Economics Course Syllabus 2014
Ms. Kelly Erickson
Purpose: Economics is a semester long course for juniors and seniors that will deal with basic economic ideas and philosophy. Topics studied will include scarcity, economic systems, supply and demand, inflation, income distribution, economic enterprise, environmental economics, taxes, global trade andglobal economy,and government regulation. Students willinvestigate how their decisionson an everyday basisare economic decisions and howthis fits into the bigger picture of macroeconomic activity. This course also meets the Financial Literacy graduation requirement for students at SSHS.
Understanding: Students in Economics will demonstrate their understanding in the Colorado State Content Standards for Economics. Students in this class will:
- Understand the allocation of scarce resources in societies through analysis of individual choice, market interaction, and public policy.
- Acquire the knowledge and economic reasoning skills to make sound financial decisions.
Means of Assessment: Students will participate in a variety of activities to demonstrate their mastery in understanding these standards and performing these skills. Some of these modes will be in class discussions, presentations, formal writing, summative assessments, debates, artistic representations, journals and research projects.
Materials:Students should have a binder for handouts, readings and returned work, along withpaper for notes, assignments and reflections, writing utensils/highlighters, sticky notes, and a supply of notecards for vocabulary and concept review.
Late Work: Late work will be accepted for full credit at the teacher’s discretion. Factors that will be considered in Ms. Erickson’s decision could include, but may not be limited to, the students general attitude and willingness to participate in class, the frequency of late work, the responsibility the student has shown in communicating with the teacher, the timeliness of completing the late work and the time in the semester in which the assignment takes place. Late work will never be accepted the last week of the semester and will not be evident on mid-quarter and quarter grades if the work comes in the week of these grading periods. Please also recognize that most of the homework assigned for this class is designed to help prepare for an upcoming in class activity and completing the work in a timely manner will make the activity more relevant and interesting for the student and the class as a whole.
Importance of Web Page: When absent, it is the student’s responsibility to review the Daily Assignments and Activities section of the Economics page before returning to class. This is also where students should look for additional assignments if the original paperwork is lost. Ms. Erickson will not provide multiple copies of printed work.
Contact Information:
Kelly Erickson
Telephone/Voice Mail: 871.3620
Email:
Web Site:
Open Hours: 4th and 5th
Grading Information
Assessment Philosophy: Students will be assessed on a proficiency scale that represents both their understanding and academic responsibility in Geography and Global Issues. Grades will be broken down into the following components:
Conceptual Understanding (90%) / Academic Responsibility (10%)This includes but is not limited to demonstration of ideas and concepts via projects, seminars, writing assignments, reflections, tests, quizzes, research assignments and performances. A body of evidence to show that student has mastered the appropriate Colorado State Standards will be collected and evaluated.
Designated in gradebook as:
4=Advanced
3=Proficient
2=Partially Proficient
1=Needs More Evidence
M=Missing / This includes but is not limited to class participation, homework assignments, readings and questions to prepare for upcoming classes, practice assignments, group conversations, classroom citizenship and review tasks.
Twice a quarter a 4 point Academic Responsibility grade will be converted from the Academic Responsibility Log. Please see information regarding this Log below.
Achievement Levels: Assignments will be given with specific rubrics so that students can see how each of the following applies to individual assignments. However, generally thedesignation in the grade book will represent the following.
4Advanced: Student shows sophisticated understanding and is able to explain, apply, interpret, and demonstrate perspective, empathy and self-knowledge on the topic. Demonstration of understanding goes beyond what is outlined in the state standards. (4 = A in the grade book)
3Proficient: Student has a basic understanding of the content and is able to apply information, skills, perspectives & attitudes to known situations. Student meets expectations of state standards. (3 = A- in the grade book)
2Partially Proficient: Student is able to articulate and demonstrate understanding of some information and skills some of the time. (2 = C in the grade book)
1Needs More Evidence: Student competence is not yet known or is inadequate and cannot be accurately assessed. (1 = D in the grade book)
Academic Responsibility Log :This will keep track of in-class assignments, behaviors, and formative homework assignments that students complete throughout the semester. These grades will be designated as follows:
- M=Missing: Student has not completed or shown this work to Ms. Erickson.
- A=Absent: Student was absent when this was completed and needs to turn in completed work to Ms. Erickson as soon as possible. This will become an “M” if not completed by the next grading period.
- R= Revision Needed: Student has shown this to Ms. Erickson, but it was not completed or was not completed in an accurate manner and the student therefore needs to re-door revise the assignment and turn it in again in order to gain credit. The grade will become an “M” if this is not done by the next grading period.
- S=Satisfactory: Student has completed the work in an accurate and complete manner.
Assignment Revisions: Students are allowed to revise or re-do assignments in which they gained a 2 or lower if they have met with Ms. Erickson to develop a plan for the revision. There is a form available in the classroom for this process. Students will not be allowed to revise work in which they received a 3 on the original assignment.