End of the School Year 🐲

Clintondale High School is closed for Summer Break.

Have a safe and restful vacation, Dragons!

Semester Assessment 💯

🎯 Learning Targets

• Assess comprehension of Lessons 1 through 11 in Economics

⏰ What We Did

• Completed the Semester Assessment
• Collected Economics binders for the Q4 Binder Check

Challenges to Growth 🌱

🎯 Learning Targets

• Explain how many developing nations respond to scarce factors of production
• Describe how the status of economic infrastructure can help and hinder a developing nation
• Explain how political instability can challenge a developing nation

⏰ What We Did

• Used instructional notes from Lesson 11, Part 3: Challenges to Growth, to describe the characteristics — and location — of developing nations
• Analyzed the advantages and disadvantages of American foreign aid to these countries

⚙️ Resources

• Understanding Economic Development (A-23)
• Per Capita GDP World Map (World Bank, 2021)
• 8 Serious Pros and Cons of Foreign Aid (Green Garage)

💻 Homework

• Watch and take notes on Lesson 11, Part 4: Paths to Economic Development, before the Semester Exam
• Watch and take notes on Lesson 11, Part 5: Poverty and Income Distribution, before the Semester Exam

Economic Development 🏗️

D-Day — Allied Invasion of Normany (1944) 🇺🇸

🎯 Learning Targets

• Explain how many developing nations respond to scarce factors of production
• Describe how the status of an economic infrastructure can help and hinder a developing nation
• Explain how political instability can challenge a developing nation

⏰ What We Did

• Calculated per capita GDP for ten countries
• Classified each of the ten countries by their per capita GDP on a provided scale

⚙️ Resources

• Calculating Per Capita GDP (A-22)

💻 Homework

• Watch and take notes on Lesson 11, Part 3: Challenges to Growth, before class on Monday

CJ Barrymore's Junior Class Trip 🎢

Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1985) 🚘

⏰ What We Did

• The Junior class was on a trip to C.J. Barrymore's today; Used today as a study hall for those remaining in class

Types of Economic Systems 🌎

🎯 Learning Targets

• Explain how the three basic economic questions are answered in traditional, command, and market economies
• Describe the roles of self-interest and incentives in a market economy
• Summarize the types of mixed economies that exist today

⏰ What We Did

• Collected last Wednesday's Lesson 9 Lesson Review
• Watched and took instructional notes on Lesson 11, Part 1: Types of Economic Systems
• Used the Lesson 11, Part 1 instructional notes to describe how the three basic economic questions are answered in each of the pure economic models
• Defined the three mixed economic systems and provided examples of current nations for each
• Used an example of owning two cows to describe each economic system, both pure and mixed

⚙️ Resources

• Lesson 11 Instructional Notes
• Lesson 11, Part 1: Types of Economic Systems
• The Tale of Two Cows (Cardsort)
• Examining Mixed Economies (A-21)

💻 Homework

• Watch and take notes on Lesson 11, Part 2: Economic Development, before class on Friday

Lesson 10 Lesson Review 🔟

🎯 Learning Targets

• Review key concepts raised in Lesson 10

⏰ What We Did

• Took a quiz on Lesson 10, Part 3: Unions and Management
• Completed Lesson 10 Lesson Review

⚙️ Resources

• Lesson 10 Lesson Review (LR-10)

Unions and Management 🪧

🎯 Learning Targets

• Identify the major issues discussed by labor contract negotiations
• Summarize how union and management reach a contract agreement
• Explain the negotiation tactics used by unions and management

⏰ What We Did

• To gain background for today's assignment, watched a Teamsters-produced video on the 1997 UPS Strike
• To gain further background for today's assignment, read a CNN article about the end of the 1997 UPS Strike
• Examined contract negotiations through a 1997 UPS strike-inspired editorial cartoon and created a political cartoon expressing an opposing view

⚙️ Resources

• Economics Binder Portal (Binder Check on day of semester exam, R 12 June 2025)
• America's Victory: The 1997 UPS Strike (International Brotherhood of Teamsters)
• "It's Official: Teamsters End UPS Strike" (CNN, Aug 20, 1997)
• Examining Labor Issues (A-20)

The Growth of Labor Unions ✊

🎯 Learning Targets

• Explain how labor unions developed
• Describe how labor unions are organized
• Summarize the main challenges facing unions today
• Describe how government attitudes toward labor unions have changed

⏰ What We Did

• Used instructional notes from Lesson 10, Part 2: The Growth of Labor Unions, to answer the following questions in complete sentences:

1. Define labor union, open shop, and closed shop.
2. What conditions led to the development of labor unions?
3. How do national unions support local unions?
4. What are the main reasons for declining union membership? How have unions responded?
5. In your opinion, how should the government interact with unions? Should it be supportive, regulatory, or confrontational? Explain your answer.

💻 Homework

• Watch and take notes on Lesson 10, Part 3: Unions and Management, before class on Monday

The U.S. Labor Force 👷‍♀️

🎯 Learning Targets

• Describe factors that affect workers entering the labor force
• Explain how the U.S. labor force has changed over time
• Analyze how the U.S. government affects labor

⏰ What We Did

• Watched and took instructional notes on Lesson 10, Part 1: The U.S. Labor Force
• Calculated wages and salaries from story problems

⚙️ Resources

• Lesson 10 Instructional Notes
• Lesson 10, Part 1: The U.S. Labor Force
• Computing Wages (A-19)

💻 Homework

• Watch and take notes on Lesson 10, Part 2: The Growth of Labor Unions, before class tomorrow

Lesson 9 Lesson Review 9️⃣

Late Start Day 🕣

🎯 Learning Targets

• Review key concepts raised in Lesson 9

⏰ What We Did

• Briefly discussed the main ideas of Lesson 9, Part 6: Fiscal Policy and the Federal Budget
• Took a quiz on Lesson 9, Part 6: Fiscal Policy and the Federal Budget
• Began working on Lesson 9 Lesson Review (Due W 4 June 2025)

⚙️ Resources

• Budget of the United States Government (Office of Management and Budget)
• National Debt and Deficit (USDebtClock.org)

• Lesson 9 Lesson Review (LR-9)

Fiscal Policy Strategies 💵

🎯 Learning Targets

• Explain how the federal budget is developed
• Identify what role deficit spending plays in the economy
• Describe the methods the government can use to balance the federal budget

⏰ What We Did

• Used instructional notes from Lesson 9, Part 6 — and internet resources — to compare the principles of supply-side and demand-side economics
• Researched and identified the aspects of the Laffer Curve, a prominent piece of supply-side economics

⚙️ Resources

• Understanding Supply-Side and Demand-Side Economics (A-18)

💻 Homework

• Watch and take notes on Lesson 9, Part 6: Fiscal Policy and the Federal Budget, before class tomorrow

Memorial Day — No School 🇺🇸

Clintondale High School is closed for Memorial Day. Classes will resume on Tuesday, May 27, 2025, at 7:35 A.M.

Inflation 💸

🎯 Learning Targets

• Explain how economists evaluate price changes over time
• Describe what causes inflation
• Identify the two main price indexes that economists use to measure inflation
• Explain how inflation affects the economy

⏰ What We Did

• Examined an economics-focused political cartoon to identify the different types of inflation

⚙️ Resources

• Analyzing Economic Challenges (A-17)

Inflation 💸

🎯 Learning Targets

• Explain how economists evaluate price changes over time
• Describe what causes inflation
• Identify the two main price indexes that economists use to measure inflation
• Explain how inflation affects the economy

⏰ What We Did

• Used instructional notes from Lesson 9, Part 4: Inflation, to calculate both inflation and the consumer price index

⚙️ Resources

• Measuring Inflation and the Consumer Price Index (A-16)

Economic Growth 💹

🎯 Learning Targets

• Explain why economic growth is important
• Identify the requirements for economic growth
• Describe the relationship between economic growth and productivity

⏰ What We Did

• Passed back and discussed "Solving Word Problems Involving Percentages" (A-12), "Calculating the Creation of Money" (A-13), and "Calculating Gross Domestic Product" (A-14)
• Used the instructional notes for Lesson 9, Part 3: Economic Growth, to answer the following questions in complete sentences:

1. Define labor productivity, productivity growth, capital-to-labor ratio, and capital deepening.
2. Describe the relationship between economic growth and a nation's standard of living.
3. What changes result in economic growth?
4. List and describe the three factors that lead to increased productivity.
5. Explain why it is important for the United States to be able to compete in the global economy.

💻 Homework

• Watch and take notes on Lesson 9, Part 4: Inflation, before class tomorrow

Business Cycles 📈

🎯 Learning Targets

• Examine the four phases of the business cycle
• Identify the three leading indicators used to determine the current phase of the business cycle, and predict where the economy is headed

⏰ What We Did

• Examined and discussed a handout on the stages of the business cycle
• Used the instructional notes from Lesson 9, Part 2: Business Cycles, to interpret which phase of the business cycle is identified by the economic indicators
  

⚙️ Resources

• The Business Cycle and Economic Indicators (H-5)
• Interpreting Economic Indicators (A-15)

💻 Homework

• Watch and take notes on Lesson 9, Part 3: Economic Growth, before class tomorrow

Gross Domestic Product 📊

🎯 Learning Targets

• Determine how governments calculate gross domestic product
• Explain some of the limitations of gross domestic product
• Identify other statistics economists use to measure the economy

⏰ What We Did

• Watched and took instructional notes on Lesson 9, Part 1: Gross Domestic Product
• Computed GDP from given C, I, G, X, and M data

⚙️ Resources

• Lesson 9 Instructional Notes
• Lesson 9, Part 1: Gross Domestic Product
• Calculating Gross Domestic Product (A-14)

💻 Homework

• Watch and take notes on Lesson 9, Part 2: Business Cycles, before class tomorrow

Lesson 8 Lesson Review 8️⃣

🎯 Learning Targets

• Review the key concepts covered in Lesson 8 of Economics

⏰ What We Did

• Collected Lesson 7 Lesson Review
• Took a quiz on Lesson 8, Part 3: Monetary Policy Strategies
• Began working on Lesson 8 Lesson Review (Due F 23 May 2025)

⚙️ Resources

• Lesson 8 Lesson Review (LR-8)

Monetary Policy Strategies 💸

🎯 Learning Targets

• Explain why the Fed relies on either an easy-money policy or a tight-money policy
• Examine how the Fed makes monetary policy
• Identify the challenges associated with determining monetary policy

⏰ What We Did

• Experimented with the Fed's use of reserve requirements to implement easy- or tight-money policies through potential deposit expansion

⚙️ Resources

• Calculating the Creation of Money (A-13)

The Federal Reserve at Work 💵

Late Start Day 🕣

🎯 Learning Targets

• Identify services the Fed provides to banks
• Describe ways the Fed serves the federal government
• Explain how economists measure the U.S. money supply

⏰ What We Did

• Using the various functions of the Fed's implementation of monetary policy, solved word problems involving percentages

⚙️ Resources

• Solving Word Problems Involving Percentages (A-12)

💻 Homework

• Watch and take notes on Lesson 8, Part 2: The Federal Reserve at Work, before class tomorrow