the course, they have been placed in
content areas where they are best demonstrated. Personal finance standards are addressed
throughout the course as well in the form of a personal finance journal. The market structure
unit incorporates four benchmarks which require comparison and the unit itself lends well to
this objective. I have decided to emphasize demand and supply and market structure in the
microeconomics area and economic policy in the macroeconomic area. The microeconomic
concepts I have stressed are fundamental to the rest of the discipline if the student decides to
pursue the topic further and knowledge of market structures is essential for the applied
microeconomics unit. Economic policy is stressed because of the relevance it has in the current
political and business climate. As for the areas that have less emphasis on the syllabus, they are
products of triage. I would love to take the time to really dive into environmental or labor
economics, but the time is not there.