Economics
PHS Social Studies Department
Portfolio Instructions
In addition to a final examination, every student in my economics class will be required to
complete a portfolio consisting of four projects. This collection of student work along with your
final exam grade will be 20% of your total course grade.
Below is a list of the four projects. Next to each project is a point value for that task. I will grade
each piece on the basis of that number of points and add that number to your total score. There
are a few more things to remember:
1. All projects will be collected/graded via Google Drive. If you do not already have a Gmail
account, you will need to create one to access and turn in portfolio assignments.
2. You will be responsible for making weekly progress toward the completion of each project by
the assigned due dates. I will be making phone calls home if students are not making adequate
weekly progress towards completion of their projects.
3. No late projects will be accepted after May 6th. Due dates are given far in advance. If you
know ahead of time that you have a scheduling conflict, speak to me privately AHEAD OF
TIME.
Project #1 – “Shark Tank” Presentation (15 points)
Due February 26th
There is an expectation in many colleges and businesses today that students/employees will be
able to communicate at small meetings by using Microsoft Power Point or cloud-based
presentation software such as Prezi as a way of highlighting information.
In the reality television show “Shark Tank”, aspiring entrepreneurs pitch their product ideas to a
panel of potential investors. If the investors believe the entrepreneur has a “million dollar” idea,
they provide her with the capital to produce and market the product.
Pretend that you are a contestant on the show “Shark Tank.” Pitch me and your classmates a
product that you have created through a presentation using your choice of either Powerpoint or
Prezi. I will do a demonstration in class and then you can use school machines to create your
presentations.
REQUIREMENTS: You must use a minimum of 8 slides (Powerpoint) or frames (Prezi). You
will present your product in class toward the end of the semester (date TBD). Creativity and
humor are encouraged! HAVE FUN!
____________________________________________________________________________
Project #2 – Making Money in the Stock Market (20 points)
Due March 18th
Congratulations! You have been given ten thousand dollars ($10,000) to invest in the Stock
Market.
Let’s see how much money you can make over the next few months by investing in companies
you think are winners. In order to be successful here you have to research companies, know
what the experts say about the companies, and buy and sell at the right time. Your tools are the
computers we have in the library. We subscribe to financial information services that will help
you to succeed. We also get the New York Times. Your grade is not determined by how much
money you make but on how you make your decisions and the records you keep. You will be
graded on your paperwork.
REQUIREMENTS:
1. Pick ten (10) companies that you want to invest in. You may use any or all of your $10,000.
2. Every time you make a stock purchase it must be recorded on your Transaction Sheet.
Profits may be reinvested. When you sell the stock you must also record your profit or loss on
the Transaction Sheet.
3. In addition, you must record information about the company you are investing in using the
Company Information Sheet that will be provided to you. You will keep track of daily
stock prices on the back of that sheet.
4. You must make at least ten (10) transactions per month for two months (Feb.-March).
That is a is a total of 20 buy or sell transactions. It is not possible to boycott the Stock Market
and keep all of your assets in cash!
5. You should invest in 10 DIFFERENT companies to obtain your 20 transactions.
When you have completed all 20 transactions, you will turn in:
• one transaction sheet
• one document containing all ten (10) of your company information sheets
• and a one-page essay summarizing your investment strategies, evaluating your
decisions making-process, and reflecting on what you would do differently if given the
opportunity to invest in the future.
_________________________________________________________________________
Project #3 –Economic Issue Essay (15 points)
March 28th-April 1st (In-class)
It is an expectation in college and many professions that students/employees will be
able to make evidence-based claims and support them with relevant textual support and
data. To that end, and in support of Mission Literacy at PHS, your teachers will select a
range of texts (written, visual, and audio) on a current economic issue. You will be given
class time to actively “read” those texts, plan, and write an extended response essay.
REQUIREMENTS:
● Actively read/annotate texts.
● Complete a pre-writing chart.
● Complete an extended response with an introduction, conclusion, and several
body paragraphs, citing textual to support an argument.
Further details will be provided in another handout.
_________________________________________________________________________
Project #4 – Foreign Economic Development Plan (20 points)
Due May 6th
Every country in the world has long-term economic goals. Choose any one country in the world
that begins with the same letter as your last name. Use the library to research the economic
conditions in that country. Follow the instructions on the sheet entitled “Writing a Foreign
Development Plan.”
Here you are not so much writing a research paper as problem solving to improve life for the
people of your chosen country. Follow the instructions on the sheet step by step.
REQUIREMENTS:
• Your paper should be a minimum of THREE pages, typed, and double-spaced.
• 12-font, Times New Roman ONLY.
• A works cited page is required with a minimum of THREE sources.
• I will not grade any paper that does not have a works cited page.
• Use parenthetical citations any time you use information, statistics, or words that are
not your own.
• I will not grade any paper that does not have a works cited page OR parenthetical
citations.
SAMPLE STUDENT WORK FOR ALL PROJECTS IS AVAILABLE AT
WWW.POKINOMICS.WEEBLY.COM.