Economics Mr.

England, NP3 High School, Spring 2016

Room B-4, Office Hours 7-8am (M-F), 3-3:30 (M-W)
Email: jengland@natomas.k12.ca.us Phone: 916-801-6250

Course Description:
Economics is a twelfth grade semester long course. In this class students learn the
basic concepts of both microeconomics and macroeconomics. Throughout the
class, the goal is for students to understand and relate to economic principles so
they can make sound financial decisions when they graduate from high school.
Classroom Philosophy:
Respect yourself, each other, and the teacher.
Be on time and prepared to work.
Have a positive attitude and embrace learning.
Be open and take risks.
Course Overview
Unit 1 Economics and Choice (Ch. 1 and 2)
Scarcity, Opportunity Costs, Production Possibilities, and Economic Analysis
Four Factors of Production; focus on Entrepreneurship
Economic Systems Traditional, Command, Market and Mixed
Unit 2 Demand, Supply and Equilibrium (Ch. 4, 5 and 6)
Law of Demand, Demand Curves, Changes in Demand, Elasticity of Demand
Law of Supply, Supply Curves, Costs of Production, Changes in Supply
Equilibrium price and quantity, Intervention in the Price System
Unit 3 Market Structures, and Business Organizations (Ch. 7 and 8)
Monopolies and other structures, Antitrust regulation
Corporations, Partnerships, Sole Proprietorships
Unit 4 Wages, Unions, Poverty and Government Assistance (Ch. 9 and 13)
Wage determination, Minimum wage policy, and Unions
Poverty, Welfare and Unemployment
Unit 5 Financial Markets, Investing, Taxes and Personal Finance (Street Law Book)
The Stock Market, Credit Cards, and Individual Spending
Tax Policy and Government Spending decisions
Text
Economics: Concepts and Choices; McDougal Littell
Grading and Assessment
All letter grades earned at NP3 are defined in the following manner:
A = student demonstrates mastery
B = student demonstrates proficiency with elements of mastery
C = student demonstrates proficiency
NC = student fails to demonstrate proficiency, and thus No Credit is received

If work is turned in, but is not proficient, it will show up as a 65% in the gradebook
If work is not turned in, it will show up as a 50% in the gradebook
Throughout this course, students will be given several opportunities to demonstrate
their learning. Some of these opportunities occur while in the process of learning
specific concepts. Examples of these types of process assignments are
worksheets, study guides, notes, homework, in-class participation, quizzes, first
drafts of essays, etc. Ultimately, other significant opportunities are provided for
students to demonstrate their culminating understanding of course objectives and
learning standards. These product assignments may be in the form of essays,
tests, projects, presentations, etc.
Grades will be reflected as a percentage value, rather than a point value. Not all
assignments will be counted toward your final grade, but will be reflected in the
gradebook (and your comprehension of the material). Your final grade in this course
will consist of two weighted categories:
80%: Process Assignments
20%: Product Assignments
Within a weighted category, all assignments will have the same value, unless
otherwise noted in advance.
No extra credit opportunities are provided in this class, thus it is extremely important
that you complete ALL process assignments given. Additionally, process
assignments are due on the date assigned and will NOT be accepted late without a
10% penalty for every class period that is missed. These assignments will provide
you with the practice of skills and reinforcement of concepts learned that you will
need in order to successfully complete the product assignments (and thus,
successfully complete the course).
Completion of all product assignments is mandatory to successfully pass the
course. Thus, failure to complete a product assignment will be indicated as an
incomplete in the gradebook, resulting in a No Credit in the course until the
assignment is completed.
We are usually quite current at entering grades in PowerSchool, so please log on
frequently to stay informed of your current status. http://www.natomas.k12.ca.us