Growing Up Homeless

1. Set Focus
Pose this essential question to guide discussion: In what ways would homelessness affect a teen’s life?

2. List Vocabulary
Share with students some of the challenging vocabulary words in this article. Encourage them to use context to infer meanings as they read. .

• inflation (p. 10)
• incident (p. 10)
• evicted (p. 10)
• facilities (p. 11)
• advocates (p. 11)
• outlets (p. 11)

3. Engage
Ask students to share how they think teens experiencing homelessness might navigate life and what challenges they would face. Revisit this discussion after the lesson, having students share any new insights they’ve gained.

4. Read 
Have students read the article, marking the text to note key ideas or questions.

5. Discuss
Distribute or project Up Close: Growing Up Homeless, a close-reading activity for students to work on in small groups. (Note: The questions on the PDF also appear on the following page of this lesson, with possible responses.) Follow up with a class discussion. If you’re short on time, have each group tackle one or two of the questions. Collect students’ work or have each group report its findings to the class.

• Who are Harper Elder and Giovanni Ayala? How do their stories support the central ideas of the article? (Central idea, analyze information) (Harper Elder and Giovanni Ayala both faced homelessness as teens and are now adults who are speaking out about their experiences. Their stories support the central ideas of the article because they became homeless for different reasons, both felt shame and stress, and both struggled to stay in school while experiencing homelessness.)

• Summarize the different reasons families become unhoused. What is the main reason teens end up on their own? (Summarize, cite text details) (Experts say a widespread lack of affordable housing is the main reason families become unhoused, along with rising inflation, rising rents, and a lack of help. However, the main reason teens end up on their own is conflict at home, which may include abuse, neglect, domestic violence, or a parent’s addiction.)

• What problems can being unhoused cause for teens? How do these problems affect their lives and futures? (Problem & solution, cause & effect) (Unhoused teens struggle to find safe places to stay. They are often hungry and exhausted and may struggle to focus. They also may lack access to resources that other teens have, like quiet places to study. As a result, unhoused students drop out of school at much higher rates than their peers, which makes it difficult to find a job later on.)

• According to the map on page 10, which locations have the highest percentages of unhoused students? Why do you think the author included this map in the article? (Analyze text features, author’s purpose)(The locations with the highest rates of unhoused students are California, the District of Columbia (Washington, D.C.), New York, Oregon, Washington, and West Virginia. Students’ reasons for the map’s inclusion may vary but should be supported by reasonable explanations, such as wanting to show how widespread the problem is or to inspire the reader to think about why certain places have higher or lower rates.) 

• According to the section “Finding Support,” what is the first step unhoused teens can take to get help? Based on Elder’s and Ayala’s stories, why might it be especially hard for teens to take this step? (Problem & solution, make inferences) (According to the section, the first step in seeking help is asking for it. However, Elder and Ayala both discussed the shame, embarrassment, and secrecy that came with being unhoused. From their stories, the reader can infer that it might be very difficult for a teen to ask for help, because that would mean telling people about their homelessness.)

• According to the section “Finding Support” and the “How to Help” text feature, what needs to be done to help teens experiencing homelessness and how can individuals help? (Problem & solution, synthesizing information) (According to the section “Finding Support,” creating more youth-specific shelters and providing more schools and aid groups with additional resources to help identify struggling young people are ways to help homeless teens. Creating and expanding services like mental health care, job training, and affordable housing programs can help prevent teen homelessness. According to “How to Help,” individuals can collect supplies for local homeless shelters, advocate for laws to help end youth homelessness, and spread awareness.)

6. Writing Prompt
Research the services your community, or a nearby community, provides to teens who are experiencing homelessness. Create an informational pamphlet describing those services.

7. Video
Watch the video about teens who experienced homelessness. What does it add to your understanding of the article?

8. Classroom Debate
Should schools provide shelter to students experiencing homelessness?

9. Quiz & Skills
Use the quiz to assess comprehension and the Analyze the Graphs and Analyze the Cartoon skills sheets to practice data and visual analysis.