West Virginia Department of Education



Arguing about Poverty Lesson Plan Teacher Background:This resource works from Trip Gabriel’s 2014 New York Times article on poverty. Students start by reading the article and noting the evidence Gabriel uses in his discussion. Because many students may be unfamiliar with or intimidated by argumentative articles of this type, the best introduction to the task would be through the SOAPSTone:Task One:Reading of article and Speaker:Occasion:Audience:Purpose:Tone:This can be done as a class or individually depending upon student level. Task Two: Students should then list the appeals that Gabriel uses to engage an otherwise unknowing audience in a discussion about poverty. Have students list, for each paragraph, what data or proof he uses to verify his claims and how this works. This can be done as a group or as an individual. Task Three: Teacher divides the class into three groups. One will be assigned the “Non-West Virginia Americans”, One will be assigned the “West Virginia” perspective, and another will be the “International” group. Each group then re-reads the piece and writes a 1-2 paragraph response to the piece from that perspective, meaning that many of them must take the role of an alternate audience and figure out the characterization of America as a whole and West Virginia specifically. Each group presents their impressions and discusses them fully to show varying perspective. Task Four: Students write an argumentative response to the following prompt. This can be done over a series of days for a larger assignment or could be done as a timed writing response. Enrichment or extension activities could include a larger research or response to Gabriel’s claims. Gabriel’s article states that “of the 353 most persistently poor counties in the United States 85% are rural” and illustrates this through his series of anecdotes and statistics from McDowell County, WV. Kofi Anan states “Poverty devastates families, communities and nations. It causes instability and political unrest and fuels conflict.” Those fighting against poverty state "Where you live should not determine whether you live or die."Think about poverty and the ideas presented in Gabriel’s article. Then write a well written essay in which you argue your position on the connection between poverty and place (environment). Use appropriate evidence from your reading, experience, or observations to support your argument. ................
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