POVERTY - Wild Apricot · 2017-04-16 · A New Face on Poverty—Lesson Plan on Poverty Handout/worksheet G1: Effects of Poverty Handout/worksheet G2: ... Poverty is one issue about

POVERTYELEMENTARY LEVEL - LESSON PLAN AND ACTIVITIES

A New Face on Poverty—Lesson Plan on Poverty

Handout/worksheet G1: Effects of Poverty

Handout/worksheet G2: Poverty Statistics

Handout/worksheet G3: The Beauty of Smiles in the Face of Despair

Handout/worksheet G4: Surviving Poverty, Surviving War

Handout/worksheet G5: Namaste: My Journey to India

Handout/worksheet G6: Stories About Poverty – Questions

Activity #E1: $30 a Month – Making a Budget

Handout/worksheet E7: Entertaining Ourselves on a Budget

Handout/worksheet E8: Grocery Shopping on a Budget

Activity #E2: Getting Better When I’m Sick

Culminating Activity Suggestions

World Map

About Free The Children

HERE’S WHAT’S INSIDE

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Educating and Inspiring a Generation of Youth to Change the World

Catherine McCauley, M.Ed., Director, Teacher DevelopmentSapna Goel, Director, Creative and CommunicationsCait McKinney, Writer and Researcher

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2www.freethechildren.com

A NEW FACE ON POVERTYLesson plan on Poverty

Grade Level: Secondary and ElementaryTime: Three 60-minute periods with possible extensionsMaterials: Handouts/worksheets (G1: Effects of Poverty; G2: Poverty Statistics; G3: The Beauty of Smiles in the Face of Despair; G4: Surviving Poverty, Surviving War; G5: Sharing Small Gifts of Big Change; G6: Stories about Poverty – Questions) notebooks or loose paper (for reflection), world mapCurriculum Connections: Secondary: Civics, History, English Elementary: Language Arts

Rationale: Poverty is one issue about which some North American students may have personal knowledge. Domestic disasters like Hurricane Katrina demonstrated how quickly conditions of poverty can escalate due to lack of food, poor sanitation and other losses of services.

This lesson develops the concept from an individual understanding within local context to a global perspective examining the extent of poverty in developing countries. Given the local statistics, some students will conclude that we should help our own citizens living in poverty. This is a valid statement and a necessary building block for nurturing empathy in young people. Students can integrate local aid when they plan their own actions later in the program. The focus of this lesson is to develop an understanding that the scope of poverty in the developing world is dramatically different than in North America.

Objectives:• Through discussions, brainstorming activities and research, students will:• explore conceptual understanding of poverty as it is experienced locally and in developing

countries• understand the effects of poverty on a family’s ability to function• make the connections between the issue of poverty and a role for youth to help in solving the

problem

Steps:Introduction: What is Poverty?

1. Have students write “Poverty” in the middle of a blank page. Ask them to think of the images that come to mind when they think about poverty and make a web chart of descriptive words to describe it (e.g., homeless, hungry, shelters, etc.). If students need additional direction, ask them to think about the images shown on television after a natural disaster like the 2004 tsunami, Hurricane Katrina or the earthquake in Haiti. Discuss ideas and then share the formal definition below.

Poverty can be described as a person’s inability to access the basic needs for survival.

2. In a discussion, ask students the following questions:• Think about poverty in your immediate community and within your town/city. Do we have people

living in poverty? How do we know?

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• What have been your direct experiences with poverty?• How do the media portray the conditions of poverty?• What assumptions do we often make about people living in poverty? Why do we make these

assumptions? (i.e., consider stereotypes, biases, prejudices, discriminating actions against people living in poverty)

• Challenge your students to find alternative definitions of poverty by checking with municipal, provincial or federal levels of governments or non-governmental agencies (NGOs) that tackle poverty issues. As students present definitions, compare them and discuss differences.

3. Discuss the difference between the terms “needs” and “wants.” Ask your students to provide examples that students their age would consider common “wants.” Have students pair up or form small groups to make a list of the top five “needs” for their survival and the top five things they “want” in their life, ranking both lists in order of importance. Have the pairs or groups complete a chart like this:

Needs Wants1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

4. Share results with the large group.5. In small groups ask students to complete handout/worksheet G1: Effects of Poverty. Then discuss the

following:• Describe the long-term effects of poverty (e.g., what might happen to a family if they lived in

conditions of poverty for years? Even generations?).• Do you think we, as a society, are doing enough to help people living in poverty?• Who should help (i.e., how many different groups have a responsibility to help)?• How many people do you think live in conditions of poverty in your country?

Possible extension for elementary/middle school classrooms: Depending on your students’ experiences, you may want to share the following picture books—which describe children’s experiences as they witnesspoverty in their community—with them:

Fly Away Home by Eve Bunting, 1991. Houghton Mifflin Company, New YorkSam and the Lucky Money by Karen Chinn, 1995. Lee & Low Books inc. New YorkThe Lady in the Box by Ann McGovern, 1997 Turtle Books, New York

6. Distribute copies of the world map. Ask students: ”What parts of the world do you think have the greatest problems with poverty?” Students can quickly color the world map to show their guesses. They can use a basic legend of highest and lowest numbers indicating incidences of people living in poverty.

(Note: The actual answers can be found during a short research activity described in the extension section at the end of the lesson)

NOTE TO EDUCATORS

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7. Distribute handout/worksheet G2: Poverty Statistics. Read the statistics together as a group and discuss responses (e.g., ask students, “What are the greatest surprises?). Make a list of the questions that arise from these numbers.

Transition—Stories about Poverty8. Distribute handouts G3: The Beauty of Smiles in the Face of Despair; G4: Surviving Poverty, Surviving

War; G5: Sharing Small Gifts of Big Change. Depending on the reading levels and needs of your class, read these stories about poverty aloud with the large group or ask students to read independently. Both of the authors were fairly young when they wrote these stories. Ask your students, “How would you expect Jason, Hellen and Charlotte’s lives to have changed after their experiences?”

9. In small groups, students will discuss and answer questions related to the stories on handout/worksheet G6: Stories about Poverty – Questions. Discuss answers in a large group. Alternatively, these questions can be answered independently. Following this discussion, ask students to list questions they have about poverty on a piece of chart paper.

Closure10. Return to handout/worksheet G1: Effects of Poverty. Using a different colour, students can fill in the

chart based on poverty as experienced in developing countries like Kenya. Discuss the differences.

Written assignment: Ask students to write a personal reflection that addresses the following questions:

• Looking at the statistics, what surprised you the most? • What was your initial reaction to Jason, Hellen and Charlotte’s stories?• What questions or comments do you have about the children in the stories compared to children

your age?• Given Jason, Hellen and Charlotte’s age when they wrote their stories, what do you think the role

of youth can be to help children in developing countries? How do you see yourself fitting in?• Have the statistics and stories changed the way you think about poverty? If yes, how?

Assessment: Based on your district expectations and grading rubrics, consider the following assessment strategies to evaluate depth of understanding:

1. participation during discussions2. comprehension of stories as indicated through small group discussions3. writing skills as demonstrated in the individual reflection including the extent of connections made

between the statistics and stories and their own lives4. mapping skills

Extension Activities:• Research the statistics on poverty around the world in greater depth. Compare the results with

the maps the students created in this lesson. Discuss the differences.• As an enrichment activity, have students create a class video of their opinions on poverty. They

can set up a student panel discussion on how they think students their age can help. This can be presented in a documentary style to another class within the same grade or during an assembly.

• Challenge your students to find local statistics on poverty for your community including the number of people living below the poverty line, number of people living in shelters and using food banks. These local statistics could be incorporated into a poverty documentary they may want to create.

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Handout/worksheet G1

EFFECTS OF POVERTYPoverty can be described as a person’s inability to access the basic needs for survival.

With a partner or in a small group, fill out the following chart.

Needs Consequences for a family if lacking the need

How does society help?(individuals and/or government agencies)

Food Kids go to school hungry and are unable to concentrate

Food banks

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POVERTY STATISTICSUnited States:

• Nationwide, 17 per cent of children live in poverty.• The highest rates of extreme poverty are concentrated in the south and poverty is especially

prevalent among black and Latino children.• Food insecurity, lack of affordable housing and other economic hardships affect millions of

American children.• Canada:• Across the country, about 15 per cent of children live under the poverty line (1.2 million, or

almost 1 in every 6 children).• In 2005, 40.7 per cent of food bank clients were under 18 years. Among food bank clients,

families with children make up more than 50 per cent of recipients. The number of people using a food bank in one month in 2005: 823,856.

Note: Population of the United States: roughly 300 millionPopulation of Canada: roughly 32 million

The Global Picture:• One-third of deaths—some 18 million people a year or 50, 000 a day—are due to poverty-related

causes.• 600 million of the world’s children live in absolute poverty.• 800 million people go to bed hungry every day.• Every year, almost 11 million children die before their fifth birthday. That’s 30,000 children a day.

Most of these children live in developing countries and die from a disease or a combination of diseases that could be prevented or treated if the means were there. Sometimes, the cause is as simple as the lack of antibiotics for treating pneumonia or oral rehydration salts for diarrhea. Malnutrition contributes to over half of these deaths.

• According to the Worldwatch Institute the annual expenditure of pet food in Europe and the United States is $17 billion. With an annual investment of $19 billion, we can eliminate global hunger and malnutrition.

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THE BEAUTY OF SMILES IN THE FACE OF DESPAIRBy Jason Apostolopoulos, Volunteer Trip Participant

I was only 12 when I first visited Kenya on an international volunteer trip. I discovered the magnificent beauty of the country on the first day during a hike in the Kenyan

rainforest. A line of trees stood like majestic gates to the rainforest. This was just the beginning.The first part of the hike went by slowly as the beauty of the rainforest stopped us in our tracks at

every turn. In one place, rays of sun peeked through mile-high trees, reflecting off small ponds bordered by colourful plants and vegetation. In another place, rivers wound through vast tunnels of lush trees.

After three hours of hiking, we came to a place where all of the rivers of the rainforest converged into one giant waterfall that cascaded for hundreds of meters. To the sides stood cliffs covered in green vines, and before us stretched the savannah where we could see elephants, lions and gazelle roaming the plains.

That night, during dinner at the centre where we were staying, a fellow group member gave a presentation about global hunger. As I listened to the talk and reflected on my day, one question came to mind: In a place with so much poverty, disease and hunger, how can such beauty and magnificence exist? My answer would soon come.

Our first day had been an introduction to the nature of Kenya, so it was fitting that the second day would introduce us to the country’s people.

We awoke early the next morning and left for the village of Ol Moran, where a market and goat auction would give us our first taste of Kenyan life in action. The village had no running water and no electricity, the small homes and shops were all that made it distinct as a village.

Shortly after arriving at the village, the over 40-degree Celsius weather started making me sweaty and thirsty. I set my sights on a drink vendor a few feet away and headed in that direction.

Suddenly, I heard laughter. There, on my left, stood two small kids, their smiles covered by their hands. I turned toward them and waved, belting out a loud “hello.” But my boisterous greeting only silenced their laughter. Their smiles turned into screams and they ran away, disappearing behind one of the vendor’s wooden signs.

For a short 12-year-old kid who had never scared anyone in his life (although I had tried), I was completely taken aback by such a strong reaction. But it was sweltering, and my thirst made me forget about the kids and instead refocus on making it to the drink vendor.

Then there was that laughter again. Was I hearing things? Sure enough, there in the same spot stood the same two kids.

My previous attempt at an introduction had completely failed, so this time I simply knelt down and whispered the only word I knew in the local language. “Jambo,” I said, which means “hello” in Swahili.

The kids’ once-smiling faces now looked perplexed but curious—an expression that remained as they tentatively approached me. Very carefully they touched my hand and pointed at my face, their smiles returning. Although there were no words, this was their own version of hello. I didn’t realise it then, but to these kids, I represented the outside world with which they rarely came into contact.

Within minutes we were playing games together. I picked them up and spun them around, and in return they taught me their versions of tag and hopscotch.

Before long, my thirst had returned. I desperately looked around and found a small water cooler that had been set up for the occasion of the market. I stumbled toward it, cupped my hands under the tap, and took a big gulp of cool water.

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As I went for a second sip, I noticed four small hands had also taken their place under the tap. I looked and found that the same little kids had followed me.

Smiles once again lit up their faces, this time not because they were looking at me or playing a fun game, but because they had found clean water to drink. Because of something I always had at home—because of something they rarely had here.

In the face of so much despair, these kids looked at life with such a fresh and bright perspective that in that one moment they taught me more than I had ever learned back home.

It was here I found the answer to the question I had asked myself only the day before: The beauty of Kenya exists despite the hunger and the poverty, because the beauty exists not only in the landscape, but also in the smiles and the hearts of the people, and in the laughter and hope of the children.

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SURVIVING POVERTY, SURVIVING WARBy Hellen Kamara (as told to Lloyd Hanoman, South Asia Projects Director, Free The Children)

Hellen Kamara is 17 years old. She lives in Moyamba, Sierra Leone. During the country’s 11-year civil war, Hellen lost her school, her home and many of her friends. The poverty already so prevalent in her country became even more widespread—the rebels looted, burned and destroyed, leaving communities like Hellen’s with nothing.

“My family and I were living here since the start of the war,” Helen says today. “We later had to leave for the capital city Freetown because of the bad things we faced from the rebels in the township.”

There were many bad things. Hellen’s family home was burned to the ground and the only secondary school in the area was destroyed, the structure was burned and the furniture was stolen for firewood. She watched as rebels tortured her parents. Boys were forced to become soldiers and girls were assaulted and terrorized. Hellen was one of these girls.

To escape the violence, Hellen and her family fled and hid in the nearby bush. Poverty here took an even greater hold: without a home to live in or proper food to eat, Hellen and her family were always on the move and were forced to eat whatever they could find. “We slept in the bush and [had to eat] all sorts of food in the bush. We walked by foot . . . and I came across so many sick people.”

Hellen’s story is shared by thousands of children in her country. Today, they and their families are still struggling to recover after the destruction of the war. Many schools, homes and health care facilities are still unusable, thousands of children are unable to pursue their education, and poverty is widespread. In fact, Sierra Leone is ranked among the poorest countries in the entire world.

With the help of friends around the world, things in Sierra Leone are improving. In Hellen’s community, Free The Children recognized the need to rebuild the all-girls secondary school. St. Joseph’s was constructed in partnership with the local community and with funds raised by youth. Today, it provides a safe place for young women to develop new skills and become empowered to make a difference in their communities.

Despite all that she has been through, Hellen is confident for her future and the future of her country. “With all the experiences I have faced in life, from war to peace, after much struggle, I hope to see a

brighter future,” says Hellen. “My thinking is to become a professional lawyer, to help see that Sierra Leone continues to be a peaceful and straight-forward country.”

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NAMASTE: MY JOURNEY TO INDIABy Katelyn Rothney, Volunteer Trip Participant

Going on a volunteer trip to India was like digging into my soul and rearranging everything I thought I knew. In a short time, I discovered myself and the enormous world around me. Last summer I embarked on a 33-day journey to India. It was my second volunteer trip; my incredible good fortune having taken me first to Kenya in 2008.

Never in my dreams did I imagine I would undergo the transformation that I did on both trips, but each time I’ve come back believing in my ability to create change.

From the day I arrived in India, the rest of the group and I were generously welcomed and immediately treated like family. Never in my life had a greeting felt more genuine than the bow and very delicate “Namaste,” which means “I bow to you.”

I underestimated how new it would all be. In addition to the usual cultural differences, my role on the trip was also new. I was no longer a first-time tripper—I was a junior facilitator. With this responsibility in mind, I made an effort to keep my eyes open. I noticed that each participant was unique, had a purpose, a distinct goodness to them.

On a daily basis I observed, in all of them, the “spark” that Craig always talks about, and the intense desire to be change makers. We quickly became a family, and India – beautiful, historic and colourful – became our home.

There were days when I was faced with issues that broke my heart. I witnessed real child labour. A mother with hungry children looked deep into my eyes and asked if I could spare even a little to help her and her family. Children worked on construction sites, operating cement machines without protective gear. They climbed up stairs constructed of basic cement and held together by tree branches.

I’m now, more than ever, determined to share my experiences with others and help change the reality for these children.

In Lai, a community in Northern India, we were told a story I won’t forget for the rest of my life. Eight young children travelled hours each day to school to sit inside a makeshift classroom. Resting on mud floors, it was dark, crowded and covered by a small tin roof that provided no shelter.

Every monsoon season the rain would pour through the roof and into the classroom. The eight children would grab their pencils and erasers and evacuate the classroom for fear of drowning. They would sit in the mud in the very schoolyard where we were being told this story, waiting for the storm to cease.

That was two years ago.When we looked around the schoolyard, we now saw four classrooms, a tree nursery, a well and a

medicinal herb garden. Over the past two years the Lai community partnership with Free The Children has grown into something that now affects the lives of every person living there—young and old. The construction of the Free The Children school has brought new possibility and has put a proper roof over the heads of the children whose minds are ripe for knowledge.

Seeing this community with its new school, smiling students and happy parents gave us hope. We knew we had accomplished what we came to do. We started a cycle of change that will affect not only the people of Lai, but will ultimately affect us, our future choices and decisions.

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STORIES ABOUT POVERTY – QUESTIONS1. Using specific examples, describe how these stories helped you understand poverty in Kenya and

Sierra Leone.

2. How are these stories different than the ones we see in the media (e.g., textbooks, newspapers, magazines)? Do the ages of the writers make a difference to you?

3. Whose voices are heard through these stories? Are there any voices not heard?

4. How might these stories be different if told through other voices?

5. What struck you as similar about children in all three stories?

6. What “needs” were not being met in these stories? If we had the chance to ask them, what do you think these children would “want?”

7. What questions would you like to ask about the children Jason and Katelyn talk about in their stories?

8. What do you still want to know about poverty?

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Activity #E1:

$30 A MONTH – MAKING A BUDGETPoverty ( Elementary)

MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOAL #1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger

Activity snapshot: Students will have to create two budgets. One budget will be based on using $30 to pick fun activities to do in one month and the other budget will be based on grocery shopping for one month with only $30. Realistically, in North America, doing extra-curricular activities and eating for one month is impossible on only $30.

Rationale: In the most extreme cases of poverty, people live on less than $1 a day. Almost half the world—that’s three billion people—lives on less than $2 a day. Students are often unaware of the role that money plays in their lives. Fun activities such as going to the movies or buying a new book or toy are often paid for by parents and adults without children paying attention to how much they cost. Even the simple act of eating lunch at school goes by without students considering how much money the food in their lunch box cost their family or school.

Objective: In this exercise, students will understand the difficulty in meeting basic needs on a budgetof $30 dollars a month (or $1 a day). Through this experience, students will begin to understand the scope/degree of poverty and the impacts of extreme poverty on children around the world.

Time: 60 minutesMaterials: Handouts/worksheets E7: Entertaining Ourselves on a Budget, E8: Grocery Shopping on a Budget, chart paper

Steps – Part 11. Generate a discussion about extra-curricular activities students participate in after school and on

weekends. Make a list of these activities on the board or chart paper. (Note: Students can do this activity in a large group or in small groups with chart paper for each group.)

2. Introduce the concept of a budget and the idea that these activities they enjoy doing with their family and friends cost money. Ask students to look at their lists and estimate the cost for each activity.

3. Distribute Worksheet #E7: Entertaining Ourselves on a Budget. Go over the instructions with students and ask them to complete the budget. Remind students that the budget is for an entire month. It may be useful to go over the concept of “one month” (i.e. explain how many days there are in the school week, on the weekend, how many weeks in one month, etc.).

4. Once students have completed the sheet, generate a class discussion about how the activity made them feel. Ask:a. Did you realize how much entertainment costs?b. Do you think $30 is a lot of money to spend on fun stuff or is the amount not enough?

5. Written Reflection: Ask students to write down how this activity made them feel as it will be useful in Activity #2.

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Steps – Part 21. Ask students to think about the foods they eat on a regular basis, whether at home or at school for

lunch and snacks. 2. On the board, make a list of the ingredients in these meals. Expand the list to include the foods they

generally have in their refrigerator. Ask them to guess how much they think these basic items cost.3. Distribute Worksheet #E8: Grocery Shopping on a Budget. Advise students to complete step #1. (Note:

It might be helpful to reinforce that this is only an exercise, that the prices aren’t necessarily accurate and the foods listed aren’t necessarily the foods that their family would choose to buy.).

4. Lead a discussion to gauge how students felt about their experience doing the grocery shopping.5. Do they think they bought enough food to sufficiently feed their family? Guide students to proceed

with step #2 on the worksheet to help them answer this question.6. Take students through a discussion about step #3 on their worksheet. At this point, students are

introduced to the ideas of the developing world. They learn that billions of people—many of them children—live on less than $1 a day or $30 a month. Ask students how this fact makes them feel after completing this exercise. Ask students to think about how their own lives would be impacted if they had to live on this budget.

7. After the discussion, ask students to complete step #3 on their worksheet.

Closure:Lead a large group discussion to talk about what students discovered.

Assessment Suggestions:• Participation during discussions• Completion of worksheets

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Handout/worksheet E7

ENTERTAINING OURSELVES ON A BUDGETInstructions

• You have $30 that you can use for one month to have as much fun as you can.• Below is a list of all the things that you can choose from. Read the list carefully and think about

which of these activities you would choose to do in one month.• Remember, one month is a long time.

Fun Activity List• Go to a movie: $8• Buy popcorn and a drink at the movie: $5• Go Ice Skating: $5• Buy a new toy, video game, or DVD: $20• Go out for ice cream: $4• Buy a treat at the store: $5• Buy a new book: $10• Buy new clothes for school: $20• Play on a sports team: $10• Do an activity such as swim, dance, karate: $10

Now list all the things you would choose to do. BUT REMEMBER you only have $30. So, you can choose whatever you want as long as you don’t spend more than the $30 you have. You will have to use your math skills to make a budget. Choose carefully: You have one month, $30 and a whole lot of fun to choose from.

My Choice of Fun: Cost:

Total Spent:

That was not so easy, was it? We like to do a lot of fun things on the weekends, after school and with our friends and family, and sometimes the cost can add up. Have you ever thought about this before?Take a minute to think about how much money we spend in our daily lives just on doing fun things.

Write your thoughts down in the space below (and use the back of this page if you need more space):

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Handout/worksheet E8

GROCERY SHOPPING ON A BUDGETInstructions

• You have the task of doing all the grocery shopping for an entire month for your family—this is a big responsibility!

• As in the first exercise, you will only have $30.• Below is a list of common foods that we buy in the grocery store on a weekly basis.• Some of these foods might not be what you and your family like to eat all the time, but

remember this is only an exercise. You will have to choose from the list below and buy all your food with $30.

Your Shopping List

Loaf of bread: $2Package of pasta: $3Rice: $4Carton of milk: $2Juice: $2Cheese: $3Chicken: $7Beef: $7Fish: $7Can of tuna fish: $2

Step #1: Make your budget

My Groceries for One Month: Cost:

Total Spent:

Now that you have finished your shopping, do you think you bought enough food for all the people that live in your house for one whole month? Remember, there are 30 days (sometimes 31) in one month, and we have to eat three meals a day. Perhaps thinking about what we eat in one day will help us figure out if we bought enough.

Bananas: 5 for $2Grapes: $2Cereal: $3Cookies: $2Potato Chips: $2Ice Cream: $3Soda: $2Frozen peas and carrots: $2Frozen Fish Sticks: $4

Eggs: $2Peanut Butter: $3Jelly: $3Lettuce: $1Tomatoes: 5 for $2Cucumber: $1Peppers: 5 for $2Potatoes: 5 for $1Apples: 5 for $2Oranges: 5 for $2

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In the space below, write down what you ate for all three meals yesterday.

Step #2: Yesterday I ate…Now we have figured out what we ate in one whole day and how much food we could buy with $30 for one whole month. Do you think $30 is enough money to live on for one whole month?

BUT WAIT A MINUTE.

In Activity #1 we had $30 to do all the fun activities and in activity #2 we had $30 to do the grocery shopping. What if you only had $30 for every month, to do everything? What if you only had $1 a day to live on for food, fun and everything else in your life? Now that you have done the above activities, think about how hard it would be to live on only $1 a day, or $30 dollars a month. How does it make you feel to think about children all over the world who actually live on this budget? How would you feel if you had to?

Step #3: Write down your thoughts

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Activity #E2:

GETTING BETTER WHEN I’M SICKPoverty ( Elementary)

MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOAL #4: Reduce child mortality

Activity Snapshot: Students will engage in a discussion about what happens when they get sick. They’ll create a list on the board of the services they access (whether in their homes or at a medical facility) and then think about what would happen if these services were taken away.

Rationale: Child mortality in the developing world is a big concern. Every year, more than 10 million children die before the age of five from causes that are easily prevented in the developed world.

Half of the children who die before the age of five are killed by five diseases or illnesses: HIV/AIDS, diarrhea, malaria, measles and pneumonia. These children lack access to the essential services that would help them recover from the preventable diseases and illnesses that are killing children by the millions.

Objective:• Students will understand the importance of vaccinations as a way to prevent disease.• Students will explore the levels of healthcare they have access to, from simple at-home

treatments to the help of healthcare professionals.

Time: one 60-minute periodMaterials: Black board and chalk, or chart paper and markers, world map on overhead or as a poster.

Steps:1. In a class discussion, ask your students to think about and respond to the following (make a list of the

responses on the board or on chart paper as you go):

a. What do you do when you get sick? (Responses can include: tell parents, check temperature, take medicine, take a warm bath, etc.)

b. What can your parents do to help you? (Responses can include: tuck you into bed, make you soup, give you medicine, take you to the doctor, etc.)

c. What can the doctor do to help you? (Responses can include: take tests, check for infections, prescribe medicine, send you to the hospital or a specialist, etc.)

1. Once the list has been exhausted, slowly scratch things off the list and ask students to imagine along the way that these things are no longer available to them—what would happen? What would happen if you got sick and your parents didn’t bring you soup? If you couldn’t go to the doctor? If you didn’t have medicine, etc.? (Note: Some students may mention death as a consequence of taking away some or all of these comforts or medical services. Gently explain in an age-appropriate way that this is possible with serious illnesses)

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2. Discuss students’ past experiences with vaccinations: What is it like to get a shot? Lead this line of questions towards a discussion of how shots are actually good, even though they hurt, because they protect us.a. Ask the class to raise their hands if they have had chicken pox. Write the number on the board. (For

older grades, create a fraction showing the percentage of the group).b. Introduce measles: measles is a lot like chicken pox. When your grandparents were kids, children in

North America used to get sick from the measles. Ask if anyone in the class has had measles (record fraction of total group on the board).

Transition:1. Ask students: What would happen if you didn’t get any vaccinations? What would happen if you lived in

a country with unsanitary living conditions like unclean water?2. Explain that, in other parts of the world, kids don’t get the shot to stop them from getting measles.

In fact, they don’t get any shots at all. Point out the following regions on the map to show that these areas are affected by measles: Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, East Asia & Pacific, Middle East & North Africa

3. Ask students to think about and discuss some reasons why children in these places don’t get shots – questions like: do they visit the doctor? Do they have a doctor to visit? Why or why not?

Closure:Discuss the fact that more than 10 million children under the age of five in the developing world do not have access to a lot of the things that are available in rich countries—like vaccines, doctors, medicines, healthy meals, clean water, etc.

Extension Idea:Ask students to create a poster—either individually or in groups—to share what they know about the differences in their own experiences as compared to those of children in the developing world. They can share their poster with the class.

Assessment Suggestion:• Participation during discussions• Collect the posters and assess based on criteria as outlined by teacher

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CULMINATING ACTIVITY SUGGESTIONSAfter completing the lesson plans and learning activities in the Millennium Development Goals—Teaching Tools section, students can apply their new knowledge and understanding in engaging and fun ways.

Try these activities with your students.

1. Present school-wide assemblies. Students can write and act out plays, perform songs or write short speeches to inform their peers on what they are learning.

2. Film social issue documentaries. Students can use video cameras to create a documentary television show. It could be done in a newscast format or with skits written by students to depict the social issue conditions in developing countries.

3. Create board games. Using the facts they have learned about social issues, students can design games for other students to play. If needed, students can use popular board games or television game shows as models, but should generate their own ideas for visuals, props and challenging questions.

4. Publish a newspaper on social issues. Assign various roles—editor, reporter, photographer, etc.—to your students and have them create a newspaper they can share with others.

5. Design a poster campaign. This information campaign can provide information on social issues that will be displayed in the hallways and classrooms or in the community.

6. Plan a social issues information fair. Students can work in teams and concentrate on one of the four key themes of the Millennium Development Goals—poverty, education, health or sustainable development. They can set up information stations in a school gymnasium and invite students to visit. As an option, students can design an information scavenger hunt sheet that visitors could use as a guide for the event. Don’t forget to invite parents and visitors.

7. Create picture books. Encourage students to create picture books, on their own or in groups. One approach could be through making caricatures of themselves as world-changing superheroes and visiting developing countries to help.

8. Invite guest speakers. Based on the local experience with social issues, students can research leaders from their community to come in and talk about their programs (e.g., food bank director or environmental scientist).

9. Construct a “before” and “after” village. Ask students to create a three-dimensional model based on what they have learned about the conditions of schools, access to water, sanitation or medical services. The scale of the project can reflect the materials available and amount of space for a display.

10. Create a large mural about active global citizens. The mural can incorporate pictures, letters to the earth, poems or songs and suggestions for how kids can change the world. This can be done as puzzle pieces where each student has his or her own “piece of the puzzle” or as pieces of a quilt where each student does needlepoint or uses fabric paint to create their message.

Ideas can also be generated by your students—encourage them to be creative!

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WORLD MAP

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CHILDREN HELPING CHILDREN THROUGH EDUCATIONAbout Free The ChildrenFree The Children is the world’s largest network of children helping children through education, with more than one million youth involved in our innovative education and development programs in 45 countries.

Our MissionFree The Children was founded in 1995 by a group of 12-year-olds, led by international child rights activist Craig Kielburger, who dreamed of changing the world. Since then, it has grown into a youth movement that spans the globe. The primary goals of the organization are to free children from poverty and exploitation and free young people from the notion that they are powerless to affect positive change in the world.

Youth Empowerment and International Development ProgramsThrough youth empowerment programs, Free The Children educates, engages and empowers young people to develop as socially conscious global citizens and become agents of change for their peers around the world. The immediate impact of our programs is significant. We can tally the hours youth log as volunteers, and count the dollars they fundraise to support overseas development. But the long-term impact is immeasurable: lifelong global citizens who put their global family at the forefront of their choices.

Our international development model, called Adopt a Village, is designed to meet the basic needs of developing communities and eliminates the obstacles preventing children from accessing education. Both holistic and sustainable, Adopt a Village is made up of four pillars crucial to lifting communities from poverty: education, alternative income, health care, and water and sanitation.

Educational PartnersFree The Children works closely with a broad network of educators and school boards around the world as partners in education on global citizenship, character education and service learning. Our programming provides educators and students with lesson plans, learning tools, innovative engagement opportunities and fundraising and awareness campaigns that create tangible connections for students with the world around them.

Partner with Free The ChildrenIf you are interested in engaging your school or classroom in our educational and empowerment programs, please call 1.416.925.5894 to speak with a youth programming coordinator, e-mail [email protected] or visit us online at www.freethechildren.com to learn more about our programs, resources and youth-driven campaigns.

Our programs:•Improvestudentengagementandsuccess•Increaselevelsofstudentachievement•Closetheachievementgap•Improveschoolvisibilityandreputation

Our goal and passion is to create a generation of active global citizens, students who are:•Educated about the world and inspired to care about the issues•Engaged in action to create positive social change•Empowered to lead social action

Track Record of SuccessFree The Children has a proven track record of success. The organization has received the World’s Children’s Prize for the Rights of the child (also known as the Children’s Nobel Prize), the Human Rights Award from the World Association of Non-Governmental Organizations, and has formed successful partnerships on youth empowerment programs with leading school boards, Oprah’s Angel Network and Virgin Atlantic.

Documents

POVERTY - Wild Apricot · 2017-04-16 · A New Face on Poverty—Lesson Plan on Poverty Handout/worksheet G1: Effects of Poverty Handout/worksheet G2: ... Poverty is one issue about