ELA+Social+Justice+Intro+2

Assignment 2: Awareness and Journalism Time needed: One 90 minute Project block

Key Idea: Understanding factors that influence/create poverty

Key Vocabulary: Poverty and Awareness

Procedure: Teacher will begin class by reviewing the definition of poverty with the class. The teacher will have students individually journal their answers to the following question, “What makes a good article?” The class will then read the Washington Post article “As Teen Pregnancy Dropped, So Did Child Poverty” available at:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A51337-2005Apr13.html

The class will then answer the following key questions (in a format determined by the instructor):


 * What is the relationship between Teen Pregnancy and Poverty?
 * What strategies did the article use to inform the reader about the situation?
 * What was lacking from the article?
 * How do writers appeal to readers in order to effectively inform them?

Students will then search for additional articles online for causes of poverty (drug use, violence, etc.) or other social justice issues and draw comparisons between the two articles. Students will analyze what makes articles appealing to the reader as well as informative.