Personal Finance Syllabus
Instructor: Kevin Murphy
Sun Valley High School
School Phone: (610) 497-6300 x2174
Class Website available via teacher page link from www.pdsd.org and MyBigCampus.com
Instructor Email: kmurphy@pdsd.org
Communication: The best way to reach me is via email. I am happy to meet with a student or parent/guardian at
a mutually convenient time. Please make arrangements with me on a case-by-case basis.
Course: Personal Finance is a full year business elective that will give you an opportunity to improve your
financial literacy and become comfortable with a wide variety of topics that all center on money - banking, saving
and investing, taxes, career choices, and more! This course will help prepare you with the skills required to make
decisions, obtain a job, manage your personal resources and apply academic skills to daily living experiences like
managing a budget, paying taxes, or saving and investing for future goals. Consumer education topics along with
money management will also be covered. The key to success in this course will be completing all assigned inclass work and related projects.
Course Outline:
I.
II.
III.
IV.
Getting Started with Personal Finance (Having a Plan, Setting Goals, Being a Smart Consumer)
Banking & Credit (Managing your money, types of debt, and using it wisely)
Investing (Stocks, Bonds, Mutual Funds, Commodities, Real Estate, ETF’s)
Protecting Your Assets (Retirement Planning, Insurance, Career Development, Taxes)
Grading Criteria and Assignments:
Most assignments will be completed in class. Class assignments may include, but are not limited to:
 Current events relating to the course of study (articles or Internet-based research)
 Group and Individual Projects (Stock Market Game)
 Class Discussions/Debates
 Worksheets
 Case Studies
 Quizzes and Tests
Students will be assessed according to 3 main categories: class participation, class work, and
projects/tests/quizzes. Class work is either in class or homework assignments that generally reflect a students’
effort to learn the concepts covered in the course. Class participation points will be reflected in weekly scores and
reflects the students’ willingness to read (SSR), write (Collins), and behave appropriately (see below for more
information outlining behavior expectations). A student’s attitude and overall contribution to the learning
environment will also be reflected in this score. It is critical for students to have a positive attitude and to remain
active in group exercises, whole class discussions, and individual work. Much of this grade will be determined by
teacher observation centered on effort, attitude, and appropriate interaction and support of the learning objectives.
There are generally 10 points available for each day, therefore 50 points for full and active participation in the
class per week (including Collins writing and SSR). Points may be deducted for inappropriate classroom
behavior – at least 10 points will be deducted for a detention or any student asked to leave the classroom. For
example, a student who texts in class will lose at least 5 points that day. A student who continues to talk with
neighboring students after being asked to stop would also lose points.
Lastly, projects, tests, and quizzes will be used with varying point levels as the third component for grades. The
student may be expected to complete several projects of varying length to assist him/her in understanding of
financial topics. Rubrics will be distributed or posted on my teacher page for any project worth 50 points or
greater. The breakdown for your grade is 30% class participation, 30% projects, tests, and quizzes, and 40% class
work.
Late, Make-up, and Extra Credit Work:
Class work, homework, and projects are expected to be completed by the due date (with the exception for
documented excused absences). All late work will be subject to a grade penalty. Work that is more than 2 weeks
past its due date will get a zero and cannot be made up. It is the students’ responsibility to find out what work is
due after an excused absence. The MyBigCampus web site can be a tool to immediately determine what was
missed and what needs to be done. Students will be given extra time to make up work from an excused absence
equal to the amount of time missed or as arranged between the teacher and student. If a student is concerned
about his or her grade, he or she can meet with the teacher and discuss possible additional work to lift his or her
grade. The extra credit will only be offered to students who have completed assigned work, not as a replacement
for students who have neglected their work and taken zeros.
Materials:
Please bring the following materials with you daily to class: Three ring binder for notes, etc. or a notebook and a
folder for worksheets, articles, etc. along with a pen or pencil. Note that the textbook will remain in the
classroom. For online tutorials/exercises ear buds may be necessary to work independently.
Classroom Policies and Rules:
Main Classroom Expectation –Putting 20+ students together requires one primary ingredient – respect. Respect
for each other, respect for me as the leader on our educational journey, respect for the equipment, and respect for
the learning environment and the collective and individual goals of the class. When we violate this basic rule of
respect there will be consequences. The primary violations can be summed up in 3 main behavior categories –
being disruptive (talking while I’m talking, moving around without permission, throwing something, etc.), being
disrespectful (rude or offensive comments, interrupting others, insulting ideas of others), or being insubordinate
(ignoring a directive or failing to follow an instruction and doing your own thing like working on something for
another class without permission or using the computer for something other than the authorized learning activity).
Everyone makes mistakes and therefore all will generally get a warning to return to the appropriate behavior, but
after one warning, either publicly or privately, consequences include loss of that day’s available class
participation points, a detention, or being sent out of class with a referral (and a call home outlining the
circumstances which caused the exit from class). If the behavior is so severe, no warning is necessary and the
student will be asked to leave.
To ensure proper work ethic and responsibility, any violation of the following policies and rules will result in
disciplinary actions, which may include loss of class participation points. Policies:
 No food or beverages are allowed in the computer labs at any time.
 Always come prepared to class with paper and pencil – and on time. Bell rings – class starts!
 When the teacher is instructing, no talking. Students are expected to raise their hands to join a discussion
or ask a question.
 All students will observe Sun Valley High School rules at all times (see handbook for details).
 No music devices without administration permission.
 Respect and courtesy are to be used at all times for the classroom, your classmates, the equipment, the
teacher, and all guests in the classroom.
 The computers are to be used ONLY when instructed to do so by the teacher and may ONLY be used for
the purposes of this class as instructed by the teacher. Going Off Task is NOT OK.
 As stated in the Student Handbook. NO CELL PHONES! Turn it off or silence it. No cell phones are
allowed during instructional time at SVHS. If there is an emergency where a parent/guardian must contact
their son/daughter, please call the main office.
 Hall passes will be used respectfully and may not be taken advantage of by any student. Please do not ask
for a pass during the opening or closing 10 minutes of class or during other periods of obvious
instructional time.
On My Big Campus (Schoolwork), each of your will confirm that you have read and understand the above listed
expectations and terms associated with this course. In short, you will commit to the following:
I understand and agree to the Business Law Syllabus as stated above. I also swear that all work
completed in this class will adhere to the following statement:
On my honor, I have neither given nor received unauthorized assistance on assignment in this
course and understand that no credit will be given for any work that violates this basic premise of
academic integrity.
Disclaimer: Please note that the teacher reserves the right to make changes or modifications to this syllabus as needed.