Mr. Pauly
Kennedy High School
6715 Gloria Drive, Sacramento, CA 95831
AP Macroeconomics
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2009-2010 |
AP Macroeconomics Course Syllabus
Brief Description of Course:
Advanced Placement Macroeconomics is a one semester course designed to give students a thorough understanding of the principles of economics that apply to an economic system as a whole. This course in Macroeconomics places particular emphasis on the study of national income and price-level determination, and also develops students’ familiarity with economic performance measures, the financial sector, stabilization policies, economic growth, and international economics.
This course is the equivalent of a college course and students are expected to take the AP National Exam in the Spring Semester.
In class, essays and exams are given in the AP format of stimulus based questions (Free Response Questions –FRQs) and multiple-choice questions. The students will practice writing Free Response Questions in class every other week. All students are required to keep an organized interactive notebook which will be essential in preparing for the AP exam.
Grades are based on exams, quizzes, essays, homework assignments, projects, interactive notebook, and class participation.
Students will be required to keep up on current economic events for the purpose of class discussion and to connect the material from class to real events in the world of economics. To that end, students will keep a current events log, in their interactive notebook, where they will summarize and reflect on economic events that have meaning to themselves and their community.
Suggested journals and web sites to visit are:
Grading Policy:
Exams and quizzes (including final exam): 40%
Essays and Free Response Questions: 15%
Interactive Notebook: 10%
Homework Assignments: 15%
Projects: 10%
Class Participation: 10%
All make-ups must be completed within five days of an excused absence. Late assignments are worth 50% of original grade. All students and parents must agree to the policy of academic integrity in the JFK Student Handbook and the College Board AP: Government and Politics, Course Description guide.
TEXTBOOK:
Economics: Principles, Problems, and Policies. 15th ed.
Publisher: New York: McGraw-Hill
Date: 2002
Authors: McConnell, Campbell R., and Stanley L. Brue.
Description:
“McConnell and Brue's Economics: Principles, Problems, and Policies, the nation's best-selling introductory economics textbook, is the book of choice for many AP teachers. The 15th edition grew market share because of its clear and careful treatment of principles of economics concepts, its balanced coverage, and its patient explanations. More students have learned their principles of Economics from McConnell-Brue than any other text.”
Supplemental Readings:
Hard Times by Studs Terkel
The Return of Depression Economics and the Crisis of 2008 by Paul Krugman
The Post-American World by Fareed Zakaria
A Failure of Capitalism: The Crisis of ’08 and the Descent Into Depression by Richard Posner
Animal Spirits - How Human Psychology Drives the Economy and Why It Matters for Global Capitalism by George A. Akerlof and Robert J. Shiller
The World is Curved: Hidden Dangers to the Global Economy by David Smick
Fixing Global Finance by Martin Wolfe
Ascent of Money by Niall Ferguson
The New Paradigm for Financial Markets by George Soros
The Worldly Philosophers by Robert L. Heilbroner
Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America by Barbara Ehrenreich
The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith
Principles of Political Economy and Taxation by David Ricardo
Freakonomics by Steven Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
Naked Economics by Charles Wheelan
The Marx-Engels Reader Edited by Robert Tucker
Economics in One Lesson by Henry Hazlitt
General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money by John Maynard Keynes
Annual Editions: Macroeconomics 05/06 by Don Cole
Taking side: Clashing Views on Economic Issues, 13th Edition.
Other Resources:
Advanced Placement Economics: Teacher Resource Manual (National council on Economic Education)
Advanced Placement Economics: Macroeconomics - Student Activities (National council on Economic Education)
Economics in Action: 14 Greatest Hits for TeachingHigh School Economics (National council on Economic Education)
Focus: Understanding Economics in U.S. History (National council on Economic Education)
Focus: Globalization (National council on Economic Education)
The President’s Dilemma (Buck’s Institute)
Recommended:
AP Macroeconomics Exam Review Books
Various publishers
Movies:
Waging A Living: Working Overtime in Pursuit of the Elusive American Dream a film by Roger Weisberg
Rosevelt’s America a film by Roger Weisberg & Tod Lending
Sicko by Roger Moore
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Unit 1: Basic Economic Concepts (8-12%) – 9 days
Unit 2: Measurement of Economic Performance (12-16%) – 11 days
Unit 3: National Income and Price Determination (10-15%) – 10 days
Unit 4: Financial Sector (15-20%) – 10 days
Unit 5: Inflation, Unemployment, and Stabilization Policies (20-30%) – 12 days
Unit 6: Economic Growth and Productivity (5-10%) – 4 days
Unit 7: Open Economy: International Trade and Finance (10-15%) – 6 days
Post-AP Macroeconomics Exam – 15 days