I often see questions about what to use for teaching High School Economics. If you live in a state like ours (NYS) you may find you are required to teach High School Economics. If not, it may just be a topic you feel is important and want to cover with your students. Either way I have found an easy to implement High School Economics curriculum that you will want to see!

I have a son entering high school this coming year. He is very different from his sister who has already graduated high school. One of the many things I have learned throughout my years of homeschooling is that one curriculum may not be a fit for all. While she could more easily navigate open ended assignments, he has trouble following through and completing things. For this reason he does much better with shorter, well defined assignments.

Paradigm Accelerated Curriculum is great for students like my son who have trouble staying focused and need a clear beginning and end point.  A couple of years ago I was lucky enough to be introduced to them via their High School World History.

{Disclosure: I received free copy of the Paradigm Accelerated Curriculum – Economics in print format as well as compensation for my time to give an honest review of these products. All opinions expressed here are my own, and I was not required to post a positive review. Please see my full Disclosure Policy for more details.}

Easy to Implement High School Economics

The Paradigm High School Economics program – Principles and Precepts of Economics is a workbook based high school economics curriculum that can be counted as half a credit on a high school transcript. It includes Student Text, Activity Books and a Teacher’s Resource Kit (TRK).

Be sure to also check out my review of Principles and Precepts of Government. Pair these together for a full year of government and economics for high school! (Something that is required per the NYS Homeschooling Regulations for us!)

One feature I love about this high school economics curriculum is the included QR codes. We downloaded a FREE QR Code Reader to my son’s phone so he can scan and watch right on his phone while he is working on the chapter. It is such an easy way to add a content rich enhancement to the program. Having the code right there means are no links to follow or try to copy, no searching for relevant multi-media content, it is right there and easy to access.

Adapting The Student Text & Activity Books

Both the Student Text & Activity Books come in soft covered sections with each chapter being its own individual book. I have honestly felt this to be the weakest part of this curriculum. We found it difficult to store, juggle, and organize them in this state. However, I still love this curriculum enough that I would use it that way if I had to!

The good news is their is a simple and cost effective option that makes the pages much more user friendly.

I chose to cut each of the soft covered sections apart at he binding. I used a staple remover to neatly remove the staples and scissors to cut each piece apart. If I had a paper cutter this would have been a faster process but hand cutting wasn’t a big deal. Once they were cut and organized I took them to Staples to have them bound. For around $5 per project you can have large and small stacks of paper spiral bound with a clear plastic cover for the front and back!

Having it spiral bound offers multiple bonuses:

• The books easily lay flat.
• All the Student Text chapters are in one easy to handle book.
• All the Activity Books are in one easy to handle book.
• They never get out of order or mixed up.
• The two books are easier to store and use than the multiple booklet manner in which they come.

Note: Another option is to simply cut the booklets, hole punch them, and insert them into a three ring binder.

Using The Student Text & Activity Books

Principles and Precepts of Economics is laid out to be a straight forward and easy to use high school economics curriculum.  The student as both the text books and the activity books, each of which have corresponding chapters and sections.

Each section of the Student Text has a couple of pages of reading with images as well as a list of vocabulary words with definitions and a life principle.

Features of Text & Activity Books

• Vocabulary – There is an extensive amount of new vocabulary when dealing with a topic such as economics. While the text uses each word easily in context, it also includes side boxes in each section of prominent vocabulary words with their definitions. If you want to use this cross curricular you can use these vocabulary lists as part of your English course. Using a separate lined notebook to write out terms and definitions, possibly having them write out sentences using the words, and/or creating short writing assignments using a given number of the words.
• Life Principle – Each section contains a Life Principle as quoted from such noteables as John Adams, Patrick Henry, Ron Paul, Benjamin Franklin, and so many more. These are great words of wisdom to live by.  “Commitment is what transforms a promise into reality.” – Abraham Lincoln
• QR Code Links – While not all sections have a code, as I mentioned above, I highly recommend using a code reader and watching these as they are a nice multi-media enhancement for the sections they are in.
• Activity Sheets – These pages in the activity book include multiple choice, fill in the blank, true/false, and a place to copy the Life Principle for that section.

Teacher’s Resource Kit (TRK)

The Teacher’s Resource (TRK) offers an added level of ease for me as the parent because it includes a full answer key for all of the activity pages.  With a son who tends to skip questions and get away with as little as possible, it is imperative that I keep a close eye on what he is doing. Since I can’t be everywhere and read everything it is essential that I have a quick and easy way to check his work on a regular basis.

Beyond that the TRK includes 9 section quizzes with answer keys and 3 chapter tests with answer keys.

As a bonus to the student, “if you score 85% or higher on the three section quizzes for each chapter, then you may be exempt from the chapter test!”  This is something that the PAC Curriculum suggests as an option for your student. It can be a great incentive for them to be diligent about their section quizzes so they can skip the chapter test if they do well!

If you are looking for an easy to implement high school economics course I highly recommend using Principles and Precepts of Economics.

Also be sure to check out Paradigm Accelerated Curriculum’s  other curriculum options. They currently have 21 courses available for junior high and high school, including courses in English, History/Geography, Math and Science.