Unit 1: Introduction to Economics
Students will learn about some of the basic concepts and models used in the study of economics. It covers the materials from Ch. 1-3.
Friday, January 24: Bell Ringer - What is scarcity?
Students started to learn how to think economically through the concepts of scarcity, choice, and opportunity cost.
Monday, January 27: Bell Ringer - What is economics?
Students learned how to create and use a Production Possibilities Curve model to illustrate the concepts of scarcity, choice, and opportunity cost.
Tuesday, January 28: Bell Ringer - Graph PPF and analyze O.C.
Students learned about incentives by watching a excerpt from the documentary Freakonomics titled, "Can a Ninth Grader be Bribed to Succeed?"
Wednesday, January 29: Bell Ringer - What is an incentive?
Students reviewed the concept of incentives as well as the different types of incentive: social, moral, financial and positive and negative.
Thursday, January 30: Bell Ringer - Give an example of each of the 4 factors of production.
Students took their Chapter 1 quiz and then were given either an article on Adam Smith or Karl Marx to read for Monday.
Friday, January 31: Bell Ringer - What are the two main economic systems?
Students discussed their readings about Adam Smith and Karl Marx and learned how their ideas became the basis of the Free Enterprise (capitalism) and Socialist economic systems. They worked with partners to complete a worksheet that compared the features of the two systems.
Monday, February 3: Bell Ringer - What are the three fundamental economic questions?
Class began with students reviewing the difference between a free enterprise and socialism. Then they participated in a simulation where they saw how a free enterprise system works based on 5 key characteristics: private property, Choice, Voluntary Exchange, Competition, and Economic Incentives.
Tuesday, February 4: Bell Ringer - What are the 5 characteristics of a free enterprise economy?
Students began class by reviewing the activity from Tuesday. They then learned how markets in a free enterprise system can fail to allocate goods efficiently, this is called a market failure. One type of market failure is an externality, or an unintended effect of one's actions. Students watched The Lorax, and kept track of the positive and negative externalities caused by the Once-ler's actions.
Wednesday, February 5: What is an externality?
Governments want to encourage actions that cause positive externalities and discourage actions that cause negative externalities. The most effective way is to have the actors internalize, or feel the real impact, of their actions. Tax actions that cause negative externalities and subsidize actions that cause positive externalities.
Thursday, February 6: Bell Ringer - What does it mean to internalize an externality?
Students learn that governments also get involved in a free enterprise economy to provide goods and services that wouldn't be provided by the private sector. The private sector will not offer some goods or services because they are non-excludable and non-rival. These are public goods, and many of them people want so the government steps in to offer them.
Friday, February 7: Bell Ringer - What is the difference between a public and private good?
Students participated in an activity were they categorized goods and services into four categories: public goods, private goods, natural monopolies, and common resources, based on their characteristics of rivalry and excludability. Then they learned about the Tragedy of the Commons and how the government will step in to regulate those goods to protect them from over use.
Monday, February 10: Bell Ringer - Do you have any questions about the content we've learned or the test? If so, what are they?
Students reviewed for the Unit 1 Test.
Tuesday, February 11: Bell Ringer - NONE
Students took their Unit 1 Test and handed in their Bell Ringers.
Students started to learn how to think economically through the concepts of scarcity, choice, and opportunity cost.
Monday, January 27: Bell Ringer - What is economics?
Students learned how to create and use a Production Possibilities Curve model to illustrate the concepts of scarcity, choice, and opportunity cost.
Tuesday, January 28: Bell Ringer - Graph PPF and analyze O.C.
Students learned about incentives by watching a excerpt from the documentary Freakonomics titled, "Can a Ninth Grader be Bribed to Succeed?"
Wednesday, January 29: Bell Ringer - What is an incentive?
Students reviewed the concept of incentives as well as the different types of incentive: social, moral, financial and positive and negative.
Thursday, January 30: Bell Ringer - Give an example of each of the 4 factors of production.
Students took their Chapter 1 quiz and then were given either an article on Adam Smith or Karl Marx to read for Monday.
Friday, January 31: Bell Ringer - What are the two main economic systems?
Students discussed their readings about Adam Smith and Karl Marx and learned how their ideas became the basis of the Free Enterprise (capitalism) and Socialist economic systems. They worked with partners to complete a worksheet that compared the features of the two systems.
Monday, February 3: Bell Ringer - What are the three fundamental economic questions?
Class began with students reviewing the difference between a free enterprise and socialism. Then they participated in a simulation where they saw how a free enterprise system works based on 5 key characteristics: private property, Choice, Voluntary Exchange, Competition, and Economic Incentives.
Tuesday, February 4: Bell Ringer - What are the 5 characteristics of a free enterprise economy?
Students began class by reviewing the activity from Tuesday. They then learned how markets in a free enterprise system can fail to allocate goods efficiently, this is called a market failure. One type of market failure is an externality, or an unintended effect of one's actions. Students watched The Lorax, and kept track of the positive and negative externalities caused by the Once-ler's actions.
Wednesday, February 5: What is an externality?
Governments want to encourage actions that cause positive externalities and discourage actions that cause negative externalities. The most effective way is to have the actors internalize, or feel the real impact, of their actions. Tax actions that cause negative externalities and subsidize actions that cause positive externalities.
Thursday, February 6: Bell Ringer - What does it mean to internalize an externality?
Students learn that governments also get involved in a free enterprise economy to provide goods and services that wouldn't be provided by the private sector. The private sector will not offer some goods or services because they are non-excludable and non-rival. These are public goods, and many of them people want so the government steps in to offer them.
Friday, February 7: Bell Ringer - What is the difference between a public and private good?
Students participated in an activity were they categorized goods and services into four categories: public goods, private goods, natural monopolies, and common resources, based on their characteristics of rivalry and excludability. Then they learned about the Tragedy of the Commons and how the government will step in to regulate those goods to protect them from over use.
Monday, February 10: Bell Ringer - Do you have any questions about the content we've learned or the test? If so, what are they?
Students reviewed for the Unit 1 Test.
Tuesday, February 11: Bell Ringer - NONE
Students took their Unit 1 Test and handed in their Bell Ringers.