Lesson Plan

Resources → Subject Notes → Economics → Notes
Lesson Plan
Grade: Date: 17/01/2026
Subject: Economics
Lesson Topic: equilibrium and disequilibrium unemployment (including hysteresis)
Learning Objective/s:
  • Describe equilibrium and disequilibrium unemployment and the natural rate.
  • Analyse factors that shift the natural rate, including frictional, structural, and policy‑induced causes.
  • Explain hysteresis mechanisms and their impact on the NAIRU.
  • Apply the labour‑market model and Phillips‑curve equations to interpret real‑world data.
  • Evaluate policy options for reducing different types of unemployment.
Materials Needed:
  • Projector and screen for diagrams.
  • Whiteboard and markers.
  • Printed worksheet with labour‑market graphs and calculation exercises.
  • Calculator or spreadsheet software.
  • Handout summarising key formulas (unemployment rate, NAIRU, hysteresis model).
 Introduction:
Begin with a quick poll: “What factors keep people unemployed even when jobs are available?” Connect to students’ prior knowledge of supply‑and‑demand. Outline success criteria: students will be able to distinguish equilibrium from cyclical unemployment, explain hysteresis, and apply the relevant equations.
Lesson Structure:
  1. Do‑now (5’) – students complete a short quiz on labour‑force definitions and calculate the unemployment rate from a data table.
  2. Mini‑lecture (10’) – present the labour‑market diagram, define equilibrium unemployment and the natural rate.
  3. Guided practice (10’) – work through shifting demand/supply curves to illustrate disequilibrium unemployment; students annotate a printed diagram.
  4. Hysteresis exploration (10’) – explain the Blanchard‑Wolfensohn model, discuss skill‑loss and discouragement effects; small‑group discussion with real‑world examples.
  5. Policy analysis activity (10’) – in pairs, use the provided policy table to match tools to unemployment types and predict NAIRU impact; share findings.
  6. Check for understanding (5’) – exit ticket: one sentence defining hysteresis and one implication for policy.
Conclusion:
Summarise that equilibrium unemployment reflects the natural rate while shocks create cyclical unemployment, and that prolonged high unemployment can raise the natural rate through hysteresis. For the exit ticket, students write a concise definition of hysteresis and suggest one policy response. Assign homework: analyse a recent news article on unemployment trends and identify which type(s) of unemployment are highlighted.