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Newspaper Article (Performance Task)
Summative: Expository Essay
You have been reading a variety of text about the human experience. There are many human experiences that are becoming a growing phenomenon in the United States, such as homelessness, hunger and death. As these are major social issues in our country you can take action by communicating the causes of these issues, the challenges that face the people experiencing them, and suggest a plan of action to assist those who find themselves disadvantaged.
Newspaper writing is one way in which people communicate and motivate others to take action. As a writer for a newspaper, you have been asked to write a one page typed article to inform, explore and effectively communicate the idea of the human experience. Your article will provide information about aspects of the human experience you select such as causes, challenges, impact on the individual and the community, agencies that help people cope with their experiences, the long-term results, funding, and a plan of action to help those who need it.
Your article will:
- Introduce human experience through definition and a preview of the aspects that will be discussed in the article;
- Organize ideas and information according to sub-topics: causes, aspects, challenges, impact on the individual and the community, and plan of action
- Include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., charts, tables), and multimedia (e.g. pictures)
- Develop the topic with relevant facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, and other information and examples from non-fiction and fiction to inform the reader
- Use appropriate transitions show the connection between the human experience and the information and examples presented
- Use precise language
- Establish and maintain the tone and style of a newspaper article
- Provide a concluding section that includes a plan as to how disadvantaged people could be supported
- Follow the conventions of standard written English language
Your newspaper article will be assessed using a rubric for insightful, reflective thinking and response.
Has to look / sound like a 13/14 year old wrote it as much as possible. Thanks!! – Ken
OneMillion Students Homeless
With collaboration and smart strategies, some districts are cracking the code and
finding ways to help their homeless students.
By Caralee Adams
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Autism Spectrum
Disorders in the
Mainstream Classroom
: How to Reach and
Teach Students with
ASDS
by Boroson, Barbara
This engaging and informative
book gives you the knowledge
you need to understand
students with autism spectrum
disorders (ASDs) and the
strategies you can use to help
them succeed in school. An
educator with more than 20
years experience working with
students with ASDs, Barbara
Boroson guides you through
creating a responsive
classroom attuned to the
needs of your students with
ASDs, and she shares
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preventative strategies that
help head off challenging
behavior before it becomes
disruptive. She offers
suggestions for breaking
through to hard-to-reach kids,
ideas for collaborating with
families, and strategies for
differentiating instruction to
support every student. The
end goal is a classroom in
which all students feel valued
and respected, in which all
students can learn and grow.
For use with Grades K-6.
Biography:
Barbara Boroson holds an
undergraduate degree from
Cornell and a masters degree
in social work from Columbia
University. She has worked in
the field of autism spectrum
education for almost twenty
years in clinical,
administrative, and advisory
capacities. She is a guest
lecturer at colleges of
education and, as a
consultant, helps districts
integrate students on the
spectrum into mainstream
settings. Her writing has
appeared in publications
across the country. Barbara
lives just outside of New York
City with her husband and
their two children.
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Ways to Support Homeless Students
– Change bus routes so homeless students living in shelters or motels are picked up first and delivered last to
respect their privacy.
– Consult service providers in shelters to learn what needs homeless students may have, from transportation
to supplies to health care.
– Create a report card to hand to the next teacher that charts students’ progress. A running record of students’
strengths and needs will help them to maintain continuity if they switch schools. Also, give students a weekly
self-evaluation form to reflect on what they are proud of accomplishing.
- Adjust homework by eliminating assignments requiring a computer, a TV, or a phone, or offer supplies or
school time to complete those tasks.
- Assign a buddy to each homeless student. They often enter school midyear, and a friend can familiarize
them with rules and procedures.
– Never punish homeless students by taking away a possession, friend time, or recess.
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Source: BethAnn Berliner, Imagine the Possibilities Sourcebook, wested.org
The school secretary couldn’t believe the student was homeless. He had new Nike
sneakers, carried a cell phone, and looked like any other high school student. That’s
because Beth McCullough was doing her job.
McCullough is the homeless education coordinator for Adrian Public Schools in
southeastern Michigan. Through a local service organization, she was able to get a pair of
size-13 shoes for the boy. She gave him a prepaid phone for safety, since he was sleeping
in an abandoned building. And every morning, McCullough made sure the locker room was
open early and stocked with a clean towel and shampoo so he could shower.
“If you have a good homeless program, you shouldn’t be able to tell who is homeless by the
way they look,” says McCullough. She takes the secretary’s skepticism as “a compliment.”
McCullough is one of 16,000 liaisons across the nation who support a growing number of
homeless students. In 2009-10, there were nearly a million homeless students in U.S. public
schools. That’s a 38 percent increase from 2006-07 and is likely an undercount, reports
Barbara Duffield, policy director for the National Association for the Education of Homeless
Children and Youth (NAEHCY) in Washington, D.C.
“With the recession, job loss, unemployment, and the fore-closure crisis, it’s unprecedented
to see homelessness on this scale,” says Duffield. “Rather than being a blip, it’s now
lasting.”
As more families, including some who were once middle class, enter the ranks of the
homeless, the demand for services and the need for sensitivity training are rising just as
schools’ budgets are being cut. Some districts are coping by partnering with community-
based organizations and getting creative with services. Others are taking advantage of
government subgrants. Advocates maintain there are ways to accommodate this vulnerable
population. But first educators must learn how to best approach, and deal with, the
challenges involved.
Meeting the Law’s Requirements
in 1987, the federal government enacted the Mckinney-Vento Act, which requires that every
school district provide homeless students with equal access to public education. Districts
need to count homeless students and have a homeless liaison to serve their needs.
Homeless students, as defined by the law, include those who are staying in a hotel/motel or
shelter, are unsheltered, or are “doubled up” with friends or family. Being doubled up is the
most common, accounting for 71 percent of homeless students in the 2009-10 school
year.
The law sets up competitive subgrants to help fund support services. Many districts use
grants to transport students back to their schools of origin so they can have some stability in
their educational life. Others use subgrants for after-school programs, tutoring, and school
supplies. But districts must know how to craft an effective application.
The program is “woefully underfunded,” says Duffield, with $65 million a year in federal
grants going to about 3,000 of the country’s 15,000 school districts. All schools need to
provide homeless services, but most do so without extra grants.
“The McKinney-Vento Act is supposed to count kids and do everything to help them
succeed, but schools are strapped for resources,” says Ellen Bassuk, founder of the
National Center on Family Homelessness (NCFH) in Needham, Massachusetts. “It’s not
about intention; it’s about resources. Some schools have better resources than others.”
Since 1988, Bassuk’s organization has been working on the problem of family
homelessness. Lack of affordable housing and poverty are drivers, along with the increase
in families headed by single moms, which now make up one in five families nationwide. “If
the mom is stressed, the kids will be stressed,” says Bassuk. “Going to school tired,
stressed, and worried, and then having to pay attention-it’s very hard.”
Pairing Sensitivity With Assistance
because their living situations are so unstable, children who are homeless find it difficult to
maintain academic continuity, says Diana Bowman, program director for the National
Center for Homeless Education at the SERVE Center in Browns Summit, North Carolina.
“Every time a child moves from one school to another, there are issues of being in a place
where nobody knows them, with a new peer group. Moving from one new curriculum to
another-that’s a huge challenge,” she says.
To help children adapt, and to identify those who are homeless in a discreet manner, a
district or school must have a coordinated and solid plan. At the top, administrators need to
understand their responsibilities under McKinney-Vento and support the work of homeless
liaisons, says McCullough. A superintendent once told her the district was doing for a
homeless kid what it would do for any kid. “It isn’t enough to do what we would do for any
student,” responded McCullough. They need extra support, just as special education
students do.
In the classroom, teachers should look for children who appear sleepy or are wearing the
same clothes, or who are carrying lots of belongings, hoarding food, or talking about moving
often, says Bowman.
Many children are embarrassed about their situation, and interventions should be done
confidentially. Consider avoiding the term “homeless” altogether, says Lisa Mentesana,
support specialist with the Beaverton, Oregon, school district, which has the highest
homeless student population in the state. In 2010, she worked with 1,580 students; in the
fall of 2011, she had already served 1,033 students.
“In our first communication, we never say ‘homeless,'” she says. “We say, ‘We are from a
social support office and understand you might be having a difficult time. We wanted to let
you know about some support services available.'” Families who are doubling up often don’t
consider themselves to be homeless, although they are eligible for support under the law.
Mentesana has seen families trying to “sneak” their children into school after they’ve moved
out of the area, and they are relieved when they learn their kids can stay in their home
school.
Small Changes Can Make a Big Difference
Dona Bolt, homeless education coordinator for the Oregon Department of Education, has
seen homelessness rise over the past 25 years. Since families are mobile and districts often
share students, school administrators must collaborate, she says. They can coordinate
transportation and outreach efforts and partner to share community resources and
strategies.
Sometimes school policies need to be revisited to serve homeless students, says Bassuk of
the NCFH. Kids who are homeless may act out and need a second chance, prompting
administrators to rethink zero-tolerance policies. “These are not bad kids,” says Bassuk.
“They are traumatized kids.”
Experts suggest training administrators, teachers, counselors, and even bus drivers on the
law and how to work with this population to meet their needs.
Teachers can help by being flexible with assignments and procedures, says BethAnn
Berliner, a senior research associate at WestEd, a research, development, and service
agency in Oakland, California. A homeless student may not want to hang up a coat, for
instance, since it may be his or her only one. Letting the child wear it in class can help to
make him or her feel more secure.
“From constantly moving and not having personal space, these students may have difficulty
completing tasks,” she adds. “Divide big assignments into bite-size pieces.” And remember
that these kids often live in crowded conditions, without a quiet place to study or computer
access. Providing a clipboard to do homework and allowing a paper to be handwritten are
simple and reasonable accommodations. If parents can’t make a conference, don’t presume
that they don’t care, adds McCullough. They might lack transportation or the ability to get
away from work.
What the Community Can Do
in Pittsburgh, the homeless children’s education fund supports 17 after-school learning
centers that serve students in housing facilities for the homeless. The centers are equipped
with computers and books, and qualified tutors help students with homework on weekday
afternoons.
Some of the centers have reading specialists from the local schools who know the
curriculum and have a direct line back to the teachers, says Bill Wolfe, the group’s
executive director. These connections and support through community-based programs
help to provide children with access to the best possible education.
In the Adrian Public Schools, McCullough has seen funding for her program decrease from
$62,000 last year to $39,000 this year. She uses more volunteers and recently worked with
a local business on a “Pajama Rama” fund-raiser that brought in $8,000 to help bridge the
gap. “I’m lucky to have a very giving community,” she says.
Shifting the Mind-Set
Over the past decade, Berliner says, the landscape has improved-but more needs to be
done. “It’s really easy to blame children for their behaviors that frustrate us-when they don’t
bring in their homework or they are destructive in the classroom,” she says. “Those are
things that we as adults need to deal with rather than blaming the kids. How can you blame
a kid for not doing homework when they have no place to do homework?”
Educators should not see homeless students as threatening. Instead, they must dig deep to
understand their needs, advises Bassuk. “Talk to the kids and find out what’s bothering
them. Then, in that context, find a way to contain the child. Kids will really perk up if they are
responded to appropriately.” With the right help, she says, kids can be resilient.
And keep in mind that children who are homeless don’t always ask for help, partly because
they don’t want to be categorized, especially at the high school level, says courseworkhero.co.uke Ross,
supervisor for homeless education programs in Maryland’s Prince George’s County Public
Schools. Of the district’s 124,000 students, homeless services helped 2,700 of them last
year.
“School is a safe haven for them. They want to be in school,” says Ross. “They want to be
successful. Sometimes there are other things going on and they need an advocate in the
school. They want to learn, and they want to be accepted.”
