Lesson Plan: “‘Anyone Can Be Homeless’”

Essential Questions

• Who is responsible for the health and safety of kids and teens?
• What can we do to make our communities better and safer for everyone?

Literature Connection

• Novel: How to Stay Invisible by Maggie C. Rudd
• Novel: 102 Days of Lying About Lauren by Maura Jortner

Preview Text Features (15 minutes)

Have students open their magazines to page 4. Guide them to preview the text features by asking the following questions:

• Read the article’s title and subtitle (the text below the title). What causes might there be for the growing number of U.S. teens who are homeless and on their own? Make a prediction. Answers will vary. Students might guess that the number of homeless-and-alone teens is rising because a growing number of parents can’t afford to house their teens or because more and more teens are unwilling to follow the rules at home.
• Find and read the sidebar headed “You Can Help!” What is its purpose? The purpose of the sidebar is to suggest a fairly simple way readers can help make life easier for people who are unhoused.

Preview Vocabulary (10 minutes)

• Point out the vocabulary box. Read the terms (financial, conflict, crisis, shame, transportation, resource) aloud and discuss their definitions.
• Play the Vocabulary Slideshow. 

Make a Plan for Reading

Before students start to read, walk them through a reading plan:

• Set a purpose for reading by telling students that the article “‘Anyone Can Be Homeless’” will tell them why more and more teens in the U.S. are homeless and on their own.
• Point out the activity at the end of the article and let them know they’ll use it to summarize the text after reading.
• Point out the Pause and Think boxes. Tell students they can check their understanding of what they’ve read by answering these questions.

Read the article. (Higher- and lower-Lexile versions are available on the Story page at Action Online. Click Presentation View to access an audio read-aloud.) Then discuss the following close-reading and critical-thinking questions.

Close-Reading Question (15 minutes)

• The author starts the article by describing a cold day in the life of Harper Elder. Why do you think she chose to begin this way? (author’s purpose) By describing a day when Harper was cold and on her own, the author helps us imagine how hard it would be to be a homeless teen. For those who haven’t experienced it, homelessness might seem like a distant problem. Hearing about a teen’s real experience can make it easier to understand what a serious issue it is.
• Based on the article, what’s a big reason teens become homeless on their own? (cause and effect) A big reason teens become homeless on their own is conflict at home. Some teens face abuse, while others are trying to get away from a parent’s problems with drugs or alcohol.
• What advice does Harper have for unhoused teens? (problem and solution) Harper says that unhoused teens should ask for help.

Critical-Thinking Question (5 minutes)

• According to the article, the law says that school districts must provide special services to unhoused students. One of these services is transportation to the school a student went to before becoming homeless. What else could a school district provide that might help homeless youth? Answers may vary. Students might suggest tutoring, counseling, food, and extra time to complete assignments.

• Have students work in pairs to complete the Spotlight Skill activity at the end of the article.
• Go further: Assign students to work independently on our Summarizing activity, available in higher- and lower-level versions. (Click here to view all your Skill Builders for this article.)
• Writing Prompt: Harper says, “There’s a lot of shame around homelessness.” Imagine that you have a friend who is homeless on their own and hasn’t told anyone but you. Write a note encouraging your friend to open up to someone who can help. Explain why asking for help is a good idea.