Economics

Aims and Objectives:

To familiarise students with an appropriate level of economic literacy.
To develop the skill of critical analysis and enable students to formulate reasoned opinions.
To provide students with relevant and practical information enabling them to become more informed individuals and citizens.
To encourage in students an interest in, and a positive attitude towards current affairs, how the country is governed and the concepts of economics.
To enable students to understand and interpret information about our economy and the EU more easily.
To understand how the budget affects me, my family and the people in the community.

Teaching and Learning Strategies:

Classroom Discussion
Research into government income and expenditure
Group work
Formal input by teacher
Newspaper articles, TV programmes, Business magazines

Content:

Each lesson consists of one double class. The timing of these lessons within the overall programme varies due to the dynamics in the class group. There is scope to deal with topics that arise due to current economic climate.

Lesson 1 - What is economics?

Brainstorming
PowerPoint presentation “The economic Problem”
Making choices.
“Lost” activity (pair work)

Lesson 2 - Introduction to key economic concepts.

Supply and Demand
Equilibrium
Class activity to determine supply and demand.
Drawing and interpreting graphs

Lesson 3 – Irish Economic History.

The history of the Irish economy (handout)
Clips from “Reeling in the years 1980’s”, “In search of the pope’s children” and “How we blew the boom” and ‘Freefall’
Class discussion.

Lesson 4 - Stock and Shares

What are shares?
Why do people buy shares?
Handout
Simulate our own stock market and students get an opportunity to buy shares and trade.

Lesson 5 – International Trade.

What is trade?
Why do we trade?
Activity – “Ireland – no trade”, how and what do we survive on.
Looking at global trading patterns
Irelands trading partners.
WTO

Lesson 6 – The Trading Game

Simulated game in which class divided into groups, they are assigned and country and resources and they have to trade.(40 mins)
Class discussion and debriefing.

Lesson 7 - Economic growth and decision making by the government.

Budgets and managing budgets.
Main aims of government.
Activity – Students become economic advisors to the government, must make choices and decision regarding how money is spent.

Evaluation:

Each student will fill out individual evaluation sheet at end of module.

Assessment:

Practical Assessment in class
Assignment- The news behind the headline: Students are given a headline and must research and present to class both a written and oral account.