AP ECONOMICS Mr. Ippolito Fall 2017/Spring 2018 Course Requirements  TEXTBOOK: Each week you have required reading of 15-30 pages from your textbook. Falling behind on your reading is not efficient. Allocate your time for this class efficiently--we are covering 18 chapters the first semester!  NOTETAKING: It is strongly recommended that you either take notes during lectures or print out my power point slides before class. Notes or power point presentations will be extremely helpful in preparing for exams. Decide which method works best for you!  WEBSITE: My website is an integral part of this course. You will find powerpoint lectures, practice tests, study guides, video links and other helpful resources. It is located under faculty websites at redwood.org.  COURSE DIFFICULTY: You have chosen to enroll in a college level course and will be graded accordingly. This is not a course in memorization but of complex economic analysis. Your must develop the ability to think & analyze like an economist using graphs and other economic data. Partial understanding of a topic will not be sufficient to pass exams.  HOMEWORK: Just as in college, homework will rarely be assigned and is not a large part of your grade. A Study Guide is due the day of each unit exam. However, students performing poorly on exams will be assigned additional work and be required to perform test corrections and take a makeup exam. (Economic logic of less homework: Homework is not an efficient allocation of time for students who have the maturity and discipline to learn the material through class lectures & textbook reading)  PHONES: Smart phones can be a major distraction in both life and education. Your phone should never be visible to me during class lectures and you should never text during class. As you will learn this semester, your phone is actually a highly addictive device => Facebook, Instagram & SnapChat apps are all designed to create a cycle of stress & pleasure so you continue to be a slave to your phone. Phone use as calculators & web searching devices is allowed when completing worksheets during class.  CURRENT EVENTS: Current events are not on the AP exam; however, I will teach the course through the current events of 2017-18. You can stay informed of current economic events by reading one of the following websites: wsj.com, Bloomberg.com, marketwatch.com, yahoo.finance.com. Weekly business magazine such as Business Week and the Economist are also helpful.

Course Overview You have committed to take a very challenging full-year (2-semester) college level course. Our course will be divided into two sections:  AP Macroeconomics (1st semester) Textbook Chapters: 1-4 & 23-36  AP Microeconomics (2nd semester) Textbook Chapters: 5-22 There is a separate AP Examination for each section. Each exam follows the same format which consists of a 70 minute Multiple Choice test (2/3rds of grade) and a 50 minute Free Response section (1/3rd of grade). You are expected to take both the Macroeconomic & Microeconomic exams in May of 2017. The exam is scored on a 1-5 scale. Although 3 is considered passing, most colleges require a 4 or better to receive college credit.

Additional Resources: There is no “official” textbook for AP Economics. Therefore, not everything in our textbook is on the AP Exam and everything on the AP Exam is not in the textbook. I strongly encourage you to buy an AP Economics study guide to prepare for the exam. While there are many excellent study guides, I recommend either: “5 Steps to a 5” by Eric Dodge published by McGraw-Hill (covers both Micro & Macro) or “Cracking the AP Macro & Micro Exams by David Anderson published by The Princeton Review Your best source for information on the exam is the college board website: http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/ This website has sample exam questions, course outlines, scoring guidelines, suggested readings, and other useful information.

Your Responsibilities:  To treat each person in our class with respect.  Work only on AP Econ material during class => if you finish a worksheet early, help your neighbor learn!  Participation in discussion is expected for this course. Take a risk and share your opinion! Your opinion is very, very welcome!  It is my expectation that everyone in the class will work their best to achieve at least a 3 on this exam.  Students disrupting the learning environment or texting during class will be sent to the library to complete “busy work”

My Responsibilities:  I will treat everyone in the room with the utmost respect and I expect the same in return.  I will work extremely hard to make this class relevant, interesting, and fun!  I will strive to make this a classroom where you feel comfortable sharing your opinions.  I will encourage you to think CRITICALLY and make your own informed decisions.

Extra Help/Office Hours: (Room 275)  I am a part-time teacher and work only in the morning hours (1st, 2nd , 4th periods). However, I am here by 7am Monday - Thursday and will meet with you before school any of these days to help you succeed in this course. You do not need to make an appointment to see me before school => just show up and ask for HELP!  Contact Information: [email protected] Phone: 945-3600 [extension 6275]

Approximate Grading Breakdown: Macroeconomic Semester Units Unit Tests & Quizzes 70% 1) Intro to Economics & Supply/Demand (4 weeks) Final Exam 20% 2) Measuring Economic Performance (3 weeks) Homework 10% (study guides) 3) AS/AD Model & Fiscal Policy (4 weeks) 4) Money & Monetary Policy (3 weeks) 5) International Economy (3 weeks)