UNIT 1: “DON’T ASK WHAT YOUR COUNTRY CAN DO FOR YOU; ASK WHAT

YOU CAN DO FOR YOUR COUNTRY."

WEEK 01 – LET’S UNITE TO FIGHT POVERTY AND INDECISIVENESS…

Theme : Social Organization Unit : 01

Topic : Social engagement and volunteering Week : 01
Grade : 5th

DAY 1

Purpose: To explain possible causes of poverty and discuss how it can be

eradicated.
Learning Evidence: A paragraph.

EYES ON ME

Activity 1: Divide into two big groups. Observe the photographs and answer:

Group 1: What are some factors that make people become poor? Is it possible for a poor
person to improve his situation? Why or why not?

Group 2: What do you feel about the situation reflected in the photographs? What are
possible ways to eradicate poverty?

Image 1 Image 2
Street workers Poor children Albania

Note. From Katino. n.d. Photos make me cry. Note. Gogolin, R. n.d. from https://www.pinterest.com/pin/100134791684986885/
https://www.pinterest.com/catino/photos-make-me-cry/.

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LET’S OBSERVE AND READ

Activity 2: Read the following text. What is it about?

Image 03: Ending Poverty

Why is it so difficult to reduce the level of poverty in the world? In this chapter, you will be
asked to consider ‘absolute poverty’ – a lack of basic human need, such as clean water,
proper nutrition, health care and education. How can these be improved?

The percentage of the world’s population living below the World Bank’s poverty line of
$US1.90 a day has, in fact, reduced dramatically since 1990, from 35 per cent to 10 per cent
in 2013. However, 80 per cent of those who live in countries where the gap between rich
and poor is growing. These statistics question the definition and nature of ‘poverty’.

There are many ways to reduce poverty, that you will explore in this unit. The ‘watch and
listen’ section introduces you to basic universal income, the idea that everyone is entitled
to a sufficient amount of money. The listening section explores a term called ‘factivism’ – the
idea that activists, armed with facts, can bring about a positive change in the world. Text 5.1
introduces you to the fair-trade label that you can find on various products such as coffee or
tea. This label or ‘mark’ means that the product does not exploit the people who make it.
Text 5.2 is the story of a woman who received microcredit: a small loan to help start her
juice-making business in Kenya. These are in contrast to the traditional view that aid is the
solution to poverty. In fact, as Text 5.3 argues, aid might even make the economic situation
in developing nations worse.

If the world produces enough food to feed everyone, then no-one should have to go hungry.
The question to ask is not if we can beat poverty, but when and how.
Source: Philpot, B. 2018. English for the Diploma- course book. Cambridge University Press.

Activity 3: Discuss in groups of 3, what are the causes of poverty? Write your ideas
on your notebook then share.

LET’S UNDERSTAND

Activity 4: Analyze the following words. Make sure you understand them all. Use
your dictionary in case of new words. Practice pronunciation with your
teacher.

basic universal income fair trade exploit microcredit

aid child mortality rate scarcity mentality philanthropist
sustainable marginalize capital wages
debt cancelation integrity dignity corruption
plague

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 Activity 5: Answer, when can you use the words presented above? Choose 3 words
and create sentences connected to the topic today.

LET’S PRACTICE

Activity 6: Match the definitions and descriptions a-f below with the six correct words from
activity 4.

1. A means of doing business where all the parties divide the profits in a transaction
equally. _____________________
2. This word is used to describe countries that are poor but have a growing economy. It
also means “progressing” or “changing” in a good sense. ______________________
3. This word describes how many children die before they reach the age of five.
_____________________
4. This word describes a relationship in which one person’s rights and welfare are
abused for the sake of improving the welfare of another person. ________________
5. This is another word for financial support. ________________________
6. This word describes a frame of mind where resources such as time, money and
energy seem limited. _________________________

Activity 7: Answer the following questions with your personal opinion.

1. How do you feel about social inequality and the level of poverty around the world?
2. How much do you care about those who are less fortunate than you?
3. Who do you care for, help and spend time with regularly?

LET’S CREATE AND SHARE

Activity 8: Answer the question: How can poverty be eradicated? Work in groups of 3 and
make a list. You can research about possible solutions. Remember the importance of
referencing the ideas.

LET’S REFLECT

Activity 9: Think about your process in class and answer these questions.

1. In this lesson I felt ____________ because _______________

2. I think this topic is important because _____________________

DAY 2

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 Purpose: To use subject and object questions in a dialogue related to social
problems.
Learning Evidence: A written dialogue.

EYES ON ME

Activity 1: You will listen to a song from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBmy_JE1s2g.

What is it about? Get a phrase from it that calls your attention and comment it with a
classmate.

 The song is about ___________________________________________________

 A phrase that caught my attention was _____________________________, I think
that means_______________________________________________________

LET’S OBSERVE AND LISTEN

Activity 2: Listen to an audio about poverty. Listen to it and complete these sentences with
the missing verbs. (Cambridge Course book. Unit 5, track 13)

1) A new brand of activism which spreads facts and _____________ ________________.

2) The host ________________ the campaign as “high profile”.
3) The number of people living below the poverty line _____________ ______________
halved/ the child mortality rate in sub-Saharan Africa has been cut by 75%/ countries
_______________ ____________________their education completion race.
4) To ________________ _________________of the positive outcomes they’ve
achieved and to counter corruption.
5) For selfish reasons (e.g. they ______________debt cancellations as a threat, local
producers of medicine as competition, more healthy people as more mouths to feed).
6) He’ll _________________ ________________ to being a rock star.

LET’S UNDERSTAND

Activity 3: Look at the following examples. Match the questions to the correct
type.

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 A. What is Ann doing? B. Who is helping the man?
Helping a man. Ann.

( ) SUBJECT QUESTION ( ) OBJECT QUESTION

Activity 4: Read the following information about SUBJECT and OBJECT

QUESTIONS.

In English, there are two different types of questions using question words.

1. Object questions: When we want to know information about how, when, where,
why… the subject performs an action.

2. Object questions: When we want to know who or what performs the action.

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LET’S PRACTICE

Activity 5: Read the statements below. Write a SUBJECT or OBJECT question

according to the underlined information. Analyze the examples given.

E.g.
Patricia is waiting for James. Who is waiting for James?
Sophia uses her car to get to work. What does Sophia use to get to work?

1. Stefan likes to play tennis. ___________________________________

2. We are in the garden now. ___________________________________
3. Mark is repairing his bike in the yard.________________________________
4. Ron is eating pizza. ___________________________________
5. The children are making a sandcastle. ______________________________
6. Harold reads newspapers in the morning.____________________________
7. Deborah does her projects successfully._____________________________
8. They don’t observe the instructions. _____________________________
9. Riley is at the office at the moment. _____________________________
10. The dogs chase this cat every day. _____________________________
11. Julian is helping Lily now. ________________________________________
12. Angela and Sabrina are doing shopping now._________________________
13. Martin does many different things every day. _________________________

LET’S CREATE AND SHARE

Activity 6: Work in groups of 3 and create a dialogue speaking about poverty and
how this problem could be solved in society. Use at least 3 subject and 3
object questions in this dialogue.

LET’S REFLECT

Activity 7: Think about your process in class and answer yourself:

1. What IB attributes have I used today? _______________________________

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 2. What have I learnt? _____________________________________________
3. How have I learnt? ______________________________________________

DAY 3

Purpose: To discuss about causes and possible solutions poverty has.

Learning Evidence: A dialogue.

EYES ON ME

Activity 1: Work with your classmates with whom you created the dialogue the previous
class. Discuss and take notes:

 What social issues are there in your community?

 What are the authorities and your community doing to solve these issues?

Activity 2: Choose a representative to report your group’s answers.

LET’S OBSERVE AND READ

Activity 3: Read the following excerpt from the book THE GIVER by Louis Lowry
and explain what it is about.

Lowry, L. 1993. The Giver. Houghton Mifflin Company. USA.

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LET’S UNDERSTAND

Activity 4: Look at the following literary figures from the book.

Simile: It’s a phrase that uses a comparison to describe using like and as.

E.g: "And he has funny eyes like yours, Jonas!" – p. 20.

(This is saying that someone has different eyes than anyone else.)

Hyperbole: It’s an extravagant exaggeration used to emphasize a point.

E.g: "Jonas thought Larissa had drifted into sleep." – p. 31.

(This means she has fallen asleep little by little)

Onomatopoeia: It’s a sentence in which a word is used to represent a sound.

E.g: "He could hear the crack of the bone." – p.108.

(The crack indicates the sound the bone makes)

Idiom: It’s a saying or expression containing a figurative meaning that differs from
the phrase's literal meaning.

E.g: "He killed it, my father killed it." – p. 150.

(He destroyed the innocence of the child)

LET’S PRACTICE

Activity 5: Read the text from activity 3 again and answer these questions.

a. Who are the main characters in this excerpt?

______________________________________________________________

b. What literary figure do you identify here?

______________________________________________________________

c. What theme would you connect this excerpt with? Explain why.
______________________________________________________________

LET’S CREATE AND SHARE

Activity 6: Time to present your dialogue.

LET’S REFLECT

Activity 7: Think about your process in class and answer yourself.

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 1) What did you learn in this lesson?
2) How has this topic help you a better person?
3) What do you need to work on?

AUTHORSHIP

Peña, Rocio. (2023). Methodological resource to learning 001: Let’s unite to fight poverty and
indecisiveness. COAR LORETO.

Adapted by Tapia, H. (February, 2024). COAR LORETO.