Economics!

After all of the snow days, we are finally ready for economics! There are 3 units of study we will cover: economics marketplace, business organizations, and the governments role in the economy. We will begin by looking at some basic economic principles like supply and demand, opportunity costs, production/consumption, the factors of production, and different types of economies. Throughout the 3 economics units students will complete a booklet of important economic terms. This booklet is very important to student success in these units and should not get lost!

Finishing Civics in February

This month students will be learning about the Judicial branch of government, looking at both the National and State court systems. Students will learn the difference between Criminal and Civil Law and will examine the judicial process (like how a trial runs). Students will also study for and take a midterm covering all Civics material before we move on to the Economics portion of the class.

January and End of Semester 1

2015 is here! Throughout January, students will be studying Harrisonburg's local government and Virginia's state government. Students will also examine how public policy is made at each level of government and how they can influence laws that are written. Students will  practice influencing policy by choosing a policy issue important to them to research and write a letter to a policy-maker in government about their topic.

December

In December, students will be learning about Government at the State and Local levels. Students will compare these levels of government to the National level and notice similarities and differences. Students will discuss and explain Federalism, the division of powers between the different levels of government.

November Topics

Throughout the month of November, Civics students will begin learning about the National Government of the United States. Special emphasis will be placed on the roles of the three branches of government (Legislative, Executive, and Judicial). Students will create a Three Branches Tree explaining the functions of each branch of government, write a journal as President of the USA, and explore the ways each branch of government checks and balances out the other two branches.

October is Here!

Since it is election season, throughout the month of October, students will be learning about the political process including topics like elections, political parties, voting, and campaigns. Students will also begin reviewing for their first Civics Benchmark on Nov. 7.

September Topics

Throughout September, we will be covering topics related to citizenship, the foundations of government, and looking at how the national government is set-up.