1
Teachers and StudentsThe World Food Programme - Fighting Hunger Worldwide
www.wfp.org | twitter.com/fighthunger | facebook.com/worldfoodprogramme | youtube.com/worldfoodprogram
Classroom Activities - Web of ConnectionsWorld Food Programme Resources for Students & Teachers
Web of ConnectionsA lesson which teaches students about the causes of hunger, and how they are connected - often in surprising ways Age Range: Grades 7-9 Adapted from the Alabama 4-H War on Hunger Program and Universities Fighting World Hunger at Auburn University
Overview
Critical thinking, collaborative learning, problem-solving
This activity will help foster an understanding of hunger in the context of other social issues. After participating in this activity, group members should be able to more effectively speak about the ways in which hunger is connected to other issues in the world which also impact the plight of those in poverty. Using a ball of string and cards that represent these various issues, group members will construct a “web” of connections between the given topics.
Aims & Objectives
• To encourage young people to think about global and domestic hunger
• To demonstrate the connections between some of the root causes of hunger
• To encourage students to think about concrete ways in which they can help make a difference
Materials
• 1 ball of yarn
• Up to 10 advocate title and description sheets (included below) printed correspondingly on cardstock, using both sides.
2
Teachers and StudentsThe World Food Programme - Fighting Hunger Worldwide
www.wfp.org | twitter.com/fighthunger | facebook.com/worldfoodprogramme | youtube.com/worldfoodprogram
Instructions
1. Using the information found at: Hunger 101 (www.wfp.org/edu), revise the concept of Hunger and its effects with the class.
2. Divide the class into 10 groups/pairs and give each goup/pair a card.
3. Explain to the class that during this activity they will look at the ways in which different issues are related to poverty, hunger, and disease. The card each group was given represents the type of advocate they are for a particular issue. As a representative of the concern on their card it is their job to explain the link between the group’s concern and the rest of the class.
4. Allow each group time to discuss their cards and brainstorm possible ideas/connections.
5. To begin the activity, have the groups form a circle.
6. Start with the Hunger Advocate giving that group the ball of yarn
• Encourage the groups to present as advocates for their positions
• Ex. “I am advocating about the issue of hunger. One of the causes of hunger is poverty. People who are impoverished are unable to buy food, so they experience hunger. More than 963 million people in the world go to bed hungry every night. This is why I must join with the poverty advocate to work on both alleviating hunger and poverty.
• The hunger advocate would then toss the ball of yarn to the advocate they are connected to (using the example above they yarn would be passed to the extremem poverty advocate).
7. The new advocate, the person with the yarn, should advocate for their posistion, then passing the yard to another advocate.
• This process should be continued until everyone has gone.
• NOTE: If some advocates are connected more than once, this is okay.
8. Close the activity by discussing the following questions with your class. (students may have other discussion points to add to the list)
Classroom Activities - Web of ConnectionsWorld Food Programme Resources for Students & Teachers
3
Teachers and StudentsThe World Food Programme - Fighting Hunger Worldwide
www.wfp.org | twitter.com/fighthunger | facebook.com/worldfoodprogramme | youtube.com/worldfoodprogram
Discussion Questions:
1. What connections are the most obvious? The least?
2. What are some other connections that haven’t already been made?
3. Howdoesthisexcerciseinfluenceyourfeelingsaboutthestruggleagainstinjustice?
4. Do you think more can be done if advocacy groups work together?
Classroom Activities - Web of ConnectionsWorld Food Programme Resources for Students & Teachers
HU
NG
ER A
DVO
CAT
E
Aro
und
the
wor
ld, O
NE
per
son
in s
even
goe
s to
bed
hun
gry
each
nig
ht.
In e
ssen
ce, h
unge
r is
the
mos
t ext
rem
e fo
rm o
f po
vert
y, w
here
indi
vidu
als
or fa
mili
es c
anno
t affo
rd to
mee
t the
ir m
ost b
asic
nee
d fo
r foo
d. U
nder
nour
ishm
ent n
egat
ivel
y af
fect
s pe
ople
’s h
ealth
, pro
duct
ivity
, sen
se o
f hop
e an
d ov
eral
l wel
l-bei
ng.
We
need
to a
ddre
ss h
unge
r not
just
by
givi
ng fo
od, b
ut h
elpi
ng
farm
ers
in p
oor c
ount
ries
grow
bet
ter c
rops
and
hel
ping
cou
ntrie
s bu
ild fa
rm-to
-mar
ket r
oads
so
farm
ers
can
supp
ly d
ista
nt c
ities
. (S
ourc
e: H
unge
r Rep
ort 2
004,
Bre
ad fo
r the
Wor
ld In
stitu
te.
ww
w.b
read
.org
)
HEA
LTH
& H
IV/A
IDS
AD
VOC
ATE
Mor
e th
an 3
8 m
illio
n pe
ople
aro
und
the
wor
ld a
re in
fect
ed b
y H
IV/A
IDS
, 25
mill
ion
in A
frica
alo
ne.
The
spre
adin
g H
IV/A
IDS
epidem
ichasquicklybecom
eamajorobstacleinthefight
agai
nst h
unge
r and
pov
erty
in d
evel
opin
g co
untri
es.
Bec
ause
th
e m
ajor
ity o
f tho
se fa
lling
sic
k w
ith A
IDS
are
you
ng a
dults
who
no
rmal
ly h
arve
st c
rops
, foo
d pr
oduc
tion
has
drop
ped
dram
atic
ally
in
cou
ntrie
s w
ith h
igh
HIV
/AID
S p
reva
lenc
e ra
tes.
Lef
t unt
reat
ed,
AID
S le
ads
to a
n ea
rly d
eath
for p
eopl
e in
thei
r mos
t pro
duct
ive
year
s w
ho a
re n
eede
d to
rais
e cr
ops
and
fam
ilies
, tea
ch s
choo
l an
d ca
re fo
r the
sic
k. (S
ourc
e: S
tate
of F
ood
Inse
curit
y in
the
Wor
ld 2
003.
Foo
d an
d A
gric
ultu
re O
rgan
izat
ion
of th
e U
nite
d N
atio
ns. h
ttp://
ww
w.fa
o.or
g/do
crep
/006
/j0
083e
/j008
3e00
.htm
)
CLE
AN
WAT
ER &
SA
NIT
ATIO
N A
DVO
CAT
E
ON
E p
erso
n in
sev
en h
as n
o ac
cess
to c
lean
wat
er fo
r drin
king
, co
okin
g or
was
hing
. In
add
ition
to s
prea
ding
dis
ease
, thi
s ha
s m
ultip
le n
egat
ive
effe
cts
–– g
irls
grow
ing
up in
vill
ages
with
out
wat
er a
re fa
r les
s lik
ely
to a
ttend
sch
ool b
ecau
se th
ey’re
too
busy
sp
endi
ng h
ours
wal
king
to a
nd fr
om th
e ne
ares
t wat
er s
ourc
e. B
ad
heal
th c
ause
d by
poo
r san
itatio
n ha
s a
knoc
k-on
(sec
onda
ry o
r in
cide
ntal
) effe
ct o
n th
e fa
mily
eco
nom
y an
d nu
triti
on.
Bui
ldin
g sa
fe w
ater
sup
plie
s, im
prov
ing
sani
tatio
n th
roug
h w
ell-c
onst
ruct
ed
latri
nes
and
teac
hing
com
mun
ities
abo
ut s
afe
hygi
ene
prac
tices
ar
e a
few
way
s to
impr
ove
the
heal
th o
f man
y ar
ound
the
glob
e.
(Sou
rce:
Wat
erA
id w
ww
.wat
erai
d.or
g.)
EDU
CAT
ION
AD
VOC
ATE
Par
ents
in M
alaw
i kno
w ju
st a
s w
ell a
s pa
rent
s in
Mis
sour
i tha
t ed
ucat
ion
is c
ruci
al to
thei
r chi
ldre
n’s
futu
re.
But
aro
und
the
wor
ld,
104
mill
ion
child
ren
do n
ot g
o to
sch
ool,
beca
use
thei
r par
ents
ca
nnot
affo
rd fe
es, b
ooks
or u
nifo
rms.
Pro
vidi
ng e
duca
tion
for
wom
en a
nd g
irls
wou
ld h
ave
a dr
amat
ic im
pact
on
the
poor
in
deve
lopi
ng c
ount
ries.
(S
ourc
e U
NIC
EF:
The
Sta
te o
f the
Wor
ld’s
Chi
ldre
n 20
04
http
://w
ww
.uni
cef.o
rg/s
owc0
4/so
wc0
4_gi
rls_p
ositi
ve_f
orce
.htm
l)
OR
PHA
NS
& C
HIL
DR
EN
AD
VOC
ATE
Eve
ry th
ree
seco
nds
a ch
ild d
ies
of c
ause
s re
late
d to
ext
rem
e po
verty
, hun
ger a
nd d
isea
se.
Aro
und
the
wor
ld, m
illio
ns o
f ch
ildre
n ha
ve a
lread
y lo
st o
ne o
r bot
h pa
rent
s to
AID
S. U
nles
s m
ore
is d
one,
ther
e w
ill b
e 25
mill
ion
of th
ese
child
ren
arou
nd th
e w
orld
by
2010
. C
hild
ren
are
mor
e vu
lner
able
to d
isea
se, b
ecau
se
thei
r bod
ies
are
wea
kene
d fro
m h
unge
r. (S
ourc
e: S
tate
of F
ood
Inse
curit
y in
the
Wor
ld 2
002.
Foo
d an
d A
gric
ultu
re O
rgan
izat
ion
of th
e U
nite
d N
atio
ns. h
ttp://
ww
w.
fao.
org/
docr
ep/0
05/y
7352
e/y7
352e
00.h
tm.)
FAIR
TR
AD
E A
DVO
CAT
E
As
muc
h as
peo
ple
in p
oor c
ount
ries
appr
ecia
te d
evel
opm
ent
assi
stan
ce, n
o on
e w
ants
to re
ly o
n a
hand
out –
– th
ey w
ant t
o tra
de th
eir w
ay o
ut o
f pov
erty
––
but i
nter
natio
nal r
ules
mak
e itdifficult.FarmandtradepoliciesintheUnitedStatesand
the
Eur
opea
n U
nion
are
cre
atin
g ha
rdsh
ips
for f
amily
farm
ers
everyw
here.S
eventy-fivepercentofpoorpeopleindeveloping
coun
tries
—so
me
900
mill
ion
peop
le—
depe
nd o
n ag
ricul
ture
fo
r the
ir liv
elih
ood.
A fa
ir tra
de s
yste
m w
ould
giv
e pe
ople
in
poor
cou
ntrie
s th
e ch
ance
to e
arn
thei
r way
out
of p
over
ty b
y pa
rtici
patin
g in
the
wor
ld e
cono
my.
(S
ourc
e O
xFam
Am
eric
a w
ww
.ox
fam
amer
ica.
org)
AN
TI-C
OR
RU
PTIO
N
AD
VOC
ATE
Whi
le c
orru
ptio
n is
har
mfu
l to
all g
over
nmen
ts, l
osin
g re
sour
ces
to
corr
upt l
eade
rs is
par
ticul
arly
dev
asta
ting
in p
oor c
ount
ries
whe
re
ever
y do
llar l
ost r
esul
ts in
one
less
chi
ld in
sch
ool o
r one
less
wel
l du
g to
pro
vide
cle
an w
ater
. Con
trary
to p
opul
ar o
pini
on, a
larg
e po
rtion
of t
he U
nite
d S
tate
s A
genc
y fo
r Int
erna
tiona
l Dev
elop
men
t is
cha
nnel
ed th
roug
h ex
istin
g pr
ivat
e re
lief a
nd d
evel
opm
ent
agen
cies
, lik
e C
atho
lic W
orld
Rel
ief,
Wor
ld V
isio
n, C
AR
E, M
ercy
C
orps
and
man
y ot
hers
. Ed
ucat
ion
is e
ssen
tial f
or u
nder
stan
ding
th
e re
ality
of g
loba
l dev
elop
men
t. (S
ourc
e: U
SA
ID, w
ww
.usa
id.g
ov) g
)
DEB
T C
AN
CEL
LATI
ON
A
DVO
CAT
E
Eve
ry y
ear S
ub-S
ahar
an A
frica
, the
poo
rest
regi
on o
f the
w
orld
, spe
nds
$14.
5 bi
llion
repa
ying
deb
ts to
the
wor
ld’s
rich
est
coun
tries
and
inte
rnat
iona
l ins
titut
ions
suc
h as
the
Wor
ld B
ank
andInternationalM
onetaryFund.Forexample,thecivilconflict
in B
urun
di re
sulte
d in
an
incr
ease
in h
ealth
pro
blem
s re
late
d to
mal
aria
, a d
ecre
ase
in e
duca
tion
for c
hild
ren
and
emot
iona
l tra
uma
from
yea
rs o
f civ
il st
rife.
But
the
mon
ey n
eede
d to
add
ress
th
ese
conc
erns
is d
iver
ted
to p
ay o
ff in
tern
atio
nal d
ebts
. Th
ough
w
e’ve
mad
e ef
forts
to re
lieve
the
unpa
yabl
e de
bts
of m
any
natio
ns, p
oor c
ount
ries
still
spe
nd m
ore
each
yea
r on
debt
than
on
heal
th c
are
or e
duca
tion.
(S
ourc
e: A
FSC
, http
://af
sc.o
rg/a
frica
-deb
t/tal
king
-po
ints
.htm
)
EXTR
EME
POVE
RTY
A
DVO
CAT
E
Ext
rem
e po
verty
mea
ns li
ving
on
less
than
$1
a da
y, u
nim
agin
able
to
us
as A
mer
ican
s. I
n th
e de
velo
ping
wor
ld, m
ore
than
1.2
bi
llion
peo
ple
curr
ently
live
bel
ow th
e in
tern
atio
nal p
over
ty li
ne.
Man
y pe
ople
are
una
ble
to fe
ed th
eir f
amili
es, b
ecau
se th
ey
cann
ot m
ake
a de
cent
wag
e to
buy
or p
rodu
ce fo
od. (
Sou
rce:
Hum
an
Dev
elop
men
t Rep
ort 2
003,
Mill
enni
um D
evel
opm
ent G
oals
: A c
ompa
ct a
mon
g na
tions
to
end
hum
an p
over
ty, U
nite
d N
atio
ns D
evel
opm
ent P
rogr
amm
e. w
ww
.und
p.or
g/hd
r200
3/)
WO
MEN
& G
IRLS
A
DVO
CAT
E
Thro
ugho
ut th
e w
orld
, wom
en w
ork
to p
rovi
de fo
r the
mse
lves
and
th
eir f
amili
es.
They
labo
r har
d, b
ut o
ften
thei
r wor
k is
val
ued
far
less
than
that
of m
en.
In m
any
fam
ilies
, wom
en a
nd g
irls
are
the
last
in li
ne n
ot ju
st fo
r foo
d bu
t for
med
ical
car
e as
wel
l. P
regn
ant
wom
en, n
ew m
othe
rs w
ho b
reas
tfeed
infa
nts,
and
chi
ldre
n ar
e am
ong
the
mos
t at r
isk
of m
alno
uris
hmen
t. (S
ourc
e: W
orld
Hea
lth
Org
aniz
atio
n. h
ttp://
ww
w.w
ho.in
t/en/
)
HU
NG
ER
AD
VOC
ATE
H
EALT
H &
HIV
/AID
S
A
DVO
CAT
E
CLE
AN
WAT
ER &
SA
NIT
ATIO
N A
DVO
CAT
E
EDU
CAT
ION
A
DVO
CAT
E
OR
PHA
NS
& C
HIL
DR
EN
AD
VOC
ATE
F
AIR
TR
AD
E
A
DVO
CAT
E
AN
TI-C
OR
RU
PTIO
N
AD
VOC
ATE
D
EBT
CA
NC
ELLA
TIO
N
AD
VOC
ATE
EXT
REM
E PO
VER
TY
AD
VOC
ATE
WO
MEN
& G
IRLS
A
DVO
CAT
E