Activities will help students:
- Read and understand a poem
- Write a poem based on their own life experiences
- Understand the personal nature of homelessness
- Empathize with homeless families
Objectives
Activities will help students:
- Read and understand a poem
- Write a poem based on their own life experiences
- Understand the personal nature of homelessness
- Empathize with homeless families
Essential Questions
- Who do you think of when you think of a homeless family? Why?
- What would you imagine that children in a homeless family might think of when they look at you?
- How can we have more empathy for families who find themselves without homes?
Materials
Reading and Language Arts/Social Studies/ELL
- Before reading a poem about being homeless, take a few moments to imagine what it must be like to be part of a homeless family. To help you build a picture, brainstorm any questions you may have. You might raise questions, such as: Where is a place that you’d go to sleep? Would you feel it’s a safe place to rest?
- Get together with a partner and share the questions you raised. Take turns answering each other’s questions, then share your discussion with the class.
- Read the poem “Homeless .” The poem was actually written by someone who was homeless and who used the name “Homeless” to sign the poem. What does that tell you? What do you think the poem means?
- Using the handout , list as many items as you can. Below are some guiding questions:
- What are the most important relationships in your life? Your parents or caregivers? Your grandparents? An aunt or uncle? Your best friend at school? Do you realize that every homeless person is someone’s child and is (or was) loved as deeply as you love the people who are your important relationships?
- Homelessness knows no boundaries. Homeless people can be of any race or ethnicity. What is the racial makeup of your community?
- Think about your schedule for the day. You have school and responsibilities, such as homework. Perhaps you have chores to do after school. What do you think homeless people do if they have no home or job?
- Have you ever seen homeless people in your community? What do you think and feel when you see homeless people? Have you ever thought of what they might be thinking about you? When you see someone who is homeless and you are in close proximity to them, what do you do, how do you act?
- Think about what you do at home when homework and chores are done and you are simply relaxing. What are some of your favorite activities to do at home?
- Take a moment and think about your bedroom. How is it set up? How much space do you have? Do you share a room or do you have your own? Do you have a dresser or closet for your clothing? Do you have art hanging on the walls? Do you have special items that you especially treasure?
- Use your list and place your own thoughts and experiences in the blank spaces of the poem on the right side of the handout. Remember that most homeless people have people who love them, they probably grew up with beds and closets of clothing, and they enjoyed doing many of the same kinds of activities that you do today.
- Share your poems with your family and friends.
APPLYING WHAT YOU’VE
LEARNED
Effective learners connect what they learn to their own
lives. Think about what you have learned in this lesson. Discuss the following
questions with a classmate or answer them in a journal.
- Are
homeless people lazy and that’s why they lose their homes?
- Why
do you think the general stereotype of homelessness is so negative?
- What
are reasons people lose their homes? Are any of these reasons out of their
control? Are any of these reasons unfair?
- When
you think about your own home now, what thoughts do you have?
Standards
Activities and embedded assessments address the following
standards (McREL 4th edition )
Civics
Standard 3. Understands the sources, purposes, and
functions of law, and the importance of the rule of law for the protection of
individual rights and the common good.
Economics
Standard 5. Understands unemployment, income and
income distribution in a market economy.
Historical
Understanding
Standard 2. Understands the historical perspective.
Language Arts
Standard 5. Uses the general skills and strategies of
the reading process.
Standard 6. Uses reading skills and strategies to
understand and interpret a variety of literary texts.
United States History
Standard 31. Understands economic, social and
cultural developments in the contemporary United States.
