CP Economics
Unit 5: Macroeconomic Indicators
SSEMA1 The student will illustrate the means by which economic activity is measured.
a. Explain that overall levels of income, employment, and prices are determined by the spending
and production decisions of households, businesses, government, and net exports.
b. Define Gross Domestic Product (GDP), economic growth, unemployment, Consumer Price Index
(CPI), inflation, stagflation, and aggregate supply and aggregate demand.
c. Explain how economic growth, inflation, and unemployment are calculated.
d. Identify structural, cyclical, and frictional unemployment.
e. Define the stages of the business cycle; include peak, contraction, trough, recovery, expansion as
well as recession and depression.
SSEPF3 The student will explain how changes in monetary and fiscal policy can have an impact on
an individual’s spending and saving choices.
a. Give examples of who benefits and who loses from inflation.
Essential Question for ENTIRE Unit: How and why do we measure and evaluate economic activity?
Day 1:
Focus Question: What is macroeconomics?
1. Warm Up: Students will use Today’s Meet to give three words or phrases to describe the US
economy today.
2. Discuss the difference between macro and micro economics.
3. Where does macroeconomics come from? Show Commanding Heights video clip of Keynes.
Why did Keynes begin the study of macroeconomics?
4. What is the purpose of macroeconomics?
5. Give students list of macro goals. (Economic Growth, Full Employment, Price Stability) Have
students jot down ideas of meaning. Share and discuss.
6. How do we know we are meeting these goals? Discuss.
7. Current Event – Is this economy meeting its macro goals? Discuss.
8. Closing: Socrative Exit Ticket/ Teacher Question: What are the goals of macroeconomics?
Day 2:
Focus Question: What is GDP?
1. Warm Up: Using Socrative, students will look at headlines to decide which economic goal is
being (or not being) reached. Data from warm up will be used to pull aside students who missed
two or more and review concepts with them during a practice activity.
2. Tell students we will focus on Gross Domestic Product – the macroeconomic indicator that we
use to measure economic growth.
3. Give students definition of GDP. Break down components of definition. Allow students to start
it in pairs, then after they finish, go over as a group.
4. What can GDP tell us? Show map to explain overall size of US GDP relative to the rest of the
world.
5. What does GDP NOT include? Go over list as a whole class.
6. Student Practice: AP Resource – Included or Excluded in GDP?
7. Closing: Socrative Exit Ticket / Teacher Question: Name two things that would not be included
in GDP.
Day 3:
Focus Question: How is GDP measured?
1. Warm Up: Socrative Included or Excluded in GDP Practice . Data from warm up will be used to
pull aside students during a practice activity.
2. Tell students that today we will focus on how GDP is calculated. Use the circular flow model to
depict the income approach and the expenditure approach. Focus on the expenditure
approach.
3. Go over categories within the GDP expenditure equation.
4. Student Practice – All About GDP
5. Nominal v. Real GDP – What is the difference and why does it matter?
6. Closing: Socrative Exit Ticket: Teacher Question: Give the formula for the expenditure approach
to GDP and give an example of what is included in each category.
Day 4:
Focus Question: Why does GDP matter?
1. Warm Up: Review question on nominal v. real GDP. Use to review concept wit students.
2. Socrative Quiz reviewing all of GDP thus far.
3. Using data from previous Socrative quizzes, put students into two different groups. Group A
will review basic concepts and definitions. Group B will do a shorter review and lead into a bit
more complex analysis.Teacher will start working with group A and help scaffold them up to a
higher level.
4. Closing: Lesson Recap on all GDP concepts thus far. Fist to Five.
Day 5:
Focus Question: Why do we care about GDP?
1. Warm Up: Calculate nominal and real GDP.
2. Notes/Practice: How do we determine if economic growth occurred and how big that growth
is?
3. Explain to students that though GDP is not a perfect statistic, it can in fact suggest a lot about
what is going on in a country.
4. Notes on Total GDP vs. per Capita GDP.
5. Nearpod presentation showing maps and photographs– Question: Why does GDP matter?
6. Closing: Have students respond on Nearpod, “Based on what you saw in class today, why does
GDP matter?”
Day 6:
Focus Question: What is a business cycle and how does it relate to GDP?
1. Warm Up: Socrative question on per capita GDP and calculating percent change.
2. Introduce the term “business cycle”. Ask students, what is a cycle? Discuss.
3. Explain to students that when we map out changes in GDP, we get a model known as the
business cycle.
4. Go through and discuss the components of the business cycle.
5. Activity – Part1: Examine GDP data. Determine phases of the business cycle. Part II: Given the
conditions described, which phase of the business cycle would the economy be experiencing?
6. Closing: Recap and Socrative Exit Ticket: Teacher Question: List the phases of the business
cycle in order, beginning with a contraction.
Day 6:
Focus Question: What have we learned about GDP?
1. Warm Up: On Today’s Meet, students make a list of the top five things they think are important
about GDP.
2. Discuss warm up list / Review
3. GDP/Business Cycle Quiz
4. Closing: Go over quiz.
5. *** Quiz data will be used in the next lesson to provide differentiated instruction/remediation.
Day 7:
Focus Question: How can I further my understanding of GDP?
1. Warm Up: Socrative GDP warm up question. (On a scale of 1-5, rate your comfort level with
GDP.) Use this information and quizzes to put students in groups.
2. Assign students to small groups.
a. Level 1- Students who failed the quiz
b. Level 2 – Students who made Cs or low Bs.
c. Level 3 – Students who made high Bs or As.
3. Pass back each student’s quiz. In small groups, students will use notes to correct the quizzes.
Teacher will focus on students who failed the test. Assign a level 3 group to help level 2 groups.
Once finished students will begin differentiated activity.
a. Level 1: Reteach students using the quiz as a guide. Students must make notecards on
key information with a model problem.
b. Level 2: Students will make note cards with model problems for the problems they
missed.
c. Level 3: The Lion, The Dragon, and the Future – Read and discuss on Schoology.
4. Closing: Same Socrative question as warm up.
Day 8:
Focus Question: How can the aggregate demand and aggregate supply model be used to show changes
in Real GDP?
1. Warm Up: Give students the following standard element and have them use Today’s Meet to
use their own words to say what it means: “Overall levels of income, employment, and prices
are determined by the spending and production decisions of household, businesses,
government, and net exports.”
2. Discuss warm up as a class. Lead students to understand that this statement reflects the
expenditure approach to GDP = C+I+G+Nx.
3. Smart Notebook Presentation on Aggregate Demand.
a. Aggregate Demand Graph
b. Shifters of Aggregate Demand
c. Aggregate Demand Practice (Capstone)/ Review
d. Aggregate Supply Graph
e. Shifters of Aggregate Supply
f. Aggregate Supply Practice (Capstone)/ Review
4. Closing: Socrative Exit Ticket Teacher Question: What is meant by aggregate demand, and how
will an increase in aggregate demand affect GDP?
Day 9:
Focus Question: How can the aggregate demand and aggregate supply model be used to show changes
in Real GDP?
1. Warm Up: Socrative Quiz to test ability to shift curves and read equilibriums.
2. Use quiz data to place students into three tiers:
a. Level 1 – Basic knowledge: Still need practice shifting curves and determining which
curve will shift.
b. Level 2 – Have general concept but need a little more practice.
c. Level 3 – Need a challenge.
3. Split students into three groups and give appropriate level of challenge.
a. Level 1 – Note cards on graph and shifters. Reteach shifting and reading equilibriums
followed by practice questions.
b. Level 2 – Scaffold practice problems.
c. Level 3 – AP level extension
4. Closing: Rate on a scale of 1-5 your level of understanding with AS/AD.
Day 10:
Focus Question: How can the aggregate demand and aggregate supply model be used to show changes
in Real GDP?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Warm Up: AS/AD questions on Socrative.
Review questions.
AS/AD Quiz
After quiz students will read an introduction to unemployment.
Closing: Review Quiz.
Day 11:
Focus Question: How is the unemployment rate calculated, and what does it reflect?
1. Warm Up: “Am I Unemployed” student skit pre-assessment
2. Introductory Information to Unemployment
a. Calculating the Unemployment Rate
b. Three Types of Unemployment
c. Problems with the Unemployment Rate
3. Closing: “Am I Unemployed” post-assessment
Day 12:
Focus Question: How is the unemployment rate calculated, and what does it reflect?
1. Warm Up: Unemployment Questions on Socrative used to place students into differentiated
groups
2. Unemployment Game Show Video
3. Group Work – Students will be placed in mixed ability groups to practice calculating and
classifying unemployment data.
4. Closing: Socrative Questions gauging overall comfort with unemployment
Day 13:
Focus Question: How is the unemployment rate calculated, and what does it reflect?
1. Warm Up: Graphic Organizer Reviewing key components of understanding unemployment;
Used to review key concepts
2. Quiz on Unemployment
3. After quiz, students read Chili’s article on inflation and answer questions on Schoology
4. Closing: Review Quiz
Day 14:
Focus Question: How and why do we measure and evaluate economic activity?
1. Warm Up: Student self-assessment checklist – Students will be given a key list of things that
they should be able to do for this unit. Students will read each statement and evaluate
themselves – Can I do this?
2. Explain to students that they are to use this checklist and returned quizzes to guide them for the
next few days. The lessons will be differentiated based on what students need.
a. When students finish the self-evaluation and examine their quizzes, they are to go to
the online classroom and use materials and notes to try to learn and understand the
material. Once they feel they have mastered and fully understand the material they
may complete a retake quiz to demonstrate that they have mastered the material.
b. Once students have finished reviewing material that we have already completed,
students may move on to the inflation modules that will be available on Schoology and
on the online classroom. The inflation module will work the following way:
i. Students will read through introduction to inflation notes.
ii. Students will watch an instructional video on inflation.
iii. Students will complete inflation assignment on Schoology.
iv. Students will read through notes on what creates inflation.
v. Students will complete practice assignment on Schoology.
vi. Students will read through notes on how inflation is calculated.
vii. Students will watch an instructional video on calculating inflation.
viii. Students will complete assignment on Schoology.
3. Closing: Socrative Poll – please give which areas of the checklist you feel you have mastered,
and which ones you still need to master.
Day 15:
Focus Question: How and why do we measure and evaluate economic activity?
1. Warm Up: Unit vocabulary review for all using Socrative
2. Students will return to tiered work as described for Day 14. Explain to students that this is the
last day of tiered instruction. After today, we will all be examining inflation together. Any work
they have left must be done on their own time.
3. Closing: Fist to Five- How well are you understanding macro measurement?
Day 16:
Focus Question: What is inflation and what causes it?
1. Warm Up: Socrative inflation questions to see who understands inflation already and who does
not.
2. Inflation Discussion
a. Have students take out their checklists for the Macro Measurement. Tell students that
we will make sure that everyone has the opportunity to check these off their lists today.
b. Go over topics as a class – What is inflation? What causes it? Differentiate between
demand-pull and cost-push inflation.
c. Quantity Theory – Bag of Mystery game to show how too much money in the economy
causes inflation
3. Closing: Socrative Exit Ticket – Teacher Question: What are the three causes of inflation?
Day 17:
Focus Question: How is inflation measured?
1. Warm Up: Socrative review questions on definition of inflation and causes of inflation.
2. Tell students that today we will learn how inflation is measured.
a. Introduce the CPI.
b. What is included in the CPI?
c. How do we use CPI to measure inflation?
3. Practice on calculating the inflation rate using CPI data.
4. Closing: Socrative Exit Ticket – Explain the purpose of the Consumer Price Index.
Day 18:
Focus Question: How does inflation affect people?
1. Warm Up: Can you think of a time anyone would benefit from inflation? Discuss.
2. Explain to students that low levels of unanticipated inflation can help some an harm others.
3. Complete “Royalty for a Day” Gameshow. Students will listen to each character’s situation and
analyze whether they are helped or hurt from inflation.
4. From the situations, students will draw generalizations, as to who is helped and hurt from
inflation.
5. Closing: Review T-chart on those helped/hurt by inflation
Day 19:
Focus: Inflation
1. Warm UP: Students will complete a nearpod review on inflation.
2. Inflation quiz
3. Closing: Review Quiz
Day 20:
Focus: Review Unit
1. Warm Up: Full vocabulary review on Socrative
2. Group Review using TGT model
3. Closing: Poll students on most concerning areas they have.
Day 21:
Focus: Review Unit
1. Warm Up: Address concerns from closing previous day.
2. Kahoot! Review game
3. Closing: Address any final questions students have.
Day 22:
Macroeconomic Measurement Test
Day 23:
Test Corrections.
6. Warm Up: Socrative review questions on calculating inflation.
7. Explain to students that today we will explain why inflation matters so much.
a. Show video clip of inflation crisis in Bolivia. Discuss.
b. Tell students that their job is to complete the following:
i. Research periods of inflation in the United States. Students are to find three
periods of significant inflation and research the causes of the inflation.
ii. Next, students will place