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Poverty and Charity

Grades: 
6, 7, 8
Subjects: 
Arts Education
Language Arts
Philanthropy
Social Studies
Keywords & Concepts: 
Hunger
Poverty
Charity

Students explore how charity and philanthropy address hunger and poverty.

Duration 
Print2 hours
Objectives 

Students will:

  • describe how charity and philanthropy work to address hunger and poverty in relation to government programs.
  • identify facts about hunger and poverty addressed by charities.
Materials 

Select from the resources listed here:

  • "Child Hunger Fact Sheet." Feeding America, n.d. http://www.feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america/child-hunger-facts.html
  • “Hunger in America" http://www.feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america/?_ga=2.133161230.1208479367.1518052275-1222624136.1509637055
  • Oxfam
  • Meals on Wheels
  • Other nonprofits,  including local programs
Bibliography 
  • "Child Hunger Fact Sheet." Feeding America, n.d. Web.
  • “Hunger in America  Feeding America Web.
Related Resources 

Instructions

Print

  1. Students read articles about how nonprofits and charities address hunger. Assign different articles to groups of students, if desired. 

  2. Have students work with a group to outline the benefits and limits of a charitable food program. 

  3. Answer the following questions from the perspective of the article you read.

    1. What nonprofit, or charity, did you read about, and how many people does it serve with food assistance? 
    2. What does this nonprofit organization do to address the issue of hunger? 
    3. What role does charity play in ending hunger?
    4. How is it different from the role of government in ending hunger?
    5. Do you think people feel more comfortable reducing hunger and poverty through charity or through changing polices? Why?
    6. Do charitable feeding programs promote human dignity and independence for the receiver? Why or why not?
    7. How does charity differ from justice?
Assessment 

Students are able to answer the discussion questions.

Cross Curriculum 

Read about the service-learning project called Blessing Box by high school students from Oldenburg Academy in Indiana who were taught using this Poverty and Charity lesson to guide student learning and action.

Ms. Gehring and Ms. Weberding are teachers at Oldenburg Academy in Indiana who said, “We are a Franciscan school, and service is part of who we are. This was just another opportunity for us to learn about the world we live in and give back.”