Economics
Mr. Rust, Room 521 – Midland High School
Conference Period = 2nd
Welcome to Economics! This one-semester course is designed to help older high school students learn how to think critically, learn
to explain and illustrate their thinking in graph form, and use cost-benefit analysis to make better decisions. Regardless of your goal
in life you need to learn how to think economically to ensure success – competition and opportunity costs are everywhere! Students
should come to class ready to work and succeed. While the material may not always be easy it will pay off big in the real world.
Classroom Rules and Expectations
Because Economics students are older teenagers who have been in high school already they should know the rules and expectations
here at Midland High. I’m not going to print out a list of nitpicky rules. Students have the student handbook. But, for quick
reference:
1.)
2.)
3.)
4.)
5.)
BE RESPECTFUL. All students should respect classmates, teachers, and guests to the classroom at all times.
Students should not cheat. Honesty counts.
All school rules regarding cell phones, dress code, food and drink, and personal behavior are always in effect.
Do your own work when you’re supposed to do it. Late work will lose credit.
Sit in your assigned seat. The seating chart is non-negotiable.
Tutorial Times
Tutorials are held in the mornings every day before school, barring faculty meetings or emergencies, from 8:00 to 8:30 AM. Tutorials
are also held during lunch from 11:35AM to 12:15 PM on most days. If these times do not work for students they need to try and
schedule a tutorial time with me. My conference period is 2nd period.
Student Evaluation:



Daily Grades = 40%
o Daily grades primarily consist of Bellringer assignments done during class. Bellringers are turned in on the
last day of every week (usually Friday) unless there are extenuating circumstances.
o Students who are absent do not have to make up the Bellringers for those days.
 However, you can get a bad grade if you were only present for one or two Bellringers during a week
and you did poorly on them, so you may complete the Bellringers for the day(s) you were absent to
help pad your grade.
 If you are absent for a Bellringer, write that you were absent for that Bellringer at the top of your
Bellringer page before you turn it in on the last day of the week.
o Two days after Bellringers are turned in a substitute assignment will have to be done for credit. This is to
prevent cheating.
Major Grades = 60%
o The tests consist of multiple choice questions and the answers will be bubbled in on an answer sheet. Please
bring a #2 pencil to bubble in your answers.
o Multiple choice questions will come directly from the notes and final exam questions.
o Students will receive an in-class review the day before the test. The in-class test review is not an official part
of students’ Notes Grade but can be used to help improve that grade (sort of like extra credit).
o Toward the end of each six weeks there will be a Notes Grade that counts as a test grade. We take Cornell
notes in Economics. No exceptions. For 100% on your Notes Grade, you must have Cornell note format
and key points and summaries.
Retakes, when offered, can earn up to 75% credit. This 75% is achieved by multiplying retake raw grade by .75
o Retakes will occur during lunch only. There is not enough time to take an Economics test between 8:00 AM
and 8:25 AM.
 Only in the most extenuating of circumstances will any exception to this rule be considered.
What Students Need
Make sure you bring your school supplies to class. This means a spiral notebook for notes, writing utensils, and a positive attitude.
Handwritten notes will be turned in for a grade periodically, meaning that notes must be written on paper. Since we will be doing
lots of graphs and charts in Economics, it is a good idea to have some wide-tipped pens or markers to make large, easy-to-read
graphs. Pens, markers, or pencils of different colors may also come in handy with graphs that have more than a few lines.
Textbook: Meek, Morton, & Schung (2011). Economics: Concepts & Choices. Evanston, IL: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Other resources: We will be discussing current events related to Economics in class. Students are encouraged to follow
the news. Online news sources include all major news networks and Yahoo! News, Time.com, and newspapers like the
Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, and the New York Times.
Timeline
Date
Concepts/Information Learned
August 26
Intro to class – Welcome!
August 27
Intro to Economics – Begin Unit 1: Scarcity and Production
August 28
Factors of Production
August 31
Circular Flow of Economic Activity
September 1-2
Opportunity Costs and Trade-Offs
September 3
Production Possibilities Frontier
September 4
The Economizing Questions and Traditional, Command, and Market Economies
September 8
Business Models: Sole Proprietorship, Partnership, Corporation
September 9
Businesses Trying to Make a $ (Increase Revenue, Decrease Cost)
September 10
Other Types of Business Organizations (Nonprofits, government agencies)
September 11
Unit 1 Review
September 14
Unit 1 Exam
September 15
Begin Unit 2 – International Trade
September 16-18
Absolute and Comparative Advantage
September 18-19
Barriers to International Trade
September 21
Types of Trade Agreements/Organizations
September 22
Review
September 23
Unit 2 Exam
September 24
Begin Unit 3: Supply and Demand
September 25-29
Demand Curve and Demand Shifters
Sept. 30 – Oct. 2
Elasticity of Demand
Substitutes, Complements, Inferior Goods
October 5-6
Supply Curve and Supply Shifters
October 7-8
Elasticity of Supply, Short Run vs. Long Run
October 9, 12
Costs of Firms: Fixed, Average, Total
October 13-14
Role of Prices, Surplus and Shortage
October 15-16
Market Structures: Perfect Competition, Monopolistic Competition, Oligopoly, Monopoly
October 19
Review
October 20
Unit 3 Exam
October 21
Begin Unit 4 – Personal Finance
October 22-23
Cost-Benefit Analysis
Investments
October 26-30
Personal Finance Week
Cash or Credit?
Save or Spend?
How banks make $
Loans and Interest Rates
November 2-3
Invest in Your Future
College, Housing, Insurance
Retirement Planning
November 4
Review of Unit 3
November 5
Unit 4 Exam
November 6
Begin Unit 5 – Macroeconomics
November 9-10
GDP, GNP, National Income
November 11
Unemployment and the Unemployment Rate (plus underemployment and discouraged workers)
November 12-16
Inflation and Consumer Price Index
November 17-18
Taxes, Government’s Role, Poverty and Income Inequality
November 19
Review of Unit 4
November 20
Unit 5 Exam
November 30
Begin Unit 6 – Banking and the Federal Reserve
December 1
The Evolution of Money
December 2-4
The Federal Reserve System
History of Banking Regulation in the U.S.
Monetary Policy and U.S. Money Supply
End of the Gold Standard
December 7
Review of Unit 6
December 8
Unit 6 Exam
December 9-11
Final Exam Review
December 15-19 Final Exam Week – STUDY!!!!