Education Standards
1b. ACA: Homelessness-Elementary (pdf)
2. Jared's Story (Elementary) | OSPI
3. Homelessness-What do you see? (pdf)
4. Note Taking-Jared's Story (pdf)
5. Think-Pair-Share: Jared's Story (pdf)
6. Unsheltered Lives (video) | Klem Daniels Production
7a. Homeless in Vermont (audio) | Vermont Public Radio
7b. Homeless-Reporter Response Chart (pdf)
7c. Claim-Evidence-Reasons-Sources worksheet (pdf)
8. Civic Action Ideas (pdf)
Animating Civic Action: Elementary Lesson - Homelessness
Overview
In this Animating Civic Action lesson, from the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction and Washington State Governor's Office of the Education Ombuds, students listen to the story of Jared, a student experiencing homelessness. Students are asked to examine what it means to be homeless, to identify how homelessness affects people and to and to consider ways they can act to take action against homelessness in their school community.
About Animating Civic Action
Animating Civic Action lessons are created to support civic engagement K-12. These lessons introduce real stories of individuals in our Washington community who have experienced challenges to civic participation. These lessons incorporate multimedia approaches and provide opportunities to connect civic education with social-emotional learning. These lessons are standards aligned and grade level appropriate.
Lesson Overview
Enduring Understanding
According to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, a person is “homeless” if his or her usual nighttime residence is:
- in public or private emergency shelters, which take a variety of rooms- armories, schools, church basements, government buildings, former firehouse and where temporary voucher are provided by private and public agencies, even hotels, apartments, or boarding homes,
- in the streets, parks, subways, bus terminals, railroad stations, airports, under bridges or aqueducts, abandoned buildings without utilities, cars, trucks, or public private space that is not designed for shelter.
People experience homelessness for various reasons such as affordable housing, escaping violence, racial disparities, and/or health problems. Experiencing homelessness is not an ideal option for shelter, and when people experience homelessness, they are unfairly judged by others for their housing situation.
Supporting Questions
Students consider these questions - finding and using evidence to support the Enduring Understanding
- What is homelessness?
- What homelessness did Jared experience?
- What homelessness have my classmates and I experienced?
- How can I support people experiencing homelessness?
Learning Targets
Students will be able to…
- define homelessness.
- identify how homelessness affects people.
- produce a civic action project that promotes taking action against homelessness in the school community.
Student Launch
Homelessness
Hooking students into the content of the inquiry.
Homelessness: What do you see?
Distribute the Homelessness: What do you see? task.
- Ask students to draw an image that comes to mind when they hear the word “homeless.”
- Have them write a reflection (for example, a drawing, paragraph, poem, etc., on notebook paper describing homelessness in America.
- Invite students to share their reflections.
- Discuss the similarities and differences between the drawings. Some possible points of observation:
- How many people thought of men? Women? Children?
- Older or younger people?
- Well-dressed or with ragged clothes? Dirty or clean?
- Discuss whether all people without homes fit this description. It is important to realize that how people experience homelessness varies.
Jerad's Story
- Explain to students that they will watch and listen to the Jared's Story video about a student from Washington state named Jared.
- Show the video while students just listen.
- Show and explain the Note Taking: Characteristics of Jared document with students. Students will document the following: Things Jared Did, Things Jared Shared, and How Jared Appeared.
- Show the video one more time for students to take notes.
- Distribute the Think-Pair-Share document. In pairs,
- Students take 3 minutes to write or draw their own thoughts about what they observed about Jared’s experience.
- Students take 4 minutes to share what they each thought and document their peer’s thoughts on their Think-Pair-Share document.
- Students discuss what they would like to share as a partner team with the class. Students write down what they will share with the class.
Focused Inquiry
A focused inquiry is a one-to-two-day lesson that will have students engaging in the C3 Framework’s Inquiry Arc.
In this focused inquiry, students identify and discuss what causes homelessness in the United States. Students utilize their new learning about homelessness to redraw and rewrite about homelessness in the United States.
Compelling Question
Why do People Experience Homelessness?
Standards
- SSS3.4.1 Draw on disciplinary concepts to explain the challenges people have faced and opportunities they have created in addressing local, regional, and global problems at various times and places.
- C4.4.1 Recognize that civic participation involves being informed about public issues, taking action, and voting in elections.
- C4.5.4 Describe ways in which people benefit from and are challenged by working together, including through government, workplaces, voluntary organizations, and families.
Learning Goals
- I can identify causes and concerns of homelessness.
- I can identify how others have experienced homelessness.
- I can support people experiencing homelessness.
Staging the Question
Part 1
Notes to teacher: Pre-watch the video in preparation for appropriate stopping points for your class.
- Play the video about homelessness called Unsheltered Lives.
- When the screen goes black, the teacher may pause the video to define the unfamiliar words in the narration. Or the teacher may prompt a discussion about the content.
- After the video: Have students discuss their new learning and shifting views on homelessness.
- Ask: What causes homelessness?
- Ask: How has your view of homelessness changed?
- Students redraw their picture of a person experiencing homelessness using their new acquired knowledge about homelessness.
Part 2 (Jigsaw Activity)
Note to teacher: Pre-listen the Homless in Vermont audio file from Vermont Public Radio in preparation for Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How responses on the Reporter Response Chart.
Begin and end times for each of the four sections are provided on the chart.
- Homeless in Vermont has four main sections. After placing students into four groups, assign them one of the four sections presented in the podcast. As the students are listening, have them complete the Homeless in Vermont Reporter Response Chart
- After individually filling the Reporter Notes per team, each student shares notes with group members to ensure they have accurate information.
- Each group selects a reporter to share the information with the whole class. As the students are reporting, students are taking notes on each section of the chart. The teacher records notes for a class Reporter Notes document.
- The teacher leads the class in a debrief of the new learning by asking: What did you learn about homelessness?
Supporting Questions
- What is homelessness?
- What homelessness did Jared experience?
- How can I support people experiencing homelessness?
- This supporting question may need to be treated sensitively and scaffolding may need to happen to discuss this question.
Formative Performance Task
Students recreate their drawing and paragraph about homelessness using newly acquired knowledge.
Argument
After students analyze various sources to answer the supporting questions and discuss their thinking with the class, Why do People Experience Homelessness? Students construct a claim, supporting evidence, and a conclusion to answer the Compelling Question.
Taking Informed Action
Students create a product that communicates a solution to the compelling question, Why do People Experience Homelessness? In the student-created product, students view the Civic Action Ideas document and select a civic action to help support people experiencing homelessness.
Attribution and License
Attribution
This lesson for Animating Civic Action lesson was developed by Barbara Bromley, Edmonds School District and Katharine Smith, Medical Lake School District.
Jared’s Story animation developed by Peter Rand, Good Point Creative for the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Animating Civic Action lessons support civic engagement K–12. These lessons introduce real stories of individuals in our Washington community who have experienced challenges to civic participation.
The Animating Civic Action Project was conceived and developed by:
- Danielle Eidenberg, Senior Education Ombuds, Governor’s Office of the Education Ombuds
- Zac Murphy, Director of Multimedia and Information Strategy, Communications and Digital Media, Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI)
- Jerry Price, Associate Director, Social Studies Content, OSPI
Support for the Animating Civic Action project was provided by:
- Content media creation, filming, and editing: Zac Murphy, Director of Multimedia and Information Strategy, Communications and Digital Media, OSPI
- Media editing: Stephanie Rexus Video Media Strategist, Communication and Digital Media. OSPI
- Lesson formatting and publishing: Barbara Soots, Open Educational Resources and Instructional Materials Program Manager, OSPI
We express our sincere gratitude to all the story contributors to the Animating Civic Action effort. Without their support and willingness to share their experiences, this resource would not be possible.
Animating Civics Action is a partnership between the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Washington State Governor's Office of the Education Ombuds.
License
Except where otherwise noted, this Animating Civic Action Lesson, copyright Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, is available under a Creative Commons Attribution License
Jared's Story video, copyright Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, is availble under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License
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