Economics Des Moines Public Schools
Unit 1: What is Economics?
Essential Question and PacingWhy do choices and incentives influence the behavior of individuals, businesses, and economic institutions? 5 weeks
Enduring Understandings / Suggested Texts and Resources
When most people think about economics, they think of numbers, graphs, and equations. But this is not what economics is all about. Economics involves the study of how people choose to use their resources. When people cannot have everything they want, they must make choices. Some economics argue that economics is mainly about how we make these choices. These economists define economics as the science of decision making. The driving question for this unit is, “Why do choices and incentives influence the behavior of individuals, businesses, and economic institutions?” In this unit, students explore this question and the fundamentals of economics.
Personal financial literacy is also highlighted in this unit, hooking students to the content with authentic connections to students’ lives. Students analyze payment types and the concept of savings. Students learn about the significance of credit scores and think about financing higher education.
Access to Teacher Materials
Go to activate.classzone.com and enter the Activation Code for the product you want to use.
ACTIVATION CODE: 5623896-50 - Economics Concepts and Choices Online Edition Teacher Access
ISBN #: 9780547338217
Free web site for all students, teachers and families: / Economics: Concepts and Choices, HM
Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3
-Budgeting and Money Management: 574-581 -Credit: 582-589
-Wise Choices for Consumers: 590-599 -Getting Out on your Own: 600-609
Econ Alive! TCI Teacher Materials Online
Economic Way of Thinking, Economic Decision Making, Economic Systems
Money, Banking, Saving and Investing
EverFi – Financial Literacy Online Simulation
Modules: Higher Education, Payment Types, Savings, and Credit Scores
This program, funded by Principal Financial Group, requires online access. Students who successfully complete the program earn a “Certificate of Completion.” The teacher’s guide and all resources can be found online: Our contact for this resource is Lincoln Hughes at
Newspaper Headlines tv.nytimes.com/learning/issues_in_depth/economics.html
Foundation for Teaching Economics
Reffonomics
YouTube: Fireman’s Auction Clip; Dentist Negotiation
Learn 360
NBC Learn
NBC Learn Unit 1 Economics Resources
NBC Learn Unit 5 Personal Financial Literacy Resources
NBC Learn Personal Finance Collection
Link to Course Resources:
Scales
Topic / Foundational Skills (2) / Scaffolded Learning Goal (2.5) / Learning Goal (3) / Exceeding (4)Individual and Economy – The Basics / Basic knowledge such as:
factors of production, cost-benefit analysis, three economic questions
Specific vocabulary such as:
scarcity, opportunity cost, resources, market economy, mixed economy, command economy / Identify the factors of production.
Use cost-benefit analysis to an individual choice.
Explain the major differences between a market economy and a command economy. / Identify and explain the factors of production.
Apply cost-benefit analysis to an individual choice, business decision, or government decision.
Explain, using examples, the differences between a market economy and a command economy. / Why do choices and incentives influence the behavior of individuals, businesses and economic institutions?
Evaluate pros and cons of different economic systems.
Personal Financial Literacy – The Basics / Basic knowledge such as:
higher education, credit scores, payment types, savings, consumer protection
identify types of insurance
Specific vocabulary such as:
credit, credit score, cosigner, interest rate, APR / Identify and define the different types of insurance.
Identify payment types. / Explain the different types of insurance.
Apply cost-benefit analysis to an individual financial decision.
Using Information from Different Sources*
not modified / Begins to create a product by integrating visual information with other information in print/digital text, but needs to do more to show connections between sources. / Creates a product by integrating visual information (i.e. charts, graphs, photographs, maps, etc.) with other information in print/digital text by clearly showing connections and making meaning between sources. / Creates a product by integrating visual information (i.e. charts, graphs, photographs, maps, etc.) with other information in print/digital text by clearly showing connections and making meaning between sources. / In addition to meeting the level 3 expectation, the product includes the use of extended, content-specific vocabulary and makes connections to history or modern-day concepts.
Writing Informative Text / A level 2 writing sample fails to meet the level 3 standard in one or more areas:
-Introduction
-Use of evidence
-Conclusion
*A level 1.5 writing sample fails to meet the level 3 standard in two areas. / -Introduce a topic (sentence or a full paragraph);
-Organize ideas and concepts (chronologically or thematically);
-Develops the topic with facts and examples that are appropriate to the topic;
-Provide a concluding statement that supports the information or explanation presented. / -Introduce a topic (sentence or a full paragraph);
-Organize ideas and concepts (chronologically or thematically);
-Develops the topic with relevant facts, evidence and accurate examples that are appropriate to the topic; uses extended definitions;
-Provide a concluding statement that supports the information or explanation presented. / Writes informative/explanatory text that demonstrates a depth of knowledge by going above and beyond the grade level expectation. The student digs deeper into the content by connecting the writing to previous learning or to contemporary issues.
Unit 2: Supply, Demand, and Market Structures
Essential Question and PacingWhy do choices and incentives influence the behavior of individuals, businesses, and economic institutions? 4 weeks
Enduring Understandings / Suggested Texts and Resources
In this unit, students examine the economic concepts of demand, supply, and market structures. All of these concepts help us understand why markets work.
Demand and supply are the two forces that make market economics work. Demand reflects what consumers are willing and able to pay at different prices. Supply is an indication of what producers are willing and able to produce at different prices. In the free market, demand and supply automatically move prices to equilibrium, the point at which quantity demanded equals quantity supplied.
The personal financial literacy strands in this unit emphasize an individual’s decision to rent or own and the practices of investing.
Access to Teacher Materials
Go to activate.classzone.com and enter the Activation Code for the product you want to use.
ACTIVATION CODE: 5623896-50 - Economics Concepts and Choices Online Edition Teacher Access
ISBN #: 9780547338217
Free web site for all students, teachers and families: / Economics: Concepts and Choices, HM
Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7
Econ Alive! TCI Teacher Materials Online
Demand and Supply
Markets, Equilibrium, and Prices
Market Structures and Market Failures
Money, Banking, Saving and Investing
EverFi – Financial Literacy Online Simulation
Modules: Rent vs. Own, Investing
This program, funded by Principal Financial Group, requires online access. Students who successfully complete the program earn a “Certificate of Completion.” The teacher’s guide and all resources can be found online: Our contact for this resource is Lincoln Hughes at
Heartland AEA Resources
Learn 360
NetTrekker
NBC Learn Supply, Demand and Markets Recources
NBC Learn Unit 5 Personal Financial Literacy Resources
NBC Learn Personal Finance Collection
Link to Course Resources:
Scales
Topic / Foundational Skills (2) / Scaffolded Learning Goal (2.5) / Learning Goal (3) / Exceeding (4)Individual and the Economy – Supply & Demand / Basic knowledge such as:
law of demand, law of supply, shift of the curve versus movement on the curve, using a schedule, plot a demand curve and a supply curve to find equilibrium price
Specific vocabulary such as:
demand, demand curve, supply, supply curve, price, quantity, market equilibrium, shortage, surplus / Identify the law of demand and the law of supply.
Construct a supply and demand graph.
List factors that change supply and demand. / Explain the law of demand and the law of supply. Construct and analyze a supply and demand graph.
Analyze the factors that change supply and demand. Distinguish between movement on the curve and movement of the curve.
Interpret graphs showing changing equilibrium prices resulting from changing demand and supply curves. / Analyze how economic changes affect price in the short and long run.
Illustrate the effects of price change on supply and demand.
Personal Financial Literacy - S, D, Markets / Basic knowledge such as:
types of investments
Specific vocabulary such as:
financial goals, budget, investing, risk vs. reward, bonds, stocks, income, wealth, personal debt / Use cost-benefit analysis to decide what makes more sense: to rent or to own.
Define income, wealth, and debt. Explain how these are important to an individual’s economic health. / Apply cost-benefit analysis to the decision to rent vs. own.
Explain how income, wealth, and debt impact an individual’s economic health.
Discuss how market conditions affect investments. / Evaluate financial asset options and justify the selection of an option in a given scenario.
Using Information from Different Sources
*not modified / Begins to create a product by integrating visual information with other information in print/digital text, but needs to do more to show connections between sources. / Creates a product by integrating visual information (i.e. charts, graphs, photographs, maps, etc.) with other information in print/digital text by clearly showing connections and making meaning between sources. / Creates a product by integrating visual information (i.e. charts, graphs, photographs, maps, etc.) with other information in print/digital text by clearly showing connections and making meaning between sources. / In addition to meeting the level 3 expectation, the product includes the use of extended, content-specific vocabulary and makes connections to history or modern-day concepts.
Writing Informative Text / Reference the scale provided in Unit 1 / Reference the scale provided in Unit 1 / Reference the scale provided in Unit 1 / Reference the scale provided in Unit 1
Unit 3: Introduction to Macroeconomics
Essential Question and PacingIn what ways do economists measure a nation’s economic health? 3 weeks
Enduring Understandings / Suggested Texts and Resources
What does it mean to say that an economy is healthy? Can an economy be sick? Though an economics might not use that exact term, the answer is yes.
When economists study a country’s economy, they can look at it from two different perspectives. They can study the economic decision making of individuals and businesses – this is known as microeconomics. In this unit, students study the workings of the economy as a whole – the focus of macroeconomics. Students examine the three key economic indicators: inflation rate, GDP, and unemployment rate. These and other indicators help economists figure out the economy’s position in the business cycle.
Access to Teacher Materials
Go to activate.classzone.com and enter the Activation Code for the product you want to use.
ACTIVATION CODE: 5623896-50 - Economics Concepts and Choices Online Edition Teacher Access
ISBN #: 9780547338217
Free web site for all students, teachers and families: / Economics: Concepts and Choices, HM
Chapter 12, Chapter 13
Econ Alive! TCI Teacher Materials Online:
Measuring the Economy
Money, Banking, Saving and Investing
EverFi – Financial Literacy Online Simulation
Modules: Unemployment
This program, funded by Principal Financial Group, requires online access. Students who successfully complete the program earn a “Certificate of Completion.” The teacher’s guide and all resources can be found online: Our contact for this resource is Lincoln Hughes at
Web Sites
Foundation for Teaching Economics
Reffonomics “Shopper on the Go”
Newspaper Headlines tv.nytimes.com/learning/issues_in_depth/economics.html
NPR: This American Life: The Invention of Money – Act 2.
WebQuest Economic Indicators:
Learn 360
NBC Learn Macroeconomics Resources
NBC Learn Unit 5 Personal Financial Literacy Resources
NBC Learn Personal Finance Collection
Link to Course Resources:
Scales
Topic / Foundational Skills (2) / Scaffolded Learning Goal (2.5)) / Learning Goal (3) / Exceeding (4)Economic Interdependence - Macroeconomics / Basic knowledge such as:
3 economic indicators: GDP, unemployment, inflation; the business cycle, expansion, contraction; poverty
Specific vocabulary such as:
gross domestic product – GDP
types of unemployment / Define GDP.
Explain the concept of inflation.
Identify the phases of a business cycle.
Apply your understanding of the different types of unemployment to various scenarios. / Explain, with examples, GDP’s relevance to the nation’s economy.
Explain, with examples, the causes and effects of inflation.
Describe the phases of a business cycle and evaluate a nation’s current place in the cycle.
Apply your understanding of the different types of unemployment to various scenarios.
Calculate the labor force and unemployment rate. / What does the business cycle tell us about the nation’s economy?
Interpret data using the business cycle.
Evaluate a business cycle to interpret and identify a country’s economic status.
Using Information from Different Sources / Begins to create a product by integrating visual information with other information in print/digital text, but needs to do more to show connections between sources. / Creates a product by integrating visual information (i.e. charts, graphs, photographs, maps, etc.) with other information in print/digital text by clearly showing connections and making meaning between sources. / Creates a product by integrating visual information (i.e. charts, graphs, photographs, maps, etc.) with other information in print/digital text by clearly showing connections and making meaning between sources. / In addition to meeting the level 3 expectation, the product includes the use of extended, content-specific vocabulary and makes connections to history or modern-day concepts.
Writing Informative Text / A level 2 writing sample fails to meet the level 3 standard in one or more areas:
-Introduction
-Use of evidence
-Conclusion
*A level 1.5 writing sample fails to meet the level 3 standard in two areas. / -Introduce a topic (sentence or a full paragraph);
-Organize ideas and concepts (chronologically or thematically);
-Develops the topic with facts and examples that are appropriate to the topic;
-Provide a concluding statement that supports the information or explanation presented. / -Introduce a topic (sentence or a full paragraph);
-Organize ideas and concepts (chronologically or thematically);
-Develops the topic with relevant facts, evidence and accurate examples that are appropriate to the topic; uses extended definitions;
-Provide a concluding statement that supports the information or explanation presented. / Writes informative/explanatory text that demonstrates a depth of knowledge by going above and beyond the grade level expectation. The student digs deeper into the content by connecting the writing to previous learning or to contemporary issues.
Unit 4: Economic Policy
Essential Question and Pacing
How does money make the world go round? 6 weeks
Enduring Understandings / Suggested Texts and Resources
In this unit, the driving question hooks students into thinking about the role of money in our economy and its implications on economic policy. Economic policies are often fiercely debated. The government plays a limited, but important, role in the economy. It protects property rights, regulates the marketplace, corrects market failures, and promotes the economic well-being of the American people. Governments and central banks use two broad policies to keep their economies running smoothly. Fiscal policy is based on the government’s power to tax and spend. Monetary policy is based on the power of the Federal reserve over the money supply and interest rates.
Personal financial topics explored by students include taxes, insurance, and banking.
Access to Teacher Materials
Go to activate.classzone.com and enter the Activation Code for the product you want to use.
ACTIVATION CODE: 5623896-50 - Economics Concepts and Choices Online Edition Teacher Access
ISBN #: 9780547338217
Free web site for all students, teachers and families: / Economics: Concepts and Choices, HM
Monetary Policy: Chapters 10, 11, 16
Fiscal Policy: Chapters 14, 15, 16
Econ Alive! TCI Teacher Materials Online
Fiscal and Monetary Policy
Government and the Economy
Taxes and Taxation
Econ Alive! TCI Teacher Materials Online
Fiscal and Monetary Policy
Money, Banking, Saving and Investing
EverFi – Financial Literacy Online Simulation
Modules: Taxes, Insurance, Banking
This program, funded by Principal Financial Group, requires online access. Students who successfully complete the program earn a “Certificate of Completion.” The teacher’s guide and all resources can be found online:
NBC Learn Unit 4 Monetary and Fiscal Policy Resources
NBC Learn Unit 5 Personal Financial Literacy Resources
NBC Learn Personal Finance Collection
Foundation for Teaching Economics “Shopper on the Go”
Fed Board of Governors “Fed Game”
Reffonomics “Shopper on the Go”
Newspaper Headlines tv.nytimes.com/learning/issues_in_depth/economics.html
Debt Clock and New York Times Budget Simulation
Films: IOUSA and Ten Trillion and Counting
Stock Market -Virtual Stock Exchange -Market Watch -
Link to Course Resources:
Scales
Topic / Foundational Skills (2) / Scaffolded Learning Goal (2.5) / Learning Goal (3) / Exceeding (4)Economic Interdependence – Monetary Policy / Basic knowledge such as:
Federal Reserve System, interest rate, reserve requirement
Specific vocabulary such as:
money supply, interest, financial markets, expansionary policy, contractionary policy / Explain the concept of interest.
Identify the policy tools used by the Federal Reserve and the effect on a nation’s economy. / Explain the concept of interest.
Describe the policy tools used by the Federal Reserve and the effect on a nation’s economy.
Analyze the effects of expansionary and contractionary policies and recommend measures to promote economic health. / How does money make the world go round? How do governments use fiscal policy to influence the economy?
Evaluate economic data and justify the use of monetary and fiscal policies.
Economic Interdependence – Fiscal Policy / Basic knowledge such as: different forms of taxation (federal, state, local, excise, sales, etc.), different sources of government revenue and spending categories, demand side, supply-side; progressive, proportional, regressive
Specific vocabulary such as:
fiscal policy, budget, deficit, debt, surplus / Identify the positives and negatives for different forms of taxation.
Explain how annual budget deficits are different than total debt.
Make policy recommendations on government spending using your understanding of the federal budget. / Evaluate different forms of taxation.
Distinguish between annual budget deficits and total debt and analyze the implications of these concepts.
Make policy recommendations on government spending using your understanding of the federal budget. / How does money make the world go round? How do governments use fiscal policy to influence the economy?
Evaluate economic data and justify the use of monetary and fiscal policies.
Using Information from Different Sources / Begins to create a product by integrating visual information with other information in print/digital text, but needs to do more to show connections between sources. / Creates a product by integrating visual information (i.e. charts, graphs, photographs, maps, etc.) with other information in print/digital text by clearly showing connections and making meaning between sources. / Creates a product by integrating visual information (i.e. charts, graphs, photographs, maps, etc.) with other information in print/digital text by clearly showing connections and making meaning between sources. / In addition to meeting the level 3 expectation, the product includes the use of extended, content-specific vocabulary and makes connections to history or modern-day concepts.
Writing Informative Text / Reference the scale provided in Unit 3 / Reference the scale provided in Unit 3 / Reference the scale provided in Unit 3 / Reference the scale provided in Unit 3
Unit 5: Globalization *Optional
Essential Question and Pacing
Would a nation be better off if it made everything it consumed? 2 weeks
Enduring Understandings / Suggested Texts and Resources
In this unit, students explore concepts of free trade, imports/exports, protectionism, and balance of trade. The United States plays an active part in the global economy. U.S. trade with other countries has expanded in recent decades and has contributed to economic growth both at home and abroad. Globalization has changed the way we interact and do business. In essence, it is the integration of economies and societies around the world. Critics emphasize its costs, however, while supporters point to its benefits.
Access to Teacher Materials
Go to activate.classzone.com and enter the Activation Code for the product you want to use.
ACTIVATION CODE: 5623896-50 - Economics Concepts and Choices Online Edition Teacher Access
ISBN #: 9780547338217
Free web site for all students, teachers and families: / Economics: Concepts and Choices, HM
Chapter 17, Chapter 18
Econ Alive! TCI Teacher Materials Online
Gains from Trade, The United States and the Global Economy, The Costs and Benefits of Globalization
Web Sites
Foundation for Teaching Economics
Reffonomics “Shopper on the Go”
Film: 60 Minutes - Brazil’s Rising Star.
PBS Frontline
Heartland AEA Resources
Culture Grams
Economic Freedom Index
NBC Learn Unit 6 Globalization Resources
NBC Learn Global Business Collection
Link to Course Resources:
Scales