CommonLit
Common Lit: Book Pairings: "The Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck
The Joad family leaves Oklahoma in search of work after their farm is destroyed by the Dust Bowl. They arrive in California only to find that fair jobs, food, and sympathy are scarce. Selected (9) reading passages (grades 8-11) to pair...
Digital History
Digital History: Why It Happened
How did a country with such a booming economy in the 1920s sink into economic disaster in the 1930s? Prosperity was just an illusion. See the many causes of the Great Depression, and find out how all the signs were missed or disregarded.
British Library
British Library: Great Expectations: Discovering Literature Resources
Explore resources related to Great Expectations that include videos and articles on themes such as class mobility, poverty, crime and punishment.[PDF]
Digital Public Library of America
Dpla: Feeding the Hungry With Food Stamp Programs
This collection uses primary sources to explore the Food Stamp Program started in 1939 to assist those living below poverty levels. Set includes an overview, primary sources, links to related resources, and a teaching guide.
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Point of View: Minding the Gap: Lesson Plan Clips
Minding the Gap is a coming of age film by Bing Liu. Starting in high school, Bing begins to make skate videos. What starts as a hobby ends up as a profound exploration of issues that is likely to resonate deeply with students. These are...
Digital History
Digital History: The Laboring Poor
The plight of the working poor is not a new one. Read about the problems faced by unskilled workers in the mid-1800s.
Social Security Administration
Social Security Online: Upton Sinclair
The Social Security Administration profiles the political career of author Upton Sinclair and his unsuccessful run as a progressive candidate for governor of California in 1934. He proposed a plan for California similar to what became...
PBS
Pbs Teachers: Global Women & Poverty (Lesson in Women's Economic Hardships)
A lesson that investigates how women in Senegal and Thailand are affected by poverty. Students examine what causes some countries to prosper and others to suffer from poverty. They also create and present graphic organizers of action...
Other
Almanac of Policy Issues: Poverty
This site from the Alamanac of Policy Issues provides a general look at poverty in the U.S. based on 1998 figures (the latest available). A good reference for federal poverty threshold figures.
Boise State University
Social Work History Station: The Three Rs: Research, Reform, and Residence
This resource provides an insight into how settlement houses helped change the way poverty was regarded.
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: From the Countryside to the City
The growth of cities was rapid in the last half of the 19th century. Read about the good things and bad things that were a result of this urbanization.
University of Virginia Library
Prism: "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" Visualization
[Free Registration/Login Required] See the results of how users have highlighted Maya Angelou's poem "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings." Details that show unjust treatment are blue while details that show poverty are green, and details...
ClassFlow
Class Flow: Addressing Poverty
[Free Registration/Login Required] Creative thinking skills lesson- begins by briefly looking at what poverty is, and then challenges the students to think of solutions without framing answers for them.
PBS
Mpr: Over the Hill to the Poor House
This feature examines the use of poorhouses and poorfarms in Minnesota from the 1850s to the 1950s. It puts Minnesota's use of poorhouses in context with their general use throughout the country. Includes links to some of the original laws.
Curated OER
There Are 100 Million Children at Work
This article from 2000 covers debt throughout the world and where poverty is focused. Speculates on possible problems and reasons why the poor nations are focused on certain continents.
Curated OER
Bbc: The Un and World Poverty
This article from 2000 covers debt throughout the world and where poverty is focused. Speculates on possible problems and reasons why the poor nations are focused on certain continents.