Tom Jones
(Manchester - United States)I am a retired high school principal in my 3rd year of post-retirement re-employment teaching high school English.
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- Contributed By: Extra NewsHour
- to understand how the United States defines unemployment and determines unemployment numbers
- to understand the difference between the official unemployment rate and the "real" rate
- to recreate government reports using sample calculations
- to debate the "real" rate of unemployment according to individual factors
Introduction- Hand out Worksheet A and asks students to complete it in roughly two minutes. When students have finished, survey the class and write the class results on the board, tallying the number of "U"s given to each of the five situations. Ask students to copy the final tallies at the bottom of Worksheet A for reference later in the lesson. Guided Activity-
- Distribute Worksheet B and read through the directions. Explain that students will be looking for the population included in each unemployment or "U" report and for the percentage or rate reported for June 2009.
- After viewing the video clip, divide students into groups of 2-3.
- Individually have students go over and redoWorksheet A in just one minute.
- Recalculates the total "U" designations on the board. Ask students to explain if the general class opinion has changed and why.
When groups have finished, ask for each group to report findings and discusse as a whole class any concerns or conflicting numbers. Finally, have students individually answer the three Independent analysis questions at the bottom of Worksheet C in class or for homework.
Divide the class in half. One half is assigned to defend the accuracy of the official unemployment number; the other must defend the "real" unemployment rate as the true measure of out-of-work people in the nation. Task each team should create:
- a two-minute opening presentation arguing its viewpoint
- a two-minute closing argument responding to at least one of the opposing team's criticisms
People respond predictably to positive and negative incentives. Standard 11 : Role of Money
Money makes it easier to trade, borrow, save, invest, and compare the value of goods and services. Standard 16 : Role of Government
There is an economic role for government in a market economy whenever the benefits of a government policy outweigh its costs. Governments often provide for national defense, address environmental concerns, define and protect property rights, and attempt to make markets more competitive. Most government policies also redistribute income. Standard 18 : Macroeconomy-Income/Employment, Prices
A nation's overall levels of income, employment, and prices are determined by the interaction of spending and production decisions made by all households, firms, government agencies, and others in the economy. Standard 19 : Unemployment and Inflation
Unemployment imposes costs on individuals and nations. Unexpected inflation imposes costs on many people and benefits some others because it arbitrarily redistributes purchasing power. Inflation can reduce the rate of growth of national living standards because individuals and organizations use resources to protect themselves against the uncertainty of future prices.
