JA Economics (Blended Model) is a one-semester course that connects high school students to the economic principles that influence their daily lives as well as their futures. Through a variety of experiential activities presented by the teacher and volunteer, students better understand the relationship between what they learn in school and their successful participation in today's global economy. Volunteers engage with students through a variety of activities as subject matter guest speakers, or coaching for case study and project. Volunteer activities help students better understand the relationship between what they learn in school, their future career, and their successful participation in today's global economy.
The course addresses each of the economics standards identified by the Council for Economic Education as being essential to complete a high school economics course. Course components equip students to:
- Learn the necessary concepts applicable to state and national educational standards
- Apply economic reasoning and skills in the world around them
- Synthesize elective concepts through a cumulative, tangible deliverable (optional case studies and/or projects)
- Demonstrate the skills necessary for future financial literacy pathway success
- Integrate College and Career Readiness anchor standards in Reading, Informational Text, Speaking and Listening, and Vocabulary
Program Concepts
Allocation, Break-even point, Budgeting, Business, Business cycle, Comparative advantage, Competition, Demand, Economy, Economic freedom, Economic indicators, Economic reasoning, Economic systems, Entrepreneurship, Financial institutions, Financial markets, Free enterprise, Government policies, Gross Domestic Product, Income, Incentives, Inflation, Innovation, Interest, Invest, Law of Demand, Loss, Marginal analysis, Marginal thinking, Markets, Market-Clearing Price, Macroeconomics, Market failures, Market structure, Money, Opportunity cost, Price-allocation system, Price signals, Profit, Property rights, Production, Public goods, Resources, Rule of law, Scarcity, SMART goals, Specialization, Supply, Tax, Trade, Trade Barriers
Skills Students Learn
- Apply economic reasoning
- Apply mathematical formulas
- Analyze and evaluate economic systems
- Analyze national economic indicators
- Analyze effects of specialization and trade
- Budgeting
- Compare and contrast government market decisions
- Calculate profit margin and explain its importance
- Evaluate outcomes of limited government
- Describe the four market structures
- Describe the importance of profit
- Describe the effect of competition on price
- Distinguish between needs and wants
- Discuss market demand and demand elasticity
- Explain the relationship between scarcity and opportunity costs
- Examine how incentives affect decisions
- Express the advantages and disadvantages of international trade
- such as trade barriers and trade deficits
- Identify the impact of self-interest
- Identify factors that affect revenue and cost and explain how businesses respond to changes
- Identify the four key productive resources
- Identify characteristics of entrepreneurs
- Interpret data and graphs
- List the outcomes of competition
- Recognize factors that influence economic freedom
- Recognize the importance of small businesses
- Recognize economic growth factors
- Summarize the laws of supply and demand
- Track the flow of money and resources through the economy