LESSONPLANTEMPLATE

YourName:AliciaRotter
TitleofLesson:PovertyinAmericaSchools
Grade:7thGrade
STANDARDS
PO7.Explainhowthe(unequal)distributionofincomeaffectspublicpolicyandstandardsofliving.
PO2.Formalogicalargumentaboutacorrelationbetweenvariablesorsequenceofevents(e.g.,constructacause
andeffectchainthatexplainsasequenceofevents).
LESSONSUMMARY/OVERVIEW
Thislessonwilltakeplaceina7thgradesocialstudiesclassroom.Thestudentswillbebrokenintogroupsofa
reasonablenumber,andthenhandedascenarioonafamilywithvaryingincomes.Studentswillthenhavetomake
paymentsthatatypicalfamilywouldhavetomake(i.e.healthinsurance,groceries,diningout,carinsurance,etc.).
Basedoftheirincomegivensomestudentswillfindthistaskdifficulttocompletewhileothersmaynotfindthe
samedifficulty.Oncetheyhavecompletedtheactivityeachgroupwillsharewhattheywereabletopayforwith
theirincomeanddiscusswhatthisactivitymadethemthink/feelaboutpoverty.Ichosethislesson,becauseI
thoughtitwouldgivestudentsarealisticideaofhowpovertyaffectsfamilies.Seeingthatotherpeerswereableto
goouttodinneronceaweekwhiletheywerentevencapableofpayingtheircarinsuranceshowstherealityofwhat
povertydoestoafamily.Italsobringsouttheirvaluesthinking;whenyoumakeadecisionaboutwhereyour
moneygoesyouhavetofirstconsiderwhatyouvaluemost.Povertyandvaluesthinkinggoeshandinhandwith
howweutilizeourresourcesandwhohastheabilitytousemorethanothers.Ifeelthatthetopicofpovertyties
directlytosustainabilityandtheusefulnessofourresourcesandbeingsurethatthereisequalityforallwhouse
them,keepinginmindthefuturegenerations.Attheconclusionofthislesson,studentswillbeaskedtojournalin
theirpreviouslyprovidednotebooksaboutonecauseofpoverty(possiblyonewediscussedinclass),andwaysthat
wecouldcombatthatinthefuture.
OBJECTIVES
SWBATunderstandthemajoreffectspovertyhasonAmericanschoolsandfamilies
SWBATdiscusswiththeirpeershowpovertycanstarttobefixed
SWBATthinkcriticallyabouthowwhatcausespoverty
SWBATtowriteintheirnotebooksabouthowtocombatpoverty
ASSESSMENT/EVALUATION
Throughreadingthejournalentriesandparticipatingintheclassdiscussion,Iwillbeableassessthestudents
understandingofpovertyinAmerica
PREREQUISITEKNOWLEDGE

Majorcausesofpovertyandtheeffectsfromthose
Waysthatwecanovercomepoverty
MATERIALS

Notebooks
Pencil
Scenariosaboutdifferingfamilyincomes

Listofkeyvocabularyterms.

VOCABULARY/KEYWORDS

Poverty:lackingsufficientmoneytoliveatastandardconsideredcomfortableornormalinasociety
Values:person'sprinciplesorstandardsofbehavior;one'sjudgmentofwhatisimportantinlife
Roleplaying:agameinwhichplayerstakeontherolesofimaginarycharactersthatengageinadventures,
typicallyinaparticularcomputerizedfantasysettingoverseenbyareferee.
TEACHINGPROCEDURES
ProceduralSteps(Stepbystepinstructionsforteachingthelesson):
Teacherwillreviewthepreviousclassdiscussiononpoverty
o Askvariousstudentstohighlightkeyfactsfromtheweeksunit
Teacherwillintroducethatpovertydoesnotaffecteachgroupofpeoplethesame.
Teacherwillbreakstudentsintoreasonablysizedgroups
Teacherwillintroducetheactivitytheywillbedoingfortheday
o Answeringanyquestionsstudentsmayhaveuntiltheactivityisclearlyunderstood
Teacherwilldemonstratebrieflywiththestudentsonthesmartboardtobegincreatingideasforthegroups
Studentswillthentakeovertheactivity
o Teacherwillbefloatingaroundtheroomansweringquestionsthroughouttheactivity
Oncegroupsbegintofinishupteacherwillaskeachgrouptosharetheirscenariowiththeclass
Teacherwillinitiateaclassdiscussionabouttheactivity
o Howdidthismakeyoufeel?
o Whatweresomeharddecisionsyouhadtomake?
o Dideveryoneinyourgroupagreeonthesamething?
o Howcanweapplythistotherealworld?

Nooutsideresourcesused

RESOURCES
WAYSOFTHINKINGCONNECTION

Astudenthastobeawareofwhattheyvaluewhenthinkingaboutputtingtheirmoneytowardsomething.While
alsolookingatwhatisbeingtakenawayfromotherfamilies,theyhavetorecognizethatissomethingtheyvalueas
well.Valuesthinkingisgoingbeusedheavilyduringthislesson.