Where would you go if you had to sleep

rough?

Lesson 1 – Being Homeless

What do you know about homeless

people?

By the end of the lesson...

ALL of you will be able to understand of the difference between fact and opinion.MOST of you will be able to predict and speculate ideas from the front cover and the blurb. RAF 1SOME of you will be able to use appropriate vocabulary and layout when creating a charity leaflet. WAF 7

What is the difference between fact and opinion?

What is a fact? A fact is something that can be verified and backed up with evidence, e.g. In 2005, Brazil and FC Barcelona star Ronaldinho was named FIFA World Footballer of The Year. We can verify these details by looking at FIFA records. What is an opinion? An opinion is based on a belief or view. It is not based on evidence that can be verified, e.g. Wayne Rooney is the best football player in the English Premier League. Are there players in the English Premier League who are better than Wayne Rooney?

Read the following statements. If you think the

statement is a fact, you

need to stand up. If you think the words on the screen

are an opinion, you need

to sit down.

West Ham United are the greatest British football

team ever.

opinion

Mr Sedani thinks West Ham United are the

greatest British football team ever.

fact

Thomas Becket Catholic School is in Northampton.

fact

Thomas Becket Catholic School has over a

thousand students.

fact

All homeless people are old.

opinion

Over 1 million people in the UK live in slum-like

conditions.

fact

According to government statistics, rough sleepers are 4 times more likely to

be murdered than the general public.

fact

25% of homeless people have served in the armed

forces.

fact

fact

Look at the advert below, is the slogan a fact or opinion?

opinion

How about now?

What do you think as you pass them by,Sleeping in boxes under the sky?No sheltering roof or nice clean bed,The pavement a pillow for their head.

Don’t rush past, just stand and wait,See what happens about half-past-eight.They’ll be killing each other to get a job,For the price of a bed and a couple of bob.

You’ll never get rich at Mortimer Street,Ten bob an hour all day on your feet,Curses in the kitchen, the pots and pans,Cleaning the grates, the floors and the cans.

To most it’s just the price of a drink,To help to forget the fleas and the stinkAnd another night on weary feetOr box on pavement outside Mortimer Street.

In the 1970s in Camberwell, London

there was a casual employment office

on Mortimer street. Homeless people

could sometimes get a few hours low-paid work, washing up in

a restaurant or cleaning in offices or

hotels. The following poem was

written by a man who worked at the

employment office.

Why do people become homeless?

In pairs, discuss your ideas and create a small brainstorm of several ideas.

Why do people become homeless?

Research had identified the structural factors that determine people's life chances and concluded that these underpin almost all pathways into homelessness. There are also

a number of more individualised characteristics and life experiences that have a strong influence on pathways into homelessness. These risk factors are shown

below...

Structural factors Shortage of affordable housing Low income and poverty

Individual factors Using drink or drugs at an early stage Getting involved with crime at an early stage Offending behaviour / experience of prison Lack of qualifications / basic literacy skills Persistent truancy or exclusion from school Young parenthood Lack of social support networks Debts, especially rent or mortgage arrears Causing nuisance to neighbours Drug or alcohol misuse Having poor physical or mental health, or learning disabilities A combination of mental health, drug and alcohol problems Experience of violence from inside or outside the home

Institutional factors Having been in care Having been in the armed forces

Family background factors Experience of family homelessness in childhood Family breakdown and disputes Being in reconstituted families with step-parents Sexual or physical abuse in childhood or adolescence Experiencing premature death of parents or step-parents Having parents or step-parents with drug or alcohol problems

Predict and SpeculateWe are about to start a new book about homelessness. What are your views about the homeless? Do you think the writer is going to be sympathetic towards the homeless?What do you think the story is about? What does ‘Stone Cold’ make you think about?How does the image on the front cover make you feel?What kind of plot can we expect from a story about a homeless person?

Now read the blurb on the

back. Were you right about your

predictions?

What’s in a name?

• Jonathan Strange• Professor Snape• Sauron• Eeyore• Mercutio• Miss Trunchbull• Lady Dedlock

• Do the names give you any clue about what the character might be like? How?

Give it a tryIn pairs, choose ‘suitable’ names that reflect

each of these characters: A ‘mad’ scientist A young girl who lives in a ruined castle A boy detective A school-girl genius A young and glamorous male vampire An old woman who uses a variety of

disguises to pretend to be someone else

What about these names?

LINK

SHELTER

What do you think they might be like?

Look at the image below. The image is going to be used as part of a charity leaflet. Using facts

and opinions, your task is to create a leaflet that would convince people to donate money to help

the homeless

Now swap books...

Read another students work and identify two sentences that are facts and two others that are opinions. Write them down in your book.

For example‘One in four people who served in the army end up homeless at some point’ – FACT‘We must help these people today’ - OPINION

What have you learned?

Are you able to understand of the difference between fact and opinion?Are you able to predict and speculate ideas from the front cover and the blurb? RAF 1Are you able to use appropriate vocabulary and layout when creating a charity leaflet? WAF 7

Where would you go if you had to sleep

rough?