After School: WHAT CHANGED?
Read the fine print
Use a new situation to see what you can explain, support and revise.
Caseload 2 — Read the fine print
Essential question: What does the paper actually say, and what can you ask before you sign, share, or post?
The “unpaid learning opportunity”
New transfer scenario. Read the source set before answering. Do not assume that a familiar word such as “policy,” “law,” “ban,” “scholarship,” or “petition” tells you who has authority or what happened.
Source set
SOURCE A — Internship offer
NPW practice document. “Unpaid learning opportunity, 20 hours/week, June 10–August 16. Intern will shadow staff, attend two cases, and assist with social-media scheduling. Academic credit available if arranged by the student.”
What it establishes: Shows the employer’s description, schedule, and duties.
What it cannot establish: Does not by itself establish whether the arrangement complies with wage laws or school-credit rules.
SOURCE B — Weekly schedule
NPW practice document. Monday–Thursday, 1–6 p.m. Repeated tasks: schedule posts, answer inbox, prepare weekly analytics; shadowing listed once per month.
What it establishes: Shows how the work is actually scheduled.
What it cannot establish: Does not show supervision quality, training content, or the employer’s full business context.
SOURCE C — General federal guidance excerpt
Instructional paraphrase of current U.S. Department of Labor guidance: whether an unpaid intern at a for-profit employer is an employee depends on the economic reality of the relationship and multiple factors; no single label decides the question.
What it establishes: Establishes that the label “intern” or availability of academic credit is not automatically decisive.
What it cannot establish: Does not decide this individual situation; legal questions may require qualified advice and current jurisdiction-specific review.
Part A — Check
1. Which document best shows what the intern would actually do each week?
A. Source A only
B. Source B
C. Source C
D. A school brochure
2. Does “academic credit available” automatically settle whether the position can be unpaid?
A. Yes
B. No
C. Only if the employer says so
D. Only if the student wants it to
3. Which next question is most useful?
A. “Is this internship prestigious?”
B. “Who supervises the work, what training is provided, and how are the duties structured around learning?”
C. “Can I post about it?”
D. “Do other students want it?”
4. Which statement is safest and most accurate?
A. “This internship is definitely illegal.”
B. “This internship is definitely legal because it offers credit.”
C. “The documents raise questions about the balance of training and productive work; current rules and the full facts still need to be checked.”
D. “Unpaid internships never exist.”
5. What should the student save before deciding?
A. Offer, schedule, duties, supervision/training details, and any school-credit requirements
B. Only a screenshot of the logo
C. Nothing in writing
D. A friend’s opinion
Part B — Explain
Compare the offer language with the weekly schedule. What does each document add, and what question remains unanswered?
Part C — Use it
Draft a five-question email-prep sheet for the student before they contact the employer or career center. Questions must seek facts about duties, supervision, learning, schedule, pay/expenses, and school-credit requirements without accusing the employer of wrongdoing.
Educator answer and scoring guidance
1. Correct answer: B. The schedule contains recurring assigned tasks.
2. Correct answer: B. Source C says no single label/factor decides the issue.
3. Correct answer: B. The question seeks facts relevant to the actual relationship.
4. Correct answer: C. It accurately reflects the limits of the documents.
5. Correct answer: A. The paper trail matters for understanding the arrangement.
Strong constructed/performance response: Strong work compares stated learning goals with actual recurring duties, avoids making a legal conclusion from incomplete facts, and directs the learner to current official/qualified guidance for an individual situation.
Score Part B and Part C with the master analytic rubric. Do not award or remove points for a learner’s political, institutional, or personal preference. Score the quality of source use, reasoning, authority/process understanding, scope, and communication.