Poverty+ELA+Assignment+3

Assignment 3: Modern Views of Poverty

Time needed: One 90 minute Project block

Key Idea: Comparing and contrasting different views on homelessness

Procedure:

The teacher will begin class by discussing the meaning of the term “point of view” from an ELA perspective:

The literary strategy by which an author presents the events of a narrative from the perspective of a particular person - which may be the narrator or may be a fictional character. The point of view may be consistent, or it may switch between narrator and character(s). It should not be confused with the mere opinion of a character or the narrator. [|www.mantex.co.uk/ou/resource/lit-term.htm]

The teacher will then discuss with the class the following questions:
 * Why does point of view matter?
 * What effect does point of view have on the story?

The class will then read Barbara Ascher’s “On Compassion” available at:

http://www.memorial.ecasd.k12.wi.us/Departments/LangArts/Dnelson/03%20Ascher%20On%20Compassion%20Essay%20Rev.%2012.05.pdf

The class will answer the following in a format deemed appropriate by the teacher:


 * What is the difference between compassion and empathy?
 * What did Ascher mean by the final line?

The class will then read Anna Quindlen’s “Homeless”, available here:

http://www.miamisci.org/tec/mssstory.html

Students will then answer the following questions:
 * What makes Quindlen’s article different from Ascher’s? How does each see the problem?
 * Is dealing with homelessness a question of better services or better opportunities?