What is Poverty?

Lesson title
Understanding Social Issues: Poverty
Unit title

----Date
Social Studies/4th Grade/50 minutes
Subject/grade level/lesson duration

Objectives/learner outcomes What knowledge, skills, and dispositions are students

expected to demonstrate as a result of the lesson?
Students will be able to define poverty that encompasses a world-wide definition
Students will demonstrate a basic understanding of what poverty is
Students will be able to list 3 key aspects that go into defining poverty
Standards addressed What Core Standards (English/Language Arts, Math,
Disciplinary Literacy) or DPI model academic standards (Science, Social Studies,
Foreign Language) are specifically addressed in the lesson?
E.4.2 Explain the influence of factors such as family, neighborhood, personal
interests, language, likes and dislikes, and accomplishments on individual
identity and development
E.4.9 Explain how people learn about others who are different from
themselves
Materials/resources/technology What materials/resources/technology are needed to
support instructional procedures?
Introductory worksheet to gather students views on poverty
SmartBoard slides with important definitions about poverty and the varying
factors that go into assessing poverty
True/False worksheet of basic facts/myths about poverty
Story: Maddis Fridge by Lois Brandt
Introduction to lesson
Purpose How will you state the purpose of the lesson?
Today we will be starting our learning about poverty. We are going to
explore the big question of What Causes Poverty?. As we talk today, I
want you to think about poverty and if you were asked, how you would
define it. By the end of the lesson today, I hope you will have a solid
definition of poverty. to take with you.
Prior learning How will you make connections to prior learning?
I will make a connection to prior learning through the initial worksheet I will
distribute. Before doing any teaching, I will pass out a sheet with the
question What is Poverty listed at the top. I will then ask the students to
write down anything that comes to their mind when they think of poverty.

After that they will share with their neighbor, and then we will come together
as a large group and compile all of our thoughts about poverty on the board.
Connections to personal/cultural/community assets How will you make
connections to your students strengths as a way to motivate students to engage in
the learning activities you have planned?
With this first lesson, I will not connect as much to the students
personal/cultural/community assets because I want them to get a grasp on poverty
before we focus in on specific areas in which poverty will be seen. This will be
developed more in a future lesson.
Content/procedures/sequence (Be sure to include estimated time allotment for each
activity)
Content outline
Introduction Activity (10
minutes)

Instructional procedures/sequence of activities

Students work independently on What is

Poverty? worksheet (3 minutes)
I am distributing a worksheet. There is one
simple question at the top. What is Poverty?
I would like you to take the next few minutes to
brainstorm and write down everything you
know of/think of about the word poverty. This
is individual work time. You will have time to
discuss with others after your individual
brainstorming time.
Students share with neighbor their thoughts and
ideas (2 minutes)
Now that you have had a chance to write down
your own ideas, I want you to turn to your
neighbor and share your thoughts. You are
only going to have 2 minutes to share, so take
the most important things you wrote down and
share them with your partner. I will tell you
when 1 minute is up so that you can switch to
make sure both of you have the chance to share
your ideas.
Students collaborate as a class to develop a list
on the Smart Board of What is Poverty (5
minutes)
Alright, I want to bring you all together and I
want us, as a class, to create a list of what we
believe poverty is. So if you and your partner
discussed something really interesting or
important please share it, and we will put it on

our giant class list.

Define/Discuss Idea of
Poverty (25 minutes)

Read Maddis Fridge &

discuss connection to Poverty

(10 minutes)

Introduction of definition of poverty (5 minutes)

Now I am going to give each group a different
definition of poverty. Work together to pull out
the key points in your definition. I am going to
ask one person to share out from your group so
everyone must be ready to share.
Have each group share out and as they do, have
their definition on the board and highlight to the
class what they are saying. After each group has
gone, create own definition of poverty that will be
used and referred to in upcoming lessons (10
minutes)
While we are sharing out, I want everyone else
to listen to what the other groups are sharing
because we are going to create a class definition
of what poverty is. This will be the definition we
will use in days to come when talking about
poverty.
Distribute Myths about Poverty worksheet and
have students complete individually and then go
through the worksheet together and discuss what
students believe compared to the real answer. (10
minutes)
I am not handing out a worksheet that is called
Myths about Poverty. What I want you to do
is circle whether or not you believe that
statement about Poverty is true or false. We will
then discuss the answers of these myths.
Introduce story:
Now we will be reading a story called Maddis
Fridge this story is about 2 little girls who are
friends, but one girl has a secret. I want you all
to listen as I read it to you, and see what
connections you can make from our discussion
we have been having today.
Read story (5 minutes)
Discuss how the story is applicable to poverty Where was poverty seen in the story?
How can our definition be applied to what
we just read about?
What other connections can we make from

the story and poverty

Move to Closure part of

Lesson (5 minutes)

(see below)

Closure
Summary of lesson How will you bring the lesson to a close? (One-two
statements that you will say at the end of the lesson)
Today we discussed our big question of what is poverty, and we learned
how we could define poverty. This definition will help us in our research into
poverty and its history leading up to present day. I want you to keep this
definition in mind throughout future lessons we do concerning poverty.
Assignment What independent work will be assigned?
The assignment will be for the students to take the question I posed at the start of
class today What is Poverty? and collect responses from their
parents/grandparents/siblings. This is how we will start the next lesson.
Comparing responses from the class and then whomever they interviewed to see
similarities/differences.
Assessment
Student learning What DATA or EVIDENCE will you use to evaluate each of
your learning outcomes (listed in Section A)? (Give a brief description)
I will be doing an informal assessment of student learning. I am planning on
asking many questions throughout the lesson that require students to pull from
previous material discussed, as well as analyze the definition of poverty. This
assessment with stretch to the start of the next lesson where the students will get
the chance to compare and contrast their responses with their parents or
whomever they interviewed. This will test their knowledge to see how much they
remember from todays lesson.