Economics 2012-2013 1st Trimester September 4 November 29 Contact Information: Mr. Ross Burdette Room 32 rburdett@mason.k12.mi.

.us (517) 676-9055 ext. 232 Welcome to Economics! Economics is the study of how people choose to use their limited resources to fulfill their unlimited wants/desires. Economics encompasses more than money and finance and should be viewed more as a way of thinking and viewing the world. Much like the other sciences, economics is based in experimentation, observation and theory. Our economics class will focus on connecting economic theory with daily observations and discovering how economics plays into being an effective United States citizen. What will class be like? In this course you will be expected to read outside of class and complete the necessary guided reading questions, participate in classroom discussions and simulations, and connect your daily experiences to economic theory. As this class is heavily based on classroom simulations it is important that you are present for every class session. Students should expect to keep a notebook, which will be graded, that contains notes, worksheets, and activity write-ups. Communication You may e-mail me at rburdett@mason.k12.mi.us or call me at (517) 676-9055 ext. 232. Please allow me 24hours to respond to e-mails or phone messages. When leaving a phone message please leave your name and the best number for reaching you between 2:45 P.M. - 4:30 P.M. I am available to students before school on most days from 7:00 A.M. to 7:45 A.M. Also, I will be available after school from 2:45 P.M. to around 4:15 P.M. Parents, you are welcome to schedule an appointment for after school hours, please give me a week of notice prior to coming in. Parents, I will be sending out a class e-mail this trimester. The e-mail will contain a basic outline of class activities and assignments. It will also have notices of when Skyward grades are updated so you may check the up-to-date grade book. Necessary Materials - TEXTBOOK - A three ring binder with loose-leaf paper - A pen or pencil (essays must be in pen) Grading policies Grading Procedures Assignments graded in class cannot be turned in Our class will be following the school-wide grading scale late A 93-100 C 73-76 Assignments missed due to unexcused absences A90-92 C70-72 cannot be made up B+ 87-89 D+ 67-69 Students with excused absences have the equal B 83-86 D 63-66 number of days missed to make up assignments B80-82 D60-62 Students should log into Skyward weekly to C+ 77-79 E Below 60 check assignments and grades

*Trimester grades will be weighted as follows: 30% - Homework, Notebook Checks, Quizzes, Preparedness 30% - In-class discussions, simulations, and simulation write-ups 40% - Tests and Essays Late Work While late work is accepted throughout the whole semester students are required to complete all assignments and attend a Missing Assignment Detention or face disciplinary action. Most assignments will be considered late if not turned in by 3:30pm the date it is due. The exception to this rule is any assignment being graded in class or being required for a simulation as you could not participate fully in the simulation. You are responsible for completing all assignments in a trimester. Any assignment turned in after 3:30pm on the date due will receive an automatic deduction of fifteen percent. Incomplete work is not accepted, finish the assignment and turn it in late. Missing Assignment Detention To avoid a massive amount of late work coming to me at the last minute in the semester and to avoid delaying grades due to processing grades for assignments, students will be given a Missing Assignment Detention if all work is not completed by the dates listed below. In the left hand column are the dates which work is assigned. The right hand column is the date of the Missing Assignment Detention if any of the work is not completed. The detentions are held from 2:50 P.M. to 4:30 P.M. This should be plenty of time to complete all missing work. Dates of assigned homework, quizzes, tests, etc. September 4 - October 12 October 13 - November 9 Missing Assignment Detention dates 2:50 P.M. 4:30 P.M. October 16 (2:50 P.M. - 4:30 P.M.) November 13 (2:50 P.M. - 4:30 P.M.)

*If you participate in sports, extracurricular activities or have difficulty finding a ride home after a Missing Assignment Detention, I would recommend turning in your work on time or before the detention date to avoid having to attend a "Missing Assignment Detention." Notebook Checks Students are required to complete a notebook check form for every unit and attach it to their work from that unit. Students will be informed ahead of time what should be included in their notebook checks. The goal is to help students stay organized and prepared for unit tests. *Not all information assessed on the unit tests will come directly from material in the notebook checks. Therefore it is in your best interest to hold on to all materials until the trimester ends. Class Rules If a student is tardy three times in a trimester, that student will receive an office referral for a detention. Every subsequent tardy will result in another office referral for a detention. Please note that after being tardy eight times, a student must receive a C+ on the final exam to pass the class, as per the student handbook. No food or drink is to be brought into the classroom except water. Students may purchase food and drink items from the CBI cart.

Each student begins the trimester with 10 points for coming to class prepared. Each time you choose to come to class without your notebook or textbook, or a pen or pencil, you will lose a point. If a student loses all ten points, they will receive an office referral for a detention. All rules outlined in the student handbook will be followed inside the classroom.

Classroom Discipline Policy First Offense - Verbal Warning Second Offense - Written warning along with a phone call home Third Offense - Office Referral for a detention *If behavior persists beyond the third offense, administration, the student and I will need to meet for a conference to decide on further discipline and to develop a plan of action. Absent Work Absent students are responsible for picking up and completing all assignments in the weekly absent folders located in the Absent? crates Students who are absent have an equal number of days to complete the missed assignments (i.e. students who miss three consecutive days of school have three days upon returning to complete the assignments before they are considered late.) Students who have missed a test or quiz are responsible for establishing a time to stay after school and make up the test. Students have one week from the missed test or quiz to come in and make up the assessment before it will be considered late. Test Corrections Students have the opportunity to earn back 10% of their test grade if they complete test corrections. Extra Credit Students will have multiple opportunities to complete extra credit assignments throughout the trimester. Passes Students receive three hall passes per trimester Students who do not use all three passes will earn extra credit per unused hall pass If a student chooses to use a hall pass, students must sign the in/out log located at the front of the room. Failure to do so will lead to disciplinary action. Reminder: Students gone for more than 10 minutes of total class time will be marked as absent from class for that day.

Basic Course Outline Week One: Introduction and Unit One: "What is economics all about? Scarcity, Factors of Production, Incentives and the Economic Way of Thinking" Week Two: Unit One continued (Quiz) Week Three: Unit One Completed (Unit One Test) and Unit Two Begins: "Who gets what? Allocation and Market Systems." Week Three: Unit Two Completed (Unit Two Essay) - Unit Three Begins: "Who should be allowed to trade with whom? Voluntary Trade, Globalization and Constructive Destruction (Schumpeter's Gale)." Week Four: Unit Three Continued Week Five: Unit Three Completed (Debate) - Unit Four: "The Invisible Hand: Supply and Demand, Equilibrium and the Magic of Markets." Week Six: Unit Four Completed (Unit Test and Essay) Mid-Term Friday Week Seven: Unit Five: "What happens when markets fail? Oligopolies, Monopolies, Externalities and Market Failures." Week Eight: Unit Six: "How do we 'grow' as an economy? Money, Banking, Investing, Entrepreneurs and Business Organizations." Week Nine: Unit Six Continued and Unit Seven "Government vs. the Market: Reconciling the Invisible Hand and Government." (Current Issues - In Class Essay) Week Ten: Unit Seven Completed and Unit Eight "What should we do? Personalizing Economics." Week Eleven: Unit Eight Completed and Exam Review Week Twelve: Exam Review and Final

*Note: This is a ROUGH outline of our course structure. I, as the teacher, reserve the right to deviate from this general outline, through this whole thing out, or follow it strictly. Be flexible. As I want to shape my class around your needs, I will be continually tweaking this schedule.

Economics - Please keep the attached class information at home for your reference, and just return this page to Mr. Burdette by September 7 (Friday). *Students, returning this signed syllabus counts as your first "homework" grade for the semester. It is worth ten points. Start the trimester off right, get the signature and return this sheet.

Student Name (Please print clearly, first and last):

_________________________________________________________________

Parent e-mail address for receiving group e-mails on upcoming tests, information, etc. optional, but highly recommended (Please print clearly.):

_________________________________________________________________

If the student would also like to receive these group e-mails please provide e-mail address (Please print clearly.):

_________________________________________________________________

You will receive your first e-mail by Thursday of next week. If you do not receive an e-mail, please e-mail or call me and let me know. rburdett@mason.k12.mi.us Parent signature, indicating you received all the information attached to this page:

______________________________________________________________

Date: ________________

Thank you!