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Allatoona High School
3500Dallas-Acworth Hwy
Acworth, GA 30101
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ADVANCED PLACEMENT MACROECONOMICS
Mr. Maselli [email protected]
Fall 2013
Course Description: AP Macroeconomics is a course designed to provide students with a thorough understanding of the
principles of economics in examining aggregate economic behavior. Students taking the course can expect to learn how
the measures of economic performance, such as GDP, inflation and unemployment, are constructed and how to apply
them to evaluate the macroeconomic conditions of an economy. Students will also learn the basic analytical tools of
macroeconomics, primarily the aggregate demand and aggregate supply model and its application in the analysis and
determination of national income, as well as evaluating the effectiveness of fiscal policy and monetary policy in
promoting economic growth and stability. Recognizing the global nature of economics, students will also have ample
opportunities to examine the impact of international trade and international finance on national economies. Various
economic schools of thought are introduced as solutions to economic problems are considered.
This class satisfies the economics requirement for graduation. The state mandates an end-of-course test for this
class. It will count 15% of the student’s final grade. State-approved review materials for the test will be provided.
Students are expected to take the Advanced Placement Macroeconomics Exam, which will be administered in
May of 2014. Details on how to register for the exam and pay for it will be provided as the test approaches. The exam
will consist of a 70-minute multiple choice section and a 60-minute free response section. The multiple choice portion
will be counted as two-thirds of the test, and the free response section will be counted one-third. The class will have the
rigor necessary to prepare students for the exam. Once the content is delivered, the remaining portion of the course will
consist of review for the exam including the rigorous “Gauntlet” of mini exams. College Board’s website contains a
specific breakdown of what students need to know for the AP test and indicates the significance given to each topic.
Students’ overall performance on the exam will be assigned a score of 1-5. Most colleges and universities have an AP
policy of granting students credit, placement, or both based on their exam scores.
Materials: Students will need a separate 3-ring notebook for AP Macroeconomics. It is important to stay organized.
Students should also bring a pen, pencil, and their textbooks to class each day. Graph paper and a set of colored pencils,
while optional, could be helpful for graphing exercises. Students may want to bring a calculator to work problems in
class; however, a calculator is not permitted on the AP Exam. Finally, students may wish to purchase one of the available
study guides mentioned below.
Readings:
 Textbook
o McConnell, Campbell R., and Stanley L. Brue. Economics, Principles, Problems, and Policies. 17th ed.
New York: Irwin/McGraw Hill, 2008.
 Suggested Study Guides
o Barron’s How to Prepare for the AP Microeconomics/Macroeconomics Advanced Placement Exam.
o Princeton Reviews’ Cracking the AP Microeconomics/ Macroeconomics Exam.
Teaching Materials: In addition to the textbook, class work and study guides, the instructor will utilize and where
appropriate make available to the students a variety of resources. These resources include but are not limited to:
 National Council on Economic Education’s Virtual Economics 3.0 CD-ROM
o Includes John Morton’s unit/lesson plans and student activities
o Includes focus on economics workbooks from the National Council
o Also includes key terms glossary, concept explanations, and video explanations
 Greg Mankiw’s Principles of Economics 3rd ed.
 Todd Buchholz’s From Here to Economy: A Shortcut to Economic Literacy. New York: Plume, 1996.
 Milton Friedman’s Capitalism and Freedom. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1982.
 Henry Hazlitt’s Economics in One Lesson. San Francisco: Laissez Faire Books, 1996.
 Robert Heilborner’s The Worldly Philosophers: The Lives, Times, and Ideas of the Great Economic Thinkers.
Rev. 7th ed. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1999.
 Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner’s Freakonomics. New York: William Morrow, 2005.
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William McEachern’s Contemporary Economics.
The Economist magazine.
John Stossel’s In the Classroom Media productions from ABC News Specials
o Is America #1
o Greed
o John Stossel Goes to Washington
o Freeloaders
o Are We Scaring Ourselves to Death?
 Numerous websites that include interactive quizzes, concept review, graphs, etc.
o http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/Controller.jpf
o http://www.ncee.net National Council on Economic Education
o http://www.mhhe.com/economics/mcconnell/student1/main.mhtml website for McConnell and Brue
textbook
o http://www.swlearning.com/economics/mankiw/mankiw3e/mankiw3e.html website for Greg Mankiw’s
Principles of Economics textbook
o http://www.swlearning.com/economics/mceachern/mceachern5.html website for William McEachern’s
Contemporary Economics textbook
o http://www.swlearning.com/economics/baumol/baumol9e/baumolecon.html website for Baumol and
Blinder’s Economics: Principles and Policy textbook
o http://www.bized.co.uk/learn/economics/index.htm A Web site for students and educators in business
studies, economics, accounting, leisure, sport & recreation and travel & tourism.
o http://www.tutor2u.net/sub_economics.asp contains notes, news, presentations, quizzes, etc.
o http://www.usatestprep.com a site providing practice exercises to get the student ready for the end-ofcourse test for economics
Course Requirements: Students are expected to do all assignments following the teacher’s directions. Attendance will
be vital due to the cumulative nature of the material. Consistent with AP courses, the expectations of the student are very
high. Students are expected to do the assigned readings prior to class and to have basic understanding of the material.
Class lectures will fill in gaps from the readings, clarify and reinforce ideas and concepts, and provide more depth where
needed. During and after lectures, students will be given opportunities to practice concepts the teacher has modeled for
them. Assignments will be checked at the teacher’s discretion. Furthermore, students are expected to participate in the
lectures. Students are encouraged to volunteer and will also be called on at the teacher’s discretion. In addition, students
will be asked to come to the board to illustrate graphs/charts, interpret them, and explain them to the class. When formal
homework is not given, students should study their class notes and work on assigned readings.
Students will be assessed in the following ways: frequent quizzes, unit exams, the EOCT and the AP Exam. Due
to the cumulative nature of the class, topics from previous units will be covered again on future tests.
Current Events: You will turn in (6) current event write-ups throughout the course. Your critique must follow this
format:
1. Weekly number at the top (The article must be from that calendar week- 2 point deduction otherwise)
2. Attach article behind your critique or provide the URL link
3. 3 paragraphs addressing the following:
a.
b.
c.
Summarize the article in your own words (5 sentences with the Who? What? Why? When? and Where?) 3 points
How does it relate to what we are studying? Use terminology from your studies to apply what you are learning to
the current event (5 Sentences ONLY). 4 points
How does this article impact your life? Personally connect the macro concepts to yourself (5 Sentences) 3 points
Each write-up will be due every other Friday. These will be the ONLY assignments in category.
Grading Procedure:
Classwork (Quick Assessments/Projects/Assignments 25%
Current Events
10%
Tests
50%
End-of-Course Test
15%
-------------Total
100%
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Make-Up/Late Work: When the student is absent, it is his/her responsibility to make up the work. It is recommended
that the student find one or more other students he can get in touch with to catch up on notes and find out about
assignments (these people could also serve as study partners). Check the blog for assignments. Be proactive! Email me
on the event of an absence so that you don’t fall behind. See me upon your return for handouts, homework, etc. If the
student misses a quick assessment, they must make it up prior to the next class session. Remember that only work missed
for excused absences can be made up. Current Events will be accepted on Mondays with a 30% penalty. They will
become a “0” after that.
Class Rules:
1. Don’t do anything detrimental to yourself, the class, or the school.
2. Do what you’re supposed to do when you’re supposed to do it how it is supposed to be done.
At this stage of your academic career, you should be able to apply these two rules and decide what is right and
wrong. Since this is a college class, discipline is not expected to be an issue. However, since we are still in a high
school setting, a few specifics must be addressed. Class time is for you to learn. Activities which serve as disruptions
and/or are detrimental to the student or the class include but are not limited to: being tardy to class, skipping class,
speaking out during assignments and lectures, distracting other students, writing personal notes, doing work for other
classes, sleeping, applying make-up, engaging in horseplay, putting other students down, etc. Cell phones and I-Pods
are not permitted in class and will be confiscated. Passes out of class will not be given during the first ten minutes or
the last ten minutes. Violations of class policy will be dealt with at the teacher’s discretion, starting with a warning on
the first offense, detention for the second and an administrative referral for any subsequent infractions. You are
responsible for knowing all school and county rules and policies.
Academic Honesty: Cheating in any form will not be tolerated. Do not look on another student’s paper during quizzes
and tests, do not copy someone else’s homework assignments, and refrain from plagiarizing on projects and papers.
Cheating will be dealt with as per the student handbook and the school’s honor code. If caught cheating, the student will
receive a grade of 0 on the assignment, the parent(s) will be notified, a U in conduct will be awarded for the semester, and
the administration could be notified.
Keys to Success:
 Do the assigned readings before coming to class. If you are prepared for class, you will be in a better position
to understand the material and ask questions. Class will often begin with an assessment based of the previous
session and/or reading assignment.
 Learn conceptually as well as through memorization. Many times you will be able to solve a problem simply
by drawing and analyzing a graph as opposed to recalling facts from memory. Furthermore, the AP test will be
geared more towards application and analysis than rote recitation of definitions.
 Practice, Practice, Practice. Much of what we do in this class resembles a math class more than a traditional
social studies class like World or American History. I will provide multiple practice opportunities in class in
which students will develop solutions individually as well as with a group. Students will be assessed in many of
these cases based of their performance in relation to their peers. After all, competition is a key element of
economic success. We will introduce several models (graphs) throughout the course. I strongly encourage
students to draw the graphs over and over again and be able to obtain the required information from them in your
sleep. Students should retain and organize these graphs by unit so they can utilize them when it comes to review
and prepare for the exam.
 Study Daily. The quizzes and unit tests should keep you studying on a regular basis. However, this is an A/B
course so it is important that you visit the content daily even if it is only for a few minutes. Develop the discipline
to spend some time each night in preparation. It is easier to absorb information in small doses as opposed to
cramming significant amounts in a short period of time.
 Work with your classmates. Some of the top minds in the school will be taking AP Economics this year.
Collaborate with one another. In many cases, teaching a concept reinforces it for the student and studies have
confirmed that retention rates increase exponentially thereafter. Besides, do you really want to study alone all the
time?
 Ask Questions. Feel free to ask questions in class. In many cases, your question may help others who have
similar inquiries… which is why it is better to pose the question during the discussion than it is to wait.
Additionally, it is crucial that we master the current concept before moving on to the next one.
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Think About Real-World Applications for the material. The concepts will make more sense if you can relate
them to things you’ve experienced. You will have plenty of opportunities to apply real-world events to the
economic theory presented in the course.
 Seek Help Early. As noted, the material in this class is cumulative. New material builds on previous concepts.
See me for extra help at the first sign of trouble. Don’t wait for us to move on to new concepts before you seek
help for what you don’t understand.
Course Outline
Fundamentals (Chapters 1-5)
1. Limits, Alternatives, and Choices*
2. The Market System and the Circular Flow*
3. Demand, Supply and Market Equilibrium*
4. The U.S. Economy: Private and Public Sectors*
5. The United States in the Global Economy *
Unit 1 (Chapters 6-8)
6. Measuring Domestic Output and National Income
7. Introduction to Economic Growth and Instability
8. Basic Macroeconomic Relationships*
Unit 2 (Chapters 10-11)
10. Aggregate Demand and Aggregate Supply
11. Fiscal Policy, Deficits, and Debt*
Unit 3 (Chapters 12-14)
12. Money and Banking
13. Money Creation
14. Interest Rates and Monetary Policy/Finance*
15. Extending the Analysis of Aggregate Supply*
16. Economic Growth*
17. Disputes over Macro Theory and Policy*
35. International Trade
36. Exchange Rates, the Balance of Payments, and Trade Deficits
The course will conclude with a series of mini exams collectively known as the gauntlet. They are designed to prepare
students for the upcoming AP exam. These tests are scored like the AP exam and weighted accordingly.
*Note: The schedule above is a basic outline of the course. It is intended to provide a broad overview. Refer to the
detailed study guides for each unit to insure that you are prepared for the quizzes and tests.
Extra Help: I will do anything I can to help you. Make sure to seek help early. With the amount of material and its
cumulative nature, you must address any problems immediately. I am here mornings at 7:30 AM and always willing to
provide assistance.
What is the “Do Over”?
o It is a reassessment where re-teaching, practice, and tutoring must be completed to be able to re-assess
In order for the student to take advantage of the “Do Over” to improve a major assessment, the following
requirements must be met:
 Attempt the original assessment on the day it was given
 Prepare for and attend 1 tutoring session with their teacher
 Complete all assignments that support the instruction prior to the initial assessment
 Participate in the second offering of the assessment to have the opportunity to replace a grade with a
maximum of a 70.
(Students will receive the higher of the two grades up to a 70.)
 Timeline: The “Do Over” time frame is 5 school days from the date the assessment was returned to the class.
o The second assessment will be the same format as the original assessment but a different version.
(example- multi-choice format, or essay format)
I HAVE READ THE SYLLABUS FOR THIS CLASS ONLINE, UNDERSTAND WHAT IS EXPECTED OF THE
STUDENT, KNOW HOW GRADES WILL BE ASSIGNED, AND ACCEPT THE CONSEQUENCES FOR
VIOLATING CLASS RULES AND POLICIES.
_____________________________
name of student (print )
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signature of student
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signature of parent
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parent e-mail address
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