Instructor: Alisa A. Bourne aabourne@olemiss.edu

Instructor Information:

Mrs. Bourne is a graduate of William Carey University and the University of Southern Mississippi. She holds a Mississippi Educator License with endorsements in Business, English, Mathematics, General Science, Social Studies, Psychology, AP World History, Counseling, and Administration.

Prior to accepting her current position as Administrator of The University of Mississippi High School, she served as the Guidance Counselor at South Pontotoc High School, and District Data and Guidance Coordinator at the Pontotoc City School District.

Contact Information:

If you have questions concerning the content of the course, you may contact the instructor directly using the email link on the main Lessons page or in the "Communications & Tools" tab. NOTE: Replies to your emails will go to your go.olemiss.edu email account, so be sure to check it frequently.

Course Description:

In this Economics course, you will learn how economic issues impact today’s world and how economics pertains to your everyday life. We will focus on the overall themes and situations that we fact today by studying economic issues through the lens of a current event or issue that we will call “The Essential Question”. At the end of each unit, we will answer our essential question in the form of a short essay, and complete an activity based on a common theme.

Required Textbook:

There is no textbook required for this course. All materials are available within the course or through links to the internet.

Course Objectives include (but are not limited to):

Objectives include (but are not limited to):

• E.1 Explain the concepts of scarcity, choice, decision making, and opportunity cost.
• E.2 Describe different economic systems and how people work individually or collectively to allocate goods and services.
• E.3 Illustrate how voluntary exchanges and trade are reflections of negative and positive incentives resulting in gain for both parties and that specialization in trade can lead to lower costs of production and increased production and consumption.
• E.4 Analyze the role of price on the market, the buyer, and the seller.
• E.5 Analyze and evaluate the impact the market structures, entrepreneurship, and institutions have on the market economy, competition, and income.
• E.6 Evaluate the role of money and its relationship to inflation, unemployment, and interest rates in the market economy.
• E.7 Describe economic growth and the causes and effects of economic fluctuations.
• E.8 Evaluate the role of the government in correcting market failures.
• E.9 Compare and contrast fiscal and monetary policy.

Course Outline:

This course consists of 8 instructional modules (or units). NOTE: you must pass the Syllabus and Orientation Quiz for the course materials to appear on the Lessons page.

Units

Lesson

Topic

Due for Grades

Pacing Guide

Start Here

Syllabus and Orientation folder. NOTE: Once you complete the syllabus and orientation quiz, the rest of the lessons will become available to you.

Syllabus quiz, Introduce Yourself Discussion Board, Course Pre-test

Week 1

1

1

The Language of Economics

Journal, Article Review

Week 1

2

The Foundation of Economics

Journals, Unit Quiz

Week 1

3

Production and Economic Systems

Journal, Infographic Activity

Week 2

4

The Factors of Production

Journal, Infographic Activity, Entrepreneur Activity

Week 2

5

Achieving Economic Prosperity

Journal, Infographic Activity, Unit Outline, Unit Test

Week 3

2

1

Supply and Demand

Journal

Week 3

2

Supply and Demand in Balance

Journal, Infographic Activity

Week 4

3

Minimum Wage

Journal, Unit Quiz

Week 4

4

The Labor Market and Immigration

Journals, Infographic Activity, Unit Outline, Unit Test

Week 5

3

0

What is a Stock Market

Video Quiz

Week 5

1

Intro to Investing

Journal, Activities

Week 6

2

Forms of Investing

Journal, Unit Quiz

Week 6

3

The Stock Market

Journal, Infographic Activity, Unit Outline, Unit Test

Week 7

4

1

Money

Journals, Infographic Activity

Week 7

2

The Money Supply

Journal, Infographic Activity

Week 8

3

The Federal Reserve

Journals, Infographic Activity, Unit Quiz

Week 8

4

Monetary Policy

Journal, Infographic Activity

Week 9

5

The Fractional Reserve Banking System

Journals

Week 9

6

The Foreign Exchange Market

Journal, Activities, Unit Outline, Unit Test

Week 10

Mid-Term Exam

Proctored comprehensive exam covering Unit 1-4. Complete all previous assignments before taking this exam. Any assignments not completed before the exam is taken will receive a grade of zero.

Proctored Exam

Week 10

5

1

Gas Production and Consumption

Journal

Week 11

2

Petroleum Reserves and Stores

Journal

Week 11

3

The Price of Gas

Journal, Infographic Activity, Unit Quiz

Week 12

4

Government Regulations

Journal

Week 12

5

The Financial Markets

Journal

Week 13

6

Inflation

Journal, Article Review, Unit Outline, Unit Test

Week 13

6

1

The Business Cycle

Journal

Week 14

2

Economic Indicators

Journal, Infographic Activities

Week 14

3

Gross Domestic Product

Journals, Infographic Activities, Unit Quiz

Week 15

4

Economic Performance

Journal, Unit Outline, Unit Test

Week 15

7

1

The Purpose of Government

Journal

Week 16

2

Government and the Great Depression

Journal

Week 16

3

Taxes and Social Security

Journals

Week 17

4

National Debt

Journal, Unit Quiz

Week 17

5

Debt and Deficit

Journal

Week 18

6

Command Economies

Journals, Unit Outline, Unit Test

Week 18

8

1

Free Trade

Journals

Week 19

2

Globalization

Journal

Week 19

3

Regional Trade Agreements

Journal, Infographic Activities, Unit Quiz

Week 20

4

Healthcare

Journals, Unit Outline, Unit Test

Week 20

Economics StoryCorps Project

Create a StoryCorps story.

Project

Week 21

Post-test, Exit Survey

The 10-minute Post-test is in the Final Exam folder and must be completed before the final exam will appear.

To be completed before scheduling your final exam.

Week 21

Final Exam

Proctored comprehensive exam covering the entire course. Complete all previous assignments before taking this exam. Any assignments not completed before the exam is taken will receive a grade of zero.

Proctored Exam

Week 21

Grading Scale:

93 - 100% = A
85 - 92% = B
75 - 84% = C
70 - 74% = D
Below 69% = F

The grading format is as follows:

Minor Grades: 50% (Activities, Journals, Outlines, Quizzes)
Major Grades: 30% (Questions to Consider, Article Reviews, Unit Tests, Project)
Final Exam: 20% (Proctored Mid-Term Exam and Proctored Final Exam)