Middle School Curriculum Posts

This course provides Grade 8 students with a broad overview of Economics. Students learn how economic decision-making is an intrinsic part of our daily lives. For instance, students learn the basics of personal finance and how to evaluate the costs and benefits of economic decisions. They examine how economic concepts such as scarcity, demand and supply, incentives, and market structures influence how a business is set up and run, and be inspired by the stories of successful social entrepreneurs. At the macro level, students explore how countries organize and manage their economies, measure overall growth, and trade with other nations. Students also investigate global issues such as wealth generation and distribution, the economic impact of climate change, the role of race in economic equity, and many more. Learning will occur through several short projects, games and simulations, class discussions, and news analyses that inculcate vital 21st-century skills—critical thinking and analyses, data visualization, written and oral communication, collaboration, and news literacy. Finally, students apply their knowledge and skills to develop a project on an economic topic of their choice. This class does not require strong math skills.