Mattie Ligget

Poverty in America
4th grade
Standards:
(4.W.1) Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons
and information.
(4. SL. 4) Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience in an organized
manner, using appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to support main ideas or
themes; speak clearly at an understandable
Lesson Summary/Overview:
In this lesson students will be using what they learned about poverty in the United States
to come up with a plan to help out the community struggling with this issue. Students are
going to write a one-paragraph idea that they think could be used to help people
struggling with poverty in the United States. They will be working on this in class and
then finishing it up for homework if they need to.
Objectives:
Students will be able to support their opinion of an idea to help people struggling with
poverty by writing one paragraph on a realistic plan.
Students will be able to present their ideas using facts, and details to support their ideas
and opinions.
Assessment:
The students will write one paragraph that needs to be 6-8 sentences long. The plan needs
to have supporting details and facts relating to the discussions of poverty in class
throughout the week. To get full credit:
*6-8 sentences
*idea is supported by evidence and facts

Prerequisite Knowledge:
*What is poverty? Poverty is something that people face even here in the U.S.
*How is it impacting us in the United States? 1/5 children are in poverty
*How do people feel when they are in poverty?

Materials:
Paper, pencil
Vocabulary
Poverty: They will create their own definition in class. Formal: Poverty is general
scarcity or dearth, or the state of one who lacks a certain amount of material possessions
or money. Absolute poverty or destitution refers to the deprivation of basic human needs,
which commonly includes food, water, sanitation, clothing, shelter, health care and
education.

Teaching Procedures:
1. Teacher will show students a video called Soles4Souls. This video will show
students a way that people are trying to help people dealing with poverty.
2. Tell students that it is their turn to come up with an idea to help people with
poverty in the United States. It can be a simple solution, or a bigger one such as
the example with the shoes.
3. Have students pair up and talk with their neighbor about some ideas they are
having for three minutes.
4. The teacher needs to walk around listening to answers and making sure students
are on the right track.
5. Explain to students that it is their turn to use Futures Thinking to come up with an
idea that would help people in need based on what we have learned about with
poverty throughout this week here in the United States. What can we do in the
future to help people in poverty?
6. Give an example: I would want to collect as many cans as I can to donate to my
local food shelter to help feed those who need it.
7. Explain expectations: You are to write one paragraph about your idea that needs
to be 6-8 sentences. You need to be able to explain your ideas and opinions by
using what you have learned this week. You need to tell me why this would help
with the issue of poverty. You have today to work on this in class, and then I
would like you to finish the rest up for homework. Tomorrow in class you will be

presenting your idea to the class and you need to tell us why to support your idea.
Each person will have one minute to explain their idea.
8. Have students start working on the assignment. Have them get out a piece of lined
paper and a pencil. Give at least 20 minutes. Walk around classroom verifying
that students are on the right track and checking ideas without directly asking.
9. Close the lesson by asking students to finish their thoughts and be ready to present
tomorrow and telling us why they had the idea.
Resources: N/A
Ways of Thinking Connection:
Students will be using Futures Thinking in this lesson. They are thinking about ways to
help poverty in the future. They will realize what it would be like to be in poverty and
what they can do in the future to prevent from being in poverty. They are using Futures
Thinking to think about what will happen in the future to the Unites States with poverty.
They know now that every 1/5 children are living in poverty, so what would it be like in
the future. They are thinking about how they are going to act around someone in this type
of situation in the future now that they have more understanding of what poverty is, and
how they can be a good citizen and think about ways they can help in their own country
and community.