Access Economics   (#7921020)

General Notes

Access courses are intended only for students with a significant cognitive disability. Access courses are designed to provide students with access to the general curriculum. Access points reflect increasing levels of complexity and depth of knowledge aligned with grade-level expectations. The access points included in access courses are intentionally designed to foster high expectations for students with significant cognitive disabilities.

Access points in the subject areas of science, social studies, art, dance, physical education, theatre, and health provide tiered access to the general curriculum through three levels of access points (Participatory, Supported, and Independent). Access points in English language arts and mathematics do not contain these tiers, but contain Essential Understandings (or EUs). EUs consist of skills at varying levels of complexity and are a resource when planning for instruction.

Subject Relevance: Understanding citizenship is the foundation for accessing life’s activities in the local community or the world at large. Contributing to our community gives citizenship its meaning. Active participation as a citizen depends on how well we establish individual, group, and societal relationships. How well we develop these relationships depends on how well we understand our own and others’ perspectives, which, in turn, depends on how well we understand cultural customs, rules, and institutions, whether local or global. Cultural customs, rules, and institutions frame the world in which we live and influence relationships at all levels, whether it is a friendship, a family, a school, a community, a country, or a world.

 

Social Studies is the study of the distinctive characteristics, dynamics, and history of local and global cultures. Examining the interrelationship among resources, customs, values, and beliefs of diverse cultures contributes to our ability to interact with others and develop both civic and social competence. Some students might study the details of cultures and institutions to understand the freedoms they enjoy or to make informed and reasoned decisions for the public good. Others may focus on the characteristics of people, places, and the dynamic nature of relationships to participate more effectively in the world around them.

Developing a sense of how humans interact with their environment and one another allows us to advocate for ourselves, contribute more effectively to our community, and access life’s activities.

Access Economics

Major Concepts/Content: Access Economics consists of the following content area strands: Economics and Geography. The content is intended to develop or expand the student’s understanding of:

• Fundamental concepts of local, national, and international economies
• Maps and other geographic representations, tools, and technology
• Physical and cultural characteristics of places
• Relationships between the Earth’s ecosystems and the populations that dwell within them
• Characteristics, distribution, and migration of human populations