Our Hidden Jobless: A lesson plan featuring in-class debate, original research and some surprising conclusions about the unemployment data, built around a video in which Chicago's Ebony Allen tries to get a job.

• 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-

1. 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.
2. Watch the video clip from Many Left Uncounted in Nation's Official Jobless Rate (transcript here) and ask students to fill in their Worksheet B with all the information they can gather.
3. After viewing the video clip, divide students into groups of 2-3.
4. Have students answer the two post-viewing questions at the bottom of their worksheets and help each other fill out any missing information from their guided viewing chart.
5. Direct the groups to refer back to Worksheet A and review their answers to each of the five scenarios. Does this new information about who is officially counted as an "unemployed person" change the designations on Worksheet A?
6. Individually have students go over and redo Worksheet A in just one minute.
7. Recalculates the total "U" designations on the board. Ask students to explain if the general class opinion has changed and why.

Independent Activity- Distribute Worksheet C and review the sample row in the second table with students. In their previously assigned groups, ask students to work to fill out the second table and calculate the U report numbers for their model town.

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
• three sample situations in which their unemployment rate would be more accurate in reflecting the person's jobless status, and after a ten to fifteen-minute debate,
• a two-minute closing argument responding to at least one of the opposing team's criticisms