Week 1 — Readings & Resources

Course: Principles of Macroeconomics (ECON 2) · Silver Oak University (fictional sample) · Prof. Ashford
Focus: The Macro Perspective — Scarcity, the PPF, Circular Flow & Economic Models · Objective 1

Everything below is a link to a free external resource — nothing is embedded, copied, or downloaded. Links were verified live at build time; if one ever rots, the per-term update re-checks them. (Canvas: a Page of links + ExternalUrl module items.)

📖 Read (≈25 min)

1. OpenStax, Principles of Macroeconomics 3e — Ch. 1, "Welcome to Economics!" (What Is Economics, and Why Is It Important? · Microeconomics and Macroeconomics · How Economists Use Theories and Models · Economic Systems)
   🔗 https://openstax.org/books/principles-macroeconomics-3e/pages/1-introduction
   Scarcity, opportunity cost, positive vs. normative, and how economists model — the book's own opening chapter.

2. OpenStax, Principles of Macroeconomics 3e — Ch. 6, "Introduction to the Macroeconomic Perspective."
   🔗 https://openstax.org/books/principles-macroeconomics-3e/pages/6-introduction-to-the-macroeconomic-perspective
   The macro goals/frameworks/policy-tools overview — this is where the "measure the whole economy" framing gets built out further; we'll return to this chapter in Week 2.

▶️ Watch (≈10 min)

3. CrashCourse Economics #3 — "Economic Systems and Macroeconomics." (Adriene Hill & Jacob Clifford)
   🔗 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B43YEW2FvDs
   Scarcity, economic systems, and the transition into macro framing — a fast, friendly companion to today's lecture.

🛠️ Tools for this week (links only)

4. Desmos Graphing Calculator — you'll plot Isla Verde's PPF here in the Workshop.
   🔗 https://www.desmos.com/calculator
   Free, no account needed. Try graphing 3x + 6y = 24.

Why these earn the click: OpenStax Ch. 1 is the spine of today's scarcity/opportunity-cost/positive-normative material, and Ch. 6 previews the "measuring the whole economy" arc we build starting next week; CrashCourse gives the same ideas in voice and motion; Desmos is your graphing tool for the Workshop.