Tuesday – August 25th



Unit 2 – American Scorecard: Causes, Measurement & Statistics

(POVERTY IN AMERICA – Mr. McDonald)

CLASS ANNOUNCEMENTS/REMINDERS

• Book Project: As you will see from the homework below, we will be continuing Michael Harrington’s book The Other America: Poverty in the United States. As you are reading, you should complete the questions (see the class website for the guided reading questions) for each chapter. You should also bring your book to class each day in case there is time for in-class reading.

• Rules and Policies: Continue to follow school and classroom policies regarding food, technology and getting to class on time. IF YOU ARE LATE, SIGN IN AT THE FRONT LEFT TABLE. Consequences will and have been given to those that fail to follow the rules. Missed quizzes and tests due to excused absences must be made up within three school days.

• Progress Reports: The first progress reports will not be collected; with that said all future progress reports should be signed and returned. If you think there is a mistake on your report or wish to discuss your grades, please make an appointment to see me. It is imperative that you keep up with the work as it is assigned.

UNIT OVERVIEW

By this point, we have a much greater understanding of the larger themes and ideas as relates to American poverty. This unit will delve more deeply into the causes and measurement of poverty in this country while also reviewing and introducing statistics about the economically disadvantaged.

Thursday, September 28 / Friday, September 29

UNIT 1 TEST: TWO AMERICA’S (INTRODUCTION)

Homework: None, but if you want to get ahead work on Chapter 2 from The Other America

Monday, October 2 / Tuesday, October 3

Discussion: Unit Overview/Review Statistics

Causes of Poverty

Homework: Read/answer questions for Chapter 2 (The Other America)

Wednesday, October 4 / Thursday, October 5

Discussion: Causes of Poverty

Video and Discussion: “The Working Poor”

Homework: Read/answer questions for Chapter 3 (The Other America)

Friday, October 6 / Monday, October 9

Discussion: Quiz: Causes of Poverty/Statistics

Groups: Poverty Handbook – Chapter 5 Questions

Homework: Read/answer questions for Chapter 3 (The Other America)

Tuesday, October 10 / Wednesday, October 11

`Discussion: Film: Trouble the Water

Homework: Read/answer questions for Chapter 4 (The Other America)

Thursday, October 12 / Friday, October 13

Discussion: Finish & Discuss Trouble the Water

Powerpoint Presentation – Measuring Poverty

Homework: Read/answer questions for Chapter 4 (The Other America)

Monday, October 16 / Tuesday, October 17

Discussion: Measuring Poverty

Groups: Poverty Handbook – Chapter 3 Questions

Homework: Study for test and Read/answer questions for Chapter 5 (The Other America)

Wednesday, October 18 / Thursday, October 19

Discussion: Finish material/review for test

Homework: Study for test and read/answer questions for Chapter 5 (The Other America)

Friday, October 20 / Monday, October 23

TEST: AMERICAN SCORECARD

Homework: Read/answer questions for Chapter 6 (The Other America)

UNIT 2 REVIEW

Vocabulary

Absolute

Camden

Capitalism

Competition

Concentration of wealth

Consumption

Critical hardships

Culture of Poverty

Detroit

Discrimination

Economic growth

Housing

Hurricane Katrina

Illegitimacy

Illegitimate economy

Living wages

Minimum wage

New Orleans

Personal responsibility

Quasi-relative

Real wages

Relative

Serious hardships

Social stratification

Substance abuse

Thomas Malthus

Underemployment

Unemployment

Other terms described in class

Short Answer Questions

1. Briefly describe the two basic types of poverty measures? What are some advantages & disadvantages of each?

2. What does Barbara Ehrenreich describe in her book Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America?

3. Briefly define the following additional poverty measures:

(a) subjective measures (c) self-reliance (e) social exclusion

(b) consumption (d) hardship measures (f) NAS measure

4. Which of the methods mentioned in the chapter do you think is most appropriate? Why? Why do you think it is difficult to measure poverty?

5. Briefly describe characteristics of the poverty population as relates to everyone, the elderly, African Americans, Hispanics, citizenship status, those that are married and heads of households.

6. What does it mean if people are considered poor? What factors affect the length of time people are poor? What factors contribute to “concentrated poverty”?

7. What are the differences between “critical hardships” and “serious hardships”?

8. What are three generalizations that you can conclude from Figure 4.3 (Percent of Households with Various Consumer Goods) regarding consumer goods of all households and poor households?

9. What region, metropolitan area status, and state have the highest percentage of poverty?

10. How do economic processes affect trends in poverty?

11. Define economic growth? How does this term apply to our current economic situation?

12. What is “income inequality” and what causes it? Why has income inequality grown in the last 25 years?

13. Briefly describe how poverty affects African Americans. Your response should include, but not be limited to, references to Washington, Myrdal, and Frazier.

14. How does poverty affect other minority groups?

15. Why do women tend to have higher poverty rates? Your answer should include a definition to the term “feminization of poverty”.[pic]

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