How Does Poverty Influence Learning?

APA Bibliography: Parrett, W., & Budge, K. (2016, January 13). How Does Poverty Influence Learning? Retrieved December 16, 2018, from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/how-does-poverty-influence-learning-william-parrett-kathleen-budge.

Genre: Nonfiction, Online Material

Author Information: https://www.edutopia.org/profile/william-parrett-and-kathleen-budge

Summary: This article talks about how different factors affect student learning in school. As educators it is important to learn about these factors so we can help these students. These factors include students' health and well-being; literacy and language development; access to physical and material resources; and level of mobility.

Target Audience: The target audience for this article are adolescents, parents, and educators.  

Evaluation: This article provides lots of information for everyone. It talks about how the different factors affect students, their learning, and their academic achievements, and how we can help them. 

Still a Family: A Story About Homelessness

APA Bibliography: Sturgis, B. R., & Lee, J. (2017). Still a family. Chicago, IL: Albert Whitman & Company.

Book Information: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30201539-still-a-family

Genre: Fiction, Children's Literature

Author Information: https://www.albertwhitman.com/author/brenda-reeves-sturgis/

Illustrator Information: https://joshinlee.com

Summary: This picture book is about a mom, a dad, a daughter, and Molly, the doll. This family lost their home and are living in shelters, but the dad has to live in a separate shelter from the mom and daughter. Even though they are separated, they still find time to spend together at the park. Even through the troubled times, they are still a family. 

Target Audience: The target audience for this book is children ages 4-8. This book is appropriate for them because it has minimal words and lots of pictures. 

Evaluation: I think this book is great for younger children because it shows what it is like to be homeless and living in shelters. Even though the family is separated they still see each other everyday. Through the simplicity of the book, the message is depicted very clearly. 

Reader Response Activity: In the book, the little girl has drawn a picture of what her room looked like. Since this book is for younger children, this activity would be fun for them. Have your students draw a picture of what their room looks like. 

The Family Under the Bridge

APA Bibliography: Carlson, N. S., & Williams, G. (1989). The Family Under the Bridge. New York, NY: Harper Collins.

Readability Lexile: 820L

Book Information: https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/books/family-under-the-bridge-the-by-natalie-savage-carlson/

Genre: Historical Fiction

Author Information: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/199200.Natalie_Savage_Carlson

Illustrator Information: https://www.harpercollins.com/author/cr-100402/garth-williams/

Summary: This story is about a homeless man named Armand, who lives under a bridge. He walks around pushing his belongings and a black dress shoe. One day he finds three children living under his bridge and he becomes upset. The mother of the children had to find some place to stay as they could not afford to pay the rent anymore. Armand goes to find food and is even more upset when the children decide to follow him, but he grows concerned that they must be hungry. So he allows them to come with him to the shopping mall, where his friend works at Father Christmas. To cheer the children up, Armand says to g caroling. As people are passing, they stop by to give coins, which Armand and the children use to buy food. When they get back to the bridge, the mother is upset to find out that Armand had taken the children out like that. Armand finds a place for the little family to stay with the gypsies for a little bit, until the police find out their location. Armand then decided to find a job to support the family. The mother and one for the children make Armand presentable and finds a job, that has a place to live for the whole family. 

Target Audience: The target audience for this book is children in grades 3-5. This book is great about teaching poverty and homeless. It is an early chapter book so it is easy to understand and is not too long of a book. 

Evaluation: I liked this classic story of homelessness and the struggle of people who have no where to go. They live wherever they can find a place. They make the best of everything even when they have very little. The book shows about love in unlikely places.

Reader Response Activity: An activity you can do with this book is to have the students research shelters in your area. You can make this as easy as possible since it is elementary school. 

The Hundred Dresses

APA Bibliography: Estes, E., & Slobodkin, L. (1972). The Hundred Dresses. New York, NY: Houghton Muffin Harcourt.

Readability Lexile: 870L

Book Information: https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/books/the-hundred-dresses-by-eleanor-estes/

Genre: Fiction

Author Information: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/23821.Eleanor_Estes

Illustrator Information: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/169833.Louis_Slobodkin

Summary: This classic story is about a girl named Wanda who moved from Poland to Connecticut with her father and brother. She lives in a poor neighborhood and wears the same faded blue dress to school everyday. She tells the other girls at school that she has a hundred beautiful dresses, but the other girls start making fun of her. Maddie, one of the popular girls, wants to speak up because she knows what it is like to live in poverty, but she doesn't. She thinks if she says something, she will be made fun of too. When it comes time for the annual drawing contest, everyone is surprised to find out  that Wanda turned in a hundred pictures. But Wanda wasn't there to collect the prize. When Wanda's father sends a letter to Wanda's teacher, everyone feels sorry for bullying Wanda. Maddie feels even worse to find out that she has moved away because of her. She vows to never stand by when someone is getting bullied again. 

Target Audience: The target audience for this book is children in grades 3-5. This book is appropriate for them because it relates to them. The children in the book are the same age as the target audience of this book. 

Evaluation: I think this book is great when it comes to teaching children about poverty and bullying. It is a classic story that everyone loves because of the message it sends. It shows children what it feels like to get bullied because of your living condition and you can't control it. 

Reader Response Activity: An activity you can do with this book is to have a drawing contest in your classroom just like the book did. Have the girls draw dresses and have the boys draw a motorboat. Select one boy and one girl as winners. This activity is really fun and allows the students to be creative. 

"By the Numbers: Childhood Poverty in the US"

APA Bibliography: Breslow, J. M. (2012, November 20). By the Numbers: Childhood Poverty in the U.S. Retrieved December 9, 2018, from https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/by-the-numbers-childhood-poverty-in-the-u-s/.

Genre: Online Material, Nonfiction, Informational Text

Author Information: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/person/jason-m-breslow/.

Summary: This article tells the readers about the exact statistics of poverty. "The federal poverty guideline for a family of four is $23,050...More than 16 million children, or roughly one in five, were living in poverty in 2011, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's official poverty measure." The author has direct links of the statistics embedded in each section if the reader wants more details on it.

Target Audience: I would say that the target audience is anyone in high school or older. You have to be a little older to under what exactly the stats are saying. The article also uses some sophisticated wording.

Evaluation: I actually really found this article very helpful. I was able to find out what exactly the statistics of poverty are in the US. It gives you an insight on how the US is now faring as great as we had thought in terms on beating poverty.

Reader Response Activity: You can have your students get into eight groups, one for each section of the article. Then have each group do more research about their section and present it to the rest of the class. This will give the students an insight on how it is like to be living in poverty. 

"U.S. Teens In Poverty Go Hungry So Siblings Can Eat"

APA Bibliography: Rosen, J., & Johns Hopkins. (2017, February 15). U.S. TEENS IN POVERTY GO HUNGRY SO SIBLINGS CAN EAT. Retrieved December 9, 2018, from https://www.futurity.org/food-poverty-hunger-families-1358482-2/.

Genre: Online Material, Nonfiction

Author Information: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jill-rosen-b372025
https://www.jhu.edu

Summary: This articles summarized a study done by Robert Moffitt and David C. Ribar at Johns Hopkins University. They found that in a family that had income levels well below the poverty line, teens went hungry so their younger siblings could have food to eat. Parents of those families would sacrifice themselves first when it came to food. But if there wasn't enough food for all their children, they would give food to the babies and toddlers before giving it to the teenagers. Amongst the teenagers, teen boys usually went without food more than teen girls.

Target Audience: The target audience for this article is anyone older than 15.

Evaluation: This article was very hard core and very realistic. This happens a lot in poverty, but there isn't much we can do about it. Sometimes it can be very hard for parents to make this decision, but they do not have a choice.

Reader Response Activity: An activity that you can do with this article is to have your students do some research on poverty. This activity is very open ended and you can manipulate it however you want. You can specifically have them focus on just poverty, or how it affects children, or how teens have to work instead of going to school. 

Street Angel

APA Bibliography: Rugg, J., & Maruca, B. (2005). Street Angel. San Jose, CA: SLG Publishing.

Book Information: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/893511.Street_Angel

Genre: Graphic Novel, Fiction, Young Adult

Author Information: https://www.jimrugg.com

Summary: Jesse "Street Angel" Sanchez has been on the streets for 13 years. She knows how to take care of herself and she's not exactly the cleanest young girl, but she has mad skateboarding skills and ninja fighting skills. There are five books in the series, which talk about Aztec gods, astronauts, Satanists, and much more. She shows that just because you are poor and living on the streets, it doesn't mean you can't have an imagination.

Target Audience: The target audience for this book is your adults in grades 10-12. This is not recommended for anyone younger because of the language and images in the book.

Evaluation: This book was definitely interesting. I have never read anything like this before. It has lots of humor, comics, and uses a great deal of imagination.

Reader Response Activity: An activity that you can do with this book is to have your students come up a crazy character/creature for Street Angel to fight. This activity allows you students to use lots of creativity. Also, have your students give those characters certain attributes that make the character strong or witty or whatever they want. 

Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty

APA Bibliography: Neri, G., & DuBurke, R. (2010). Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty. New York, NY: Lee and Low Books.

Readability Lexile: GN510L

Book Information: https://www.leeandlow.com/books/yummy

Genre: Graphic Novel, Criminal Justice, Teen Years

Author Information: https://www.gregneri.com/aboutme/

Illustrator Information: http://www.randyduburke.com

Summary: Yummy is story based on a true story about a kid who grew up in Chicago and became involved with gangs. Yummy was a nickname for Robert Sandifers, who was 11 years old. He would eat lots of sweets, which is how he ended up with the nickname. He lived with his grandmother, but he though his real family was the gang in the streets. He would do whatever they told him. One day one of the gang members gave Yummy a gun. He accidentally shot an innocent 14 year old girl. The police investigated the shooting of the girl, and ended up finding Yummy shot dead under a bridge.

Target Audience: The target audience for this book is children in grades 4-5. I would not recommend this book for anyone younger because of the gang scenery and violence.

Evaluation: I though this book was really interesting. I like that it was based on a true story. The author did lots of research before writing this book, including going to Chicago to the same neighborhoods. The story in the book is something that happens a lot in Chicago, but it is never talked about. Using this book in a classroom, or just reading it for fun provides lots of insight as to why living in Chicago is like.

Reader Response Activity: An activity that you can do is to show documentaries about what it is like to be living in the south side of Chicago. This will show the children how it was like for Yummy.

Escape from Syria

APA Bibliography: Kullab, S., Roche, J., & Freiheit, M. (2017). Escape from Syria. Firefly Books.

Readability Lexile: GN720L

Book Information: https://www.fireflybooks.com/catalogue/children-s-books/product/11566-escape-from-syria

Genre: Historical Fiction, Graphic Novel, Political Fiction, Biographical Fiction

Author Information: https://www.samyakullab.com/

Illustrator Information: http://www.jrocheworkshop.com/3420821-about-contact

Summary: This graphic novel is a fictional story that recalls a real-life struggle. It is told through the perception of Amina. It is about a family that is forced to flee from Syria. Their family home was destroyed by bomb strikes, which makes the family leave their homeland. They go to the refugee camps in Lebanon. When Youseff, the youngest child, falls sick, the family is forced to take a big risk. They eventually settle in the west after some terrible times.

Target Audience: The target audience for this book is children ages 12-17. The author does a great job telling a story of the struggles on Syrians. The illustrator did an amazing job showing the story of Amina and her family.

Evaluation: I think this was really an amazing book. The graphics in the book are absolutely great, and detailed. I love how the illustrator made the pictures as detailed as possible to tell the story of the family and the struggles they faced.

Reader Response Activity: An activity that can be really cool is to have the students come up with a struggle that they have faced. Have your students first write about it and then have them make a comic book. You can set the requirements as hard or as easy as you want based on the age group and ability of your students.