Economics Honors
2013-2014
Course Guidelines and Syllabus
Instructor:
Location:
Main Phone:
E-mail:
Ms. Sarah Pancoast
HS Building, Room H302
407-608-7171
spancoast@cornerstonecharter.com
Important Websites:
cornerstonecharter.com & progressbook.ocps.net
Course Description:
The goal of Economics Honors is to increase students’ financial literacy and to sharpen their critical
thinking and analytical skills regarding the structure of the American economic system. The focus is on
economic principles, with an emphasis on the efficient allocation of resources through the market forces
of supply and demand.
Course Objective:
Students will be able to:
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Discuss the basic economic problems faced by consumers in American society
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Discuss how businesses make economic decisions
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Discuss ways people invest money to save for the future
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Discuss how economic policy affects the individual, state, nation, and world
Course Texts:
 Economics: Principles and Practices. The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2013.
o Text provided by CCA
 Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything. Levitt/Dubner.
o Date needed in class TBA on website
o The students will be reading the book, Freakonomics, which asks students to explore the
“hidden side of everything”. The students will begin to understand that there really are
incentives to just about everything; by reading through a total of six chapters that range
from various topics from sumo wrestlers to organized crime. This will be a wonderful
and intriguing introduction to economics, as we go through the fall semester.
Supply List:
 1” or 1½” 3-ring binder
 Lined notebook paper
 Notebook dividers
 Pens (blue or black ink)
 Pencils
 Highlighters
 Small Post-Its
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Colored pencils
Eraser
Scissors
Glue stick
Wish List:
 1 box of tissues
 1 bottle of hand sanitizer
 1 pack of copy paper
Grades:
Grades are calculated on a point system, with the points earned divided by the points possible for each
assignment given. Students will earn class grades by completing homework, tests, quizzes, class work,
projects, and semester examinations. The following grade scale will be used:
Grading Scale:
90-100 = A
80-89 = B
70-79 = C
60-69 = D
Below 60 = F
Course Expectations:
BEHAVIOR: In addition to following the Cornerstone Charter Academy Handbook and OCPS Code of
Conduct, students are expected to follow the expectations listed below. Consequences for disrupting the
learning environment will result in a verbal warning initially and then parental contact.
1.
Be READY for class each day → in class on time with materials and homework due at the
beginning of class
2.
Be RESPECTFUL of the instructor, classmates, and school property → professional attitude,
cooperative, not disruptive, cell phones off and out of sight
3.
Be RESPONSIBLE in completing the work to the best of their ability → participate in class,
be aware of due dates, be prepared for exams, take ownership of learning, do own work –
cheating and plagiarism will not be accepted and will result in a zero grade
Course Overview:
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Projects:
Project 1: MONTHLY BUDGET PROJECT
With personal debt levels continuing to rise and responsibility increasing for funding one’s own
retirement, it is vital that students leave high school with a strong foundation in the major
components of personal finance. I will be handing out further instructions as the project deadline
approaches.
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Project 2: CREATE YOUR OWN BUSINESS
This will be a fun, creative group project geared toward the understanding of Business
Organizations. After the teacher assigns the groups, the students will be choosing what product
they would like to market for their business. This will include a Market Plan and Commercial
Activity.
Project 3: MICROECONOMICS GROUP PROJECT
The purpose of this project is for you to try out microeconomic tools in the "real world". This
project challenges you and your group to apply economic concepts to a story from the business
press or the situation facing a business.
Project 4: WALLSTREET- STOCK MARKET GAME
Your grade on the project will consist of the following items, each weighted equally.
1.
Research on one of your five original stocks, turned in on time.
2.
Successfully setting up your online portfolio.
3.
Completing each of the assigned updates of your portfolio in class by bringing a printout
of your portfolio.
4.
Completing at least four trades during the course of the game.
Project 5: FEDERAL RESERVE COMPETITION
Students will be divided into teams. Teams play the role of monetary policymakers by analyzing
current economic conditions and recommending a course for monetary policy.
Project 6: GLOBALIZATION PROJECT
You have been invited by the Minister of Youth Affairs to present a report outlining the views of
young people on the issue of globalization, and whether or not the United States should support a
policy of globalization. Your assignment is to create a Power Point or poster on globalization, its
impact on the United States and on the world.
Late Policy:
All work must be turned in on time to receive full credit. Work that is turned in late will receive a 50%
reduction in points. Students will have two days from the time a grade is posted on Progress Book to turn
in the assignment for half credit. After that, I will not accept the assignment. The last date an assignment
will be accepted will be posted in the comment section of the assignment on Progress Book.
Absences:
Attendance is crucial to success! When you are absent, excused or not, you are missing valuable
instruction and the opportunity to collaborate with others. You are also behind and must complete the
missed work as well as current assignments. If you know you will be absent, please request your work
ahead of time (e-mail is the best way to do this). A student who has been absent must make-up all work
that was missed while he or she was absent. Students will have the number of days they missed plus one
extra day to make up the work. It is the student’s responsibility to obtain missed notes and assignments
and to schedule make-up tests/quizzes with the teacher once he or she returns to school. Failure to do so
in a timely manner will result in late credit or no credit being given. Students who miss 10 days in a
semester must take and pass a cumulative exam to receive a passing grade for the semester.
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Plagiarism/Cheating:
Plagiarism is illegal and immoral. If you copy someone else’s work or ideas and give the impression that
they are your own, or fail to give proper credit to the author, you will receive zero credit for the
assignment. The same applies if your assignment is being copied. As search engines are now used out of
habit, please be aware that I can use the same search engines. Therefore, it is easy for me to detect
plagiarism of this nature. Plagiarism not only results in a zero, it inhibits learning the material you need
to know. It is a no-win situation.
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Class Introduction
Topic: Required Instructional and Professional Procedures
UNIT 1-Fundamental Economic Concepts
Topics:
o Concepts
o Understand Production possibilities curve
o Specialization
o Productivity
o Adam Smith
o Compare Market Structures
o Economic Goals of the U.S.
o 3 Economic Questions
o Circular Flow Diagram
Vocabulary:
o Choice
o Scarcity
o Opportunity costs
o Tradeoffs
o Land, labor, capital, entrepreneurship
o Division of labor
o Microeconomics
o Macroeconomics
o Positive statements
o Normative statements
o Production possibilities frontier
Personal Finance
Topics:
o Credit
o Credit cards vs. debit cards
o Savings
o Types of investments
o Stock Market
o Types of Loans
o FDIC
o Securities and Exchange Commission
o Budget and Credit Plan
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Vocabulary:
o Financial system
o Financial markets
o Stock
o Bond
o Financial intermediaries
o Mutual fund
o Budget surplus
o Budget deficit
o Present value
o Future value
o Compounding
o Risk aversion
o Diversification
o Efficient market hypothesis
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V.
Business Organizations
Topics:
o Types of business organizations
o Four phases of the business cycle
o Characteristics of the four market structures
o Price and non-price competition
o Contributors of entrepreneurs
o Government regulation of monopolies
Vocabulary:
o Economies of scale
o Diseconomies of scale
o Constant returns to scale
o Fixed costs
o Variable costs
o Diminishing marginal product
o Total revenue
o Total cost
o profit
o market
o Average revenue
o Marginal revenue
o Average revenue
o Sunk cost
o Natural monopoly
o Price discrimination
Microeconomics: Prices and Markets
Topics:
o Gross National Product
o Gross Domestic Product
o Types of Unemployment
o Deregulation
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o Affirmative Action
o Collective Bargaining
o Right to Work Law
o Labor Force
o Human Capital
o Worker productivity
o Minimum Wage
Vocabulary:
o Consumption
o Investment
o Government purchases
o Net exports
o Nominal GDP
o Real GDP
o GDP Deflator
o Natural rate of unemployment
o Cyclical unemployment
o Frictional unemployment
o Structural unemployment
o Collective bargains
o Union
o Efficiency wages
VI.
Economic Institutions and Issues
Topics:
o Employment, Labor, and Wages
o Sources of Government Revenue
o Government Spending
o Financial Markets
Vocabulary:
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Craft union
Trade Union
Industrial Union
Lockout
Closed shop
Glass ceiling
Minimum wage
Current dollars
Sin tax
Sales tax
Medicare
Payroll withholding statement
Capital gains
Flat tax
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VII.
VIII.
Macroeconomics: Performance and Stabilization
Topics:
o Characteristics and functions of money
o Inflation
o Federal Reserve (operation and organization)
o The Federal Reserve and Monetary Policy
o Taxation
o Wage and price controls
o Federal spending/the deficit
o The Government and Fiscal Policy
Vocabulary:
o Price ceiling
o Price floor
o Tax incidence
o Deadweight loss
The Global Economy
Topics:
o Barter
o Absolute Advantage
o Comparative Advantage
o Opportunity Cost
o Specialization
o Imports
o Exports
o Trade Barriers
o Outsourcing
o Capital Flow
o Exchange Rates
o Externalities
Vocabulary:
o World price
o Tariff
o Import quota
IX.
Review/Special Topics
Topics: All materials will be reviewed for the upcoming exam
Disclaimer Statement:
The information in this syllabus may be modified as needed by the teacher. Students will be notified in
class or via internet.
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