Period 6: Semester 1 Final Day

The Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve.

Dear class,

Thank you so much for your hard work during your short time with me! I hope that I helped you prepare well for the final.

If you have not returned your Economics textbook, you need to do so right away, or a hold will be placed on your final grade. They are super important to have for the next semester.

Please make sure to come say hello next semester! It was a joy to be your teacher for a couple of weeks. :-)

- Luke Fritz

Period 6: Final Review, Day 3 - Class Recap

The lights of Las Vegas (if ever there was a good example of a city that runs on supply and demand, this is it) from taking off in the summer of 2011.

Dear class,

Today sure was interesting! I loved the enthusiasm for the "3-2-1 CLAP" and "clap on three, 1-2-3" support. Thanks for being willing to go up front and try to answer the review questions, as well. In some cases, it took the entire class to decide on what the correct answer should be. Again, thank you for your help there! Rest assured, I did go visit with Mr. LeFor and get all of the answers for the final figured out. I'll do a little explaining in class on Wednesday before the test, as well.

I'm not going to write a full recap of today, because it was entirely reviewing the packet. The soundtrack was "Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)" by The Pet Shop Boys. Lyrics here. Picked because of the economic connection, obviously.

Keep reviewing! Good luck with your finals, and specifically on Wednesday. Be sure to ask questions here if you are at all confused! :-)

Period 6: Final Review, Day 2 - Class Recap

The entrance music for today's class was "Be Prepared" from The Lion King soundtrack. Along those lines (and Westview's mascot being a "wildcat") here is another big cat: a tiger at the Denver Aquarium in 2007.

Hello everyone,

I'm getting a head start on this recap, since I am fairly confident I know how class will go and it will save me some work tomorrow. Here's what we did today:

Soundtrack: "Be Prepared" from The Lion King musical. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 1/24/13
Attendance
Blog Recap
Is Walmart Good for America?
Final Review Question Packet

Homework: Check the blog, ask questions if needed, and keep reviewing!

Attendance: Still getting there, with all of your names. I will keep getting better!

Blog Recap: I wanted to show you what I posted from last class, as far as the Walmart worksheet and link to watch the video if you missed class. Same thing goes if you missed today's class - you can see everything you missed and download the review packet below.

Is Walmart Good for America?: We finished watching the PBS Frontline documentary that we started last class. It was just the last 15 minutes that we had to watch (Chapter 5): Watch "Is Walmart Good For America?" Online. After that, I had the class write out thoughts on the central question, using evidence from the film (so I could give you some more assignment credit). Thank you for working hard and then having an interesting discussion about the role of Walmart in our market economy.

Final Review Question Packet: Here's what I did - I took questions from all five chapter tests that you have taken, as well as the actual final you will be taking on Wednesday from 9:30-11:00. I handed out these review packets in class, but if you missed it, or lost your copy, here the packet is to download:

Google Docs - Cumulative Final Review Questions

Please feel free to ask me for clarification, if needed! It is definitely possible I messed up with a few of them, as I was copying and pasting all over the place. We will go over the entire packet (happy joy joy) on Monday and try to answer any last questions. The final itself will be 60 questions, plus a short answer section.

Thank you for your work on this! Again, please let me know if you need any extra help. I really want you to succeed on this final! Have a great weekend and I will see you on Monday.

Period 6: Final Review Day 1 - Class Recap

First: Mrs. DeFrance Gilman had her baby! From what I've heard, both mother and child are happy and healthy. :-)

Part of the film we watched today had to do with Wal-Mart outsourcing jobs to China. This is my one encounter so far with China in real life - at the China/Vietnam border, in the Northern Vietnamese city of Lao Cai in 2011. I was yelled at for coming too close to the gate while taking pictures!

Hello Period 6, 

Thank you for a good first class with me as your teacher! It was a nice and easy day. Here's what happened:

Soundtrack: "Changes" by 2Pac. Because some things will change and some will stay the same with me as your teacher! Lyrics here.

AGENDA 1/22/13:

Introduction/Attendance

The Blog

Chapter 5 Test Review

Is Walmart Good for America?

Homework: Check the blog! Check mark, if you are visiting here before our next class!

--

Introduction/Attendance: As it sounds, I introduced how I like to start my classes - with the soundtrack, agenda, and homework all up on the board. Again, it might take me a bit to learn all of your names - hopefully I am able to by the end of finals next week! Thank you for sitting where you were supposed to be and allowing attendance to go smoothly.

The Blog: We looked at the last post on the blog here, with the PowerPoints for review. I wanted to be sure everyone saw them as available to help prepare for finals.

Chapter 5 Test Review: I handed back all of the completed tests that Mrs. DeFrance gave me as graded and we went through them as a class (I asked those who had not taken it yet to step out for a few minutes and study). We were able to clearly identify the answers to almost everything, but ran into a problem with #3, which yes, was "A" and not "D" - after multiple clumsy attempts of mine to draw a supply and demand chart. I went back and gave an extra point of credit in the gradebook to those that answered it correctly. I did not take away credit if you already had been given it. Here was the question that had the wrong answer on the scantron:

3. Which of the following most likely will result in a decrease in a market-clearing price?

*A.* An increase in supply with no change in demand.

B. An increase in demand with no change in supply.

C. An equal increase in both supply and demand.

D. An equal decrease in both supply and demand.

Thank you for going through the test answers again! Hopefully it all made sense in the end. If not, please feel free to ask me for clarification.

Is Wal-Mart Good For America?: For the rest of class, we watched the PBS "Frontline" documentary called "Is Wal-Mart Good For America?" (2004). We still need to watch the last 15 minute segment next class and discuss it. Here is the paper for notes that I passed out and expected everyone to be filling out as we were watching the movie:

Google Docs - Is Wal-Mart Good For America? Video Worksheet

If you missed it in class, you can watch the documentary online here: PBS Frontline - Is Wal-Mart Good For America?

As I wrote above, we ran out of time and have most of the last segment to watch next class. I will also come with a cumulative final review packet for you to study. That is what we will be working on for the last two classes before your final, next Wednesday.

Again, thank you for a great first day! I'm looking forward to Thursday!

PowerPoint Reviews

The streaking light of an airplane taking off from Honolulu International Airport (with Waikiki on the right). Picture taken September 25th, 2011.
Hello class!

Thanks for visiting the blog and marking it down today in class. I definitely will use it quite a bit as I am teaching - though for you all, it will only be for a couple of weeks. I'm really excited to start teaching your class on Tuesday! Before that, though, I said that I would upload all of the PowerPoints that Mrs. DeFrance has gone through during the semester, to help you review and study for the final. Here they are:

Google Docs - Chapter 1 PowerPoint

Google Docs - Chapter 2 PowerPoint

Google Docs - Chapter 3 PowerPoint

Google Docs - Chapter 4 PowerPoint

Google Docs - Chapter 5 PowerPoint
I hope they help! I will for sure be reviewing the material myself, to try and get up to speed.

Here's the plan for the rest of the semester: on Tuesday, we will watch a film - you will write for a bit during it, then we will discuss it. On Thursday and the following Monday (Finals Week), we will just be doing a whole lot of in class review for the final. I will take questions from each of your previous chapter tests (that relate to the content on the final), and we will go through them one by one as a class. Sound good?

See you on Tuesday!

EDIT: McKenna emailed me with a question about the Study Guide. She's right - the bottom questions on "Part A" do not make sense without context. Before that section, please add: "A recent report came out stating that eggs actually reduce human cholesterol.  As a result, demand for eggs has increased significantly. Read and answer parts A and B:"

Welcome to the Blog!

Outside the New York Stock Exchange, on September 11th, 2009.
Hello all,

Welcome to the Economics blog for my long term substitute teaching at Westview in 2013! Before I begin with posting updates, let me give you a little introduction to this website.

First off, comments can be made on any post by anyone, and they can be anonymous (though I would really prefer that you leave your name - by selecting "Name/URL" on the right, underneath the comment box - so that I can follow up with you in person). Please try to use good spelling and grammar in your comments! I have to approve the comments before they are posted, so don't worry if you don't see your comment right away. :-)

Secondly, because I will be putting up the class agenda and homework, as well as any interesting links (after class has met), I will attempt to give you ways to download the relevant files and documents you may have missed in class or would be interested in seeing again for your homework (or just because). For instance, here is the PowerPoint from Chapter 1 of the Economics class:

Google Docs - Economics: Chapter 1 PowerPoint
Finally, to contact me personally (other than leaving a comment - which I may or may not see immediately), please e-mail me at luke_fritz@beaverton.k12.or.us - this can always be found by clicking on "View My Complete Profile" on the right, where my picture is, then clicking on "Email" on the left sidebar. I will get back to you ASAP! Again, please use grammatically correct language and spelling, to the best of your ability. It really is appreciated and will go a long way for you in the future!

I know it might be a lot to take in, but hopefully we will all get used to it! I envision this blog as a place where you will be able to come to converse with your classmates and me, as well as get all the latest assignments, updates from class, and further information.

If you have any questions or comments, please never hesitate to let me know!

Welcome again - thanks for visiting. Please bookmark this site and come back soon! :-)