<p>Course Name: Economics</p><p>Course #: Grades 10-12 Level: 0 Sem: 5X Credits: 2.5</p><p>Course Description: This semester course aims to provide students with theoretical underpinnings and functional knowledge in economics to become informed consumers, producers, and citizens in today’s world. Economics is the study of how individuals, businesses, and governments make decisions about the use of scarce resources in a world of unlimited wants and needs. This is done at both the microeconomic and macroeconomic level, both of which will be examined in detail. At the microeconomic level, students will investigate the smaller units of the economy—individual firms and markets. In macroeconomics, students will study the global economy and economics of nations and governments as they try to foster growth and stability. The course is useful in helping students to acquire many life skills, and also in establishing a foundation for more advanced study of economics. </p><p>Course Proficiencies: The following is a list of proficiencies that describe what students are expected to know and be able to do as a result of successfully completing this course. The proficiencies are the basis of assessment of student achievement. The learner will demonstrate the ability to:</p><p>1. Identify the four types of economic resources as they apply to decisions made by individuals, businesses, and governments regarding their use and scarcity. 2. Juxtapose market and command economies, provide examples of mixed economies, and evaluate these systems on a spectrum relating to government interaction with economic institutions. 3. Apply marginal benefit/marginal cost analysis to show the basis for economic decisions. 4. Recognize the interplay between demand and supply, and classify determinants for both economic forces. 5. Depict changes in demand and supply graphically, and determine the implications of their respective changes on prices and quantities produced. 6. Distinguish between items that would have inelastic and elastic demand, and suggest factors that contribute to the degree of elasticity. 7. Characterize industries using the four-market structure model, considering the basic traits of each, and identify strategies of the competitor and the monopolist and their effects on the market. 8. Identify reasons that the government would intervene in economic activity in a market-oriented economy and provide examples using historical and contemporary case studies. 9. Evaluate economic performance and stability of nations based on broad economic indicators such as Gross Domestic Product, unemployment rates, and inflation rates. 10. Assess the impact of inflation on economic performance, and determine the importance of the use of Real GDP and its growth rate, as well as price indices as indicators of overall economic health. 11. Define aggregate demand and aggregate supply, identify determinants of these macro forces, and establish its impact on price level and national output. 12. Identify the phases of the business cycle, as well as conditions that are typically prevalent during recessions and periods of growth. 13. Examine fiscal policy as an attempt at economic stabilization, stimuli, and contraction; evaluate historical examples of changes in taxation and spending as they were meant to counteract unwanted conditions; and recommend appropriate fiscal policies given specific economic circumstances. 14. Understand the functions of money, the nature of its supply, and the role of a central bank (particularly the Federal Reserve) in providing stability. 15. Recommend appropriate monetary policies given a set of economic conditions. 16. Identify comparative advantage as the basis for international trade, and examine current trends in trade among nations. 17. Enrich financial literacy and practice through simulation and learning of security markets for stocks, bonds, and other financial assets.</p><p>Assessment: The evaluation of student achievement in this course is based on the following:</p><p>A. Tests and quizzes B. Participation in class discussions C. Multimedia presentations D. Individual and group projects E. Writing assignments F. Economic simulations</p><p>Board Adopted Materials</p><p>Textbook: Board Approved</p><p>Economics: New Ways of Thinking Arnold, Roger A. EMC Publishing (2007)</p>