LESSONPLAN

Name: Adriana Diaz

Title of Lesson: Speculating Poverty
Grade: 8 Social Studies
STANDARDS

(8.W.4) Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development,

organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
(68.RH.8)Distinguish among fact, opinion, and reasoned judgment in a text.
(8.S5.C1.PO1)Explain how limited resources and unlimited human wants
cause people to choose some things and give up others.
LESSONSUMMARY/OVERVIEW

In this lesson, students will consider their own notions of poverty,

examine the lives of people classified as working poor from a variety of
perspectives, and review previous presentations given by their peers
discussing the aspects of poverty. Then, students will synthesize their
knowledge in a paper examining poverty and hardworking people. This
lesson will allow students to better understand poverty and what it means
to be poor. Through real-life examples, students will see how poverty
relates directly to sustainability. With that said, the students will see how
reducing poverty is just one fundamental prerequisite for achieving
sustainability.
OBJECTIVES

SWBAT write a paper speculating on how one of the lives discussed in the
book (for example Caroline Payne, Kara King, or Leary Brock) could have
been different if she had known about alternative options or had more
information to help her make decisions, by utilizing their prior knowledge,
notes, annotations, bellwork, reflections, and the book The Working
Poor.
ASSESSMENT/EVALUATION

Students will be assessed on the completion of a paper utilizing

supportive reasoning and explanations.
PREREQUISITEKNOWLEDGE

SWBAT:
Define poverty and what it means to be poor.
View various statistics, definitions, and facts relating to poverty.
Read The Working Poor while annotating and writing down key
points and ideas.
Discuss, research, and learn about six situations that contribute to
poverty.
Write a multi-paragraph essay about a topic.
Incorporate research and prior knowledge into their writing.

MATERIALS

White board/ SMART board

Pens
Writing Journals
Graded reflection worksheets
Character Info worksheets
The Working Class text
Drafting Notebooks
VOCABULARY/KEYWORDS

The following are vocabulary words and the page number of where they
appear in The Working Poor.
deferred (60), prosperity (5), diligent (5), destitution (4), wallowed
(50), abandoned (28), caustic (51), punctuality (11), assiduous (51),
persistence (51), dissonant (51), stagnation (51), wryly (51), deficits
(26), insidious (51), scavenging (56), impoverished (6), myriad (70),
affluent (4), corrosive (126), attrition (127), competence (282),
transitory (55), expenditures (42), marginalized (42), phalanx (110),
boycott (111), conciliatory (234), commonality (180), prerequisites
(4), subsidize (13), imperatives (85), buffers (161)
TEACHINGPROCEDURES

Procedural Steps (Step by step instructions for teaching the lesson):

1. Students are to come in quietly and sit in their assigned seats.
2. The white board will display No Bellwork. Please take out your
writing journals and review all notes/bellwork from this unit.
Students are to follow instructions.
3. Teacher will pass back each students graded reflection worksheet.
4. Teacher will recap the unit (Mon.-Thurs.).
5. Teacher will open discussion about the presentations, the
reflections, and any other thoughts/ questions relating to the unit.
6. Students will engage in discussion.
7. Teacher will pull up the prompt on the white board.
a. Think about some of the decisions that specific individuals in
the book have had to make. Using both hindsight and the
information that you have gathered through research and
class presentations, imagine what you might advise them to
do in one of the situations described in The Working Poor.
Hypothetically, how might their lives be different, if there were
different options and more information available to them? For
example, if Caroline Payne had been able to save her teeth or
wear dentures, perhaps she would have been able to more
readily smile at customers. With teeth, perhaps she would
have been promoted to a manager in one of the sales
departments at Wal-Mart. Or in the case of Leary Brock, at
what points in her life did she miss opportunities? What might
have happened if she had told her mother about her rape, and
if her mother had shown more sympathy and belief in her
daughter? What motivated Leary to turn herself in to the

police? What would most likely have happened to her if she

had been placed in jail instead of a treatment program?
8. While teacher is displaying the prompt, Student A will pass out the
Character Info worksheets.
9. Teacher will go over the prompt, reading it to the class, and
rewording it for better understanding.
10.
Teacher will mention the Character Info worksheet and its
purpose. This worksheet is to help you choose a character to base
your paper on. These characters are from different chapters in the
text; so read their bios and pick one that stands out to you. When
choosing a character, refer to the questions in the prompt.
11.
Teacher will instruct students to use the following resources
when drafting their paper:
a. Bellwork
b. Notes
c. Annotations
d. Reflections
e. The Working Poor text
f. Prior knowledge
12.
Teacher will review white board, where it states First Draft
Expectations
a. 2 page minimum
b. Provide evidence from resources
c. Indent with each paragraph
d. Most words spelled correctly
e. Follow prompt
13.
Teacher will also mention when its due. You will have the
remainder of class to work on your draft. Whatever you do not finish
is homework. This means that you will be taking home both your
writing journal and your drafting notebook. However, both items are
to be brought back with you on Monday, NO EXCEPTIONS. On
Monday, I will allow you the first 7 minutes to finalize your drafts.
Afterwards, I will be collecting your journals and drafting notebooks.
14.
Students are instructed to begin writing.
15.
Students will stay on task and write until 2 minutes till.
16.
Teacher will pace the classroom, observing the students
writing.
17.
Teacher will assist students who may be struggling.
18.
Students are instructed to pack up quietly and wait for teacher
to dismiss them.
RESOURCES

Shipler, D. K. (2004, January 18). Random House Lesson Plans. Retrieved

from
http://www.randomhouse.com/highschool/resources/lessonplans/wor
kingpoor.html
WAYSOFTHINKINGCONNECTION

Provideacompleteexplanationofhowyourlessonplanconnectstofutures,system,strategic,orvalues
thinking.Definethewayofthinkingyouselectedandusedinthislessonplan.Remember,thisshouldbe
includedmeaningfullyinthelessonplan.
Thislessonclearlyrelatestovaluesthinking.Valuesthinkingisdrawingthelinebetweenwantandneed,and
distributingvalue.Itisconsideringeverythinganddecidingwhichthingsaresustainable,whichthingsareofvalue.
Inthislesson,studentwillbegintounderstandpoverty.Theywillseehowtheirlivesmaydifferfromorbesimilar
toothers.Also,theycanseehowsomeoneelsesvaluesthinkingalterswhatmaybeaneedtoone,maybea
necessitytotheother.Onlythen,willtheyreallyunderstandvaluesthinking.