Erase Shivering

Erase Shivering lesson plan

In winter, children in low-income families may lack warm coats, hats, or mittens. How can you help erase shivering with clothes and fuel that people need to stay warm?

  • 1.

    It’s not my day to wear the coat, was the answer when a teacher asked a child about her coat one winter day. People who live on low incomes often do not have basic items such as warm clothing. Imagine how cold you would be in a wintry climate without a coat, hat, and mittens!

  • 2.

    Find out more about how poverty affects families during winter in your area. Discuss the issues in class. What are some ways to help them obtain warm clothing and fuel? All of us are responsible to help each other!

  • 3.

    Sketch your solutions to this social problem with Crayola® Erasable Colored Pencils. Perhaps you could adapt symbols from familiar books about low-income families. For example, to make a patchwork coat, erase dotted lines across the patches to look like stitching. Erase circles along the edge to show buttons. Color your poster with Erasable Colored Pencils and erase highlights.

  • 4.

    Use Crayola Multicultural Markers to color people. Add shiny areas to your miniposter with Crayola Twistables. Include compelling words. Where will you post your message to encourage people to take action?

Benefits

  • Students explore the social problem faced by low-income families who lack warm clothing and fuel in winter.
  • Students devise solutions to obtaining warm clothing for children.
  • Students promote their solutions in a miniposter.

Adaptations

  • Younger children and those with disabilities may grasp the issues better after reading children’s books about families living in poverty or talking with community volunteers who serve low-income families.
  • Many organizations sponsor coat giveaways. PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) collects unwanted fur coats and gives them to people in need. Other groups collect coats for residents of Native American reservations. Find out about organizati
  • Debate whether coat giveaways solve the problem of poverty in the long term. What actions could make a lasting difference? Interview people at all levels of poverty eradication to find out what they think.
  • Assessment: Observe how realistic student solutions are and how well these solutions are portrayed in their miniposters.