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Lesson of the Day: ‘Among the World’s Most Dire Places: This California Homeless Camp’
In this lesson students will learn about the experience of living in a homeless encampment, through photographs, video and stories.
Find all our Lessons of the Day here.
Lesson Overview
Featured Article: “Among the World’s Most Dire Places: This California Homeless Camp” by Thomas Fuller and Josh Haner
Two New York Times journalists spent three months in an encampment created by and for homeless people living in the San Francisco Bay Area. In this lesson you will explore the interactive article and use visual thinking skills to study and analyze one image.
Warm Up
Read this quotation by Markaya Spikes from the featured article:
Homeless people are treated worse than stray animals. When someone finds a stray animal they take it home and feed it. When someone sees a homeless person they call the police. Where is the compassion?
What is your immediate reaction to reading the quotation? What words stand out to you? Does the quotation evoke any imagery or bring up an emotional response for you? Do you have any desire to respond to Ms. Spikes? What might you say to her?
As you read the article, you will get to learn more about Ms. Spikes and hear from other people without permanent housing who live in the Bay Area.
Questions for Writing and Discussion
Read the article, then answer the following questions:
1. What is Thomas Fuller’s background as a journalist, and how does it influence how he characterizes and names High Street camp compared with how city officials do?
2. What were some of the life events that Kim Hansen experienced that eventually led to her living in the High Street encampment?
3. How did Leilani Farha, a U.N. representative, respond to what she saw in the High Street encampment?
4. What are some of the similarities and differences between the High Street encampment and Rey Nezahualcóyotl?
5. Media Literacy: Why do you think Thomas Fuller, the San Francisco bureau chief for The New York Times, and Josh Haner, a photographer, decided to collaborate on this project? Why do you think they chose to create an interactive article instead of simply using text? What features in the article did you find effective in telling the story or making a point?
Going Further
Choose one photograph from the article that you found particularly evocative or effective in telling the story. Then, answer these three core questions from our partners at Visual Thinking Strategies:
What’s going on in this picture?
What do you see that makes you say that?
What more can we find?
Now, dig a little deeper:
What do you notice about the composition, colors, objects and people in the photograph?
Why did this photograph stand out to you? What do you find interesting or moving about it?
What could someone learn about homelessness by viewing the photograph?
Nicole Daniels joined The Learning Network as a staff editor in 2019 after working in museum education, curriculum writing and bilingual education. More about Nicole Daniels
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