Economics
Course Description
This is an introductory course to economics centering on basic economic theories, practices, and concepts. Students will examine the events, factors and processes that shape the global, national and local economies. They will also assess the ways in which their economic decisions affect themselves and the world around them.
Course Big Ideas
- Fundamentals of economics
- Stock Markets
- United States Economic Policy
- Supply and Demand
- Economic Cycles
Course Essential Questions
- How does a society determine the goods and services for the community?
- How does the stock market work?
- In what ways do the United States Government and the Federal Reserve impact our economy?
- What are the ways that market forces impact Supply and Demand?
- What are the various stages of the economic cycle?
- What is GDP, and what impact does it have on the economics of a country?
Course Competencies
- Understand the fundamental principles of scarcity, choice, and opportunity cost that underpin all economic decisions.
- Analyze how individuals and businesses interact through supply and demand to determine market prices and allocate resources.
- Evaluate different economic systems, such as market, command, and mixed economies, and identify their key characteristics.
- Comprehend the role of government in the economy, including the impact of fiscal policy on taxation and spending.
- Explore the functions of the Federal Reserve and the effects of monetary policy on inflation, unemployment, and economic growth.
- Foster an understanding of economic indicators like GDP and CPI, enabling students to interpret economic data and trends.
- Learn about the various factors influencing employment and unemployment rates within the U.S. economy.
- Critical thinking skills will be developed by analyzing the long-term consequences of economic choices made by individuals, businesses, and nations.
- Gain foundational knowledge of personal finance, including topics like saving, investing, and managing debt.
- Determine the factors that impact the investment markets and learn about the various market forces that drive the U.S. equities market.
Course Assessments
- Projects
- Presentations
- Online Webquests
- Formal and Informal Assessments
Course Units
- Unit 1: Introduction to Economics
- Unit 2: The United States Market
- Unit: 3: Economic Choices
- Unit 4: Supply and Demand
Unit 1: Introduction to Economics
- Standards
- Know
- Understanding/Key Learning
- Do
- Unit Essential Questions
- Lesson Essential Questions
- Materials/Resources
- Vocabulary
- Assessments
Standards
PA Academic Standards for Business, Computer and Information Technology:
- 6.1.9-12.A Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of traditional, command, and market economies
- 6.1.9-12.B Analyze the impact of traditional, command, and market economies on the United States economy.
- 6.1.9-12.E Evaluate the allocation of resources used to produce goods and services
- 6.1.9-12.J Analyze the relationships between trade, competition, and productivity.
- 6.1.9-12.K Evaluate how a country might benefit by lowering or removing trade barriers
- 6.3.9-12.I Evaluate government decisions in prioritizing public goods and services.
Know
- The definition of economics.
- The differences and the production of goods and services in various countries.
- Pillars of a traditional economy.
- Elements of a command economy.
- Differences in economic systems.
- Five elements of capitalism.
- Components of a market economy.
- Economic system barriers to international trade.
Understanding/Key Learning
- Economics is the study of how societies manage their scarce resources to produce, distribute, and consume goods and services.
- Countries produce goods and services by combining land, labor, capital, and entrepreneurship, deciding what, how, and for whom to produce.
- Economic systems like traditional, command, and market economies differ fundamentally in who owns resources and makes economic decisions, with capitalism emphasizing private ownership, free markets, and competition as key components.
Do
- Summarize aspects of economics.
- Determine how a country produces goods and services.
- Define the components of a traditional economy.
- Compare and contrast a command and market economy.
- Reflect on the five pillars of capitalism.
- Demonstrate understanding of a market economy.
- Compare economic systems regarding trade and commerce.
Unit Essential Questions
Lesson Essential Questions
- What is economics?
- How does a society determine the wants and needs of its members?
- What are the key aspects of a traditional economy?
- What are the characteristics of countries with a command economy?
- How has the market economy impacted the world today?
- What is capitalism?
- How do countries with different economic systems cooperate?
Materials/Resources
- Key Terminology Worksheets
- Chapter 1 study guide
- Chapter 1 test
- Economic competition activity
- Chapter 2.3 Economic Systems presentation
- Discussion post on the advantages and disadvantages of a free market
- Companies Lie article
- Government Involvement Current Event assignment
- Economic Systems research project
Vocabulary
- Capital
- Economics
- Entrepreneur
- Factors of production
- Goods
- Human capital
- Labor
- Land
- Need
- Factor market
- Firm
- Free market economy
- Household
- Incentive
- Invisible hand
- Market
- Product market
- Regulate
- Self-interest
- Specialization
- Voluntary exchange
- Traditional economy
- Authoritarian
- Centrally planned economy
- Command economy
- Communism
- Heavy industry
- Socialism
- Capitalism
- Competition
- Trade
Assessments
Unit 2: The United States Market
- Standards
- Know
- Understanding/Key Learning
- Do
- Unit Essential Questions
- Lesson Essential Questions
- Materials/Resources
- Vocabulary
- Assessments
Standards
PA Academic Standards for Business, Computer and Information Technology:
- 6.1.9-12.J Analyze the relationships between trade, competition, and productivity.
- 6.1.9-12.L Analyze how consumers and producers participate in the global production and consumption of goods or services.
- 6.2.9-12.A Analyze the circular flow of products, resources, and money in a mixed economy.
- 6.2.9-12.I Analyze the role of profits and losses in the allocation of resources in a market economy.
- 6.3.9-12.A Evaluate the relationship between economic growth and changes in macroeconomic indicators such as the Consumer Price Index (CPI), gross domestic product (GDP), and unemployment rate.
- 6.4.9-12.E Analyze Federal Reserve policies designed to raise or lower interest rates.
- 6.4.9-12.D Evaluate the role of banks in promoting economic growth in the economy.
- 6.4.9-12.C Explain how changes in the money supply and monetary policy affect interest rates throughout the economy.
Know
- The stock market, including domestic markets.
- Different types of companies.
- International Markets.
- Bonds in relation to stocks.
- The role of the Federal Reserve in the U.S. economy and the stock market.
- Crypto markets and trading of stocks and crypto.
- Banking roles in the U.S. markets.
- Real Estate investing and markets.
Understanding/Key Learning
- The stock market, encompassing both domestic and international markets, is where shares of various companies, differing in size, industry, and growth potential, are bought and sold, with prices reflecting investor sentiment and company performance.
- Understanding bonds, real estate, and crypto is crucial as they represent different instruments distinct from stock ownership, often offering different risk-reward profiles and serving as alternatives or complements to equity investments within a diversified portfolio.
- The Federal Reserve, Banks, Government, and monetary policy have a direct and indirect impact on the equities market.
Do
- Define a stock.
- Understand the difference between private and public companies.
- Compare and contrast stock investment to bonds and crypto.
- Demonstrate understanding of the stock market.
- Examine the role of the Federal Reserve in the U.S. economy and stocks.
- Discuss rates in relation to the Federal Reserve.
- Analyze rates and their relationship to real estate and the real estate market.
Unit Essential Questions
Lesson Essential Questions
Materials/Resources
Vocabulary
- Stocks
- Shareholder
- IPO
- Exchange
- NYSE
- Diversification
- Mutual Fund
- Bonds
- Crypto
- Bitcoin
- Buy
- Sell
- Stock market
- Money
- Trade
- Fundamentals
- Technicals
- Charts
- Moving Averages
- Federal reserve
- ETF
- Real estate
- Mortgage
- Capital market
- Corporate bond
- Coupon rate
- Inflation-indexed bond
- Junk bond
- Maturity
- Money market
- Municipal bond
- Par value
- Primary market
- Savings bond
- Secondary market
- Treasury bond
- Yield
- Bear Market
- Bull Market
Assessments
Unit: 3: Economic Choices
- Standards
- Know
- Understanding/Key Learning
- Do
- Unit Essential Questions
- Lesson Essential Questions
- Materials/Resources
- Vocabulary
- Assessments
Standards
PA Academic Standards for Business, Computer and Information Technology:
- 6.1.9-12.C Analyze actions taken as a result of scarcity in decision-making.
- 6.1.9-12.D Analyze how choices made by individuals, firms, or government officials are constrained by available resources.
- 6.1.9-12.G Analyze the opportunity cost of decisions by individuals, businesses, communities, and nations.
- 6.1.9-12.M Explain that individuals and nations have a comparative advantage in the production of goods or services if they can produce a product at a lower opportunity cost than other individuals or nations.
- 6.2.9-12.C Evaluate the economic roles of governments in promoting free markets (e.g., price controls, antitrust actions).
- 6.3.9-12.A Evaluate the relationship between economic growth and changes in macroeconomic indicators such as the Consumer Price Index (CPI), gross domestic product (GDP), and unemployment rate.
- 6.3.9-12.C Identify fiscal and monetary policies that address inflation, unemployment, or economic growth.
- 6.3.9-12.D Explain how deficit spending by the federal government increases the national debt and the impact it has on the economy.
Know
- The long-term consequences of decisions made because of scarcity.
- The economic reasoning behind a choice.
- Effective allocation of resources for the production of goods and services in the USA.
- Analyze the opportunity cost of decisions made by individuals, businesses, communities, and nations.
- Employment factors in the USA.
- Inflation and CPI.
- Economic decision-making in the US Government.
- Allocation of the U.S. budget.
Understanding/Key Learning
- The differences between scarcity and shortages are determined by a variety of factors.
- Every economic choice, whether by individuals, businesses, communities, or nations, is based on the reasoning that perceived benefits outweigh the opportunity cost – the value of the next best alternative.
- In the USA, effective resource allocation is influenced by a market-driven system to create maximum employment, while the government's economic decisions aim to manage inflation (measured by the CPI) and ensure stability.
- The United States has a broad budget allocation responsibility, which often leads to political quarrels in relation to how tax policy is used.
Do
- Determine the differences between scarcity and shortages.
- Analyze tradeoffs between two economic decisions.
- Define opportunity costs with a decision.
- Determine what factors lead to unemployment.
- Formulate ideas on how to maximize employment in the USA.
- Explain inflation and its role in the US economy.
- Discuss the allocation of tax dollars in the U.S budget.
Unit Essential Questions
- What is the difference between scarcity and shortages?
- What are the economic tradeoffs that a country has to make?
- What steps does the US government take for maximum employment?
- What are some of the rules and regulations created to maintain growth in the U.S. economy?
- How is it best to divide financial resources within the U.S. budget?
Lesson Essential Questions
- What is scarcity, and how is it different from shortages?
- What are tradeoffs?
- What are the opportunity costs of making an economic decision?
- How does the USA maintain maximum employment?
- What is inflation, and how does it impact the US economy?
- What are some of the rules and regulations created to maintain growth in the U.S. economy?
- How is it best to divide financial resources within the U.S. budget?
Materials/Resources
Vocabulary
Assessments
Unit 4: Supply and Demand
- Standards
- Know
- Understanding/Key Learning
- Do
- Unit Essential Questions
- Lesson Essential Questions
- Materials/Resources
- Vocabulary
- Assessments
Standards
PA Academic Standards for Business, Computer and Information Technology:
- 6.2.9-12.B Define non-competitive markets and explain how consumers and producers operate in those markets.
- 6.2.9-12.D Predict how changes in supply and demand affect equilibrium price and quantity sold.
- 6.2.9-12.G Evaluate how changes in education, incentives, technology, and capital investment alter productivity.
- 6.2.9-12.H Analyze the costs and benefits of organizing a business as a sole proprietorship, partnership, or corporation.
- 6.2.9-12.J Evaluate the impact of entrepreneurs on the economy.
Know
Understanding/Key Learning
- Businesses develop products and services that meet market demands based on diverse consumer needs.
- Entrepreneurs drive economic growth by identifying opportunities, innovating, and effectively allocating resources to enhance productivity.
- The fundamental principles of supply and demand, explaining how their interaction determines market price, and comprehending the characteristics and implications of a perfect-competition market structure.
Do
Unit Essential Questions
Lesson Essential Questions
Materials/Resources
Vocabulary
- Demand
- Demand curve
- Demand schedule
- Income effect
- Law of demand
- Market demand schedule
- Substitution effect
- Ceteris paribus
- Complements
- Demographics
- Inferior good
- Normal good
- Substitutes
- Elasticity of demand
- Inelastic
- Total revenue
- Unitary elasticity
- Elasticity of supply
- Inelastic supply
- Law of supply
- Market supply schedule
- Quantity supplied
- Supply
- Supply schedule
- Variable
- Average cost
- Diminishing marginal returns
- Fixed cost
- Increasing marginal returns
- Marginal cost
- Marginal product of labor
- Marginal revenue
- Operating cost
- Total cost
- Variable cost
- Excise tax
- Regulation
- Subsidy
- Disequilibrium
- Equilibrium
- Equilibrium price
- Financial aid
- Minimum wage
- Price ceiling
- Price floor
- Rent control
- Shortage
- Subsidy
- Surplus
- Inventory
- Search costs
- Black market
- Imperfect competition
- Invest
- Price system