Teaching Sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

Optional Preparation – Ground Rules For Classroom Discussion
10 minutes – Part A: Youth Homelessness - When There’s No Roof Over Your Head
25 minutes – Part B: Affordable Housing - What is it?
35 minutes – Part C: Drawing Conclusions About Affordable Housing
10 minutes – Reflection

Part A: Youth Homelessness - When There’s No Roof Over Your Head

Step 1.

Start by inviting students to complete the first part of the 3-2-1 Bridge visible thinking routine on the Student Worksheet, focusing on the theme of Youth Homelessness.

This routine asks students to note three thoughts, two ideas, and one question about a topic, then later connect these to new thinking about the topic after they have found out more.

Step 2.

Inform students that throughout this lesson, they will develop a deeper understanding of the issue of youth homelessness, with a specific focus on housing and the impact that it can have on people’s lives.

Step 3.

Invite students to sit in a place where they can see the screen and introduce the clip by explaining that it features the story of Owen, who was being supported by The Oasis Youth Support Network when The Oasis documentary was filmed 10 years ago. Before you begin watching, remind students that the clip they are about to see features real people courageously sharing their stories.

Owen on Housing (https://vimeo.com/348331410/50ac209752)

Step 4.

Encourage students to visualise what they saw and heard in the clip by creating a mind-map of Owen’s experiences. Distribute a piece of plain A4 paper to each student, or ask them to open their notebook to a blank page. Ask students to write the name 'OWEN' in a circle in the middle of the page. They should then write words and phrases around his name that describe the key ideas that they remember from the clip.

Advise students to then create links between these ideas using lines, and write a description along the line of how and/or why each of the ideas are linked. Some students may also find it beneficial to use symbols or drawings to share their ideas.

Step 5.

Ask students to share their mind-maps, and facilitate a discussion around Owen’s life 10 years ago, as well as his current life situation. Guide students to establish that Owen’s housing situation has a very strong influence over his life and whether or not he is stable (and can then go on to succeed in other areas of his life).

Step 6.

Write the question below on the whiteboard and invite students to share their thoughts in a quick brainstorm:

Write students suggestions on the whiteboard, adding the following if they are not made by the class:

Stability - a permanent address and a base to come home to at the end of every day. A place to keep personal belongings, do washing, keep food, cook meals, bring friends.
Safety - a secure place to sleep, eat, bathe and relax. A place to leave things where they can be locked up and safe.
Company - people to talk to and have a positive relationship with. People who will support you if necessary, and someone to talk things over with.

Step 7.

Let students know that in the next part of the lesson, they will be investigating one of the key factors in reducing the chance of a person experiencing homelessness: having enough money to afford to live in a house. They will look into the National Housing And Homelessness Agreement, an Australian Government policy that seeks to address the issue of homelessness by ensuring that affordable housing options exist for those who need them.

Part B: Affordable Housing - What Is It?

Step 1.

Introduce this part of the lesson by informing students that they will now spend some time gaining a deeper understanding of affordable housing - which can include social housing (when the cost of housing is subsidised by government agencies, and community or non-profit organisations).

Step 2.

Invite students to create a set of questions about the topic of affordable housing using the 5W-1H approach. This will help them to think laterally about the type of information they are seeking about a topic that they might not know much about. Students should record their question in Column A of the Affordable Housing table on the Student Worksheet.

Some questions that you could suggest include:

What is social/affordable housing?
Who benefits from affordable housing?
Who provides affordable housing?
When do people need affordable housing?
Why should affordable be provided?
Why do people need affordable housing?
Where is affordable housing provided?
Where does affordable housing exist?
How do people access affordable housing?
How do people know that they can access affordable housing?
How does affordable housing help people?

Once students have created a list of questions about affordable housing, ask them to form pairs, and share their lists.

Step 3.

Now invite students to read through the articles and factsheets in the Student Worksheet and note down anything relevant to each of their questions, recording this information in Column B of the table on the Student Worksheet:

Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute: “Understanding The National Affordable Housing Agreement” https://www.ahuri.edu.au/policy/ahuri-briefs/Understanding-the-National-Affordable-Housing-Agreement
Everybody’s Home Campaign: https://everybodyshome.com.au/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnieqvVxrXo
The Conversation: "Australia needs to reboot affordable housing funding, not scrap it", February 20, 2017 https://theconversation.com/australia-needs-to-reboot-affordable-housing-funding-not-scrap-it-72861
BtN: “Rental Squeeze” https://www.abc.net.au/btn/classroom/rental-squeeze/10541940 ( please note that this article is from 2008)
BtN: “Homelessness” https://www.abc.net.au/btn/classroom/homelessness/10531424
Mission Australia: “Social and affordable housing is key to the future of national housing policy”, Published: 27 September 2017 https://www.missionaustralia.com.au/news-blog/blog/social-and-affordable-housing-is-key-to-the-future-of-national-housing-policy
Homelessness: What can Australia learn from Finland's housing solution?
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-09-12/homelessness-conference-melbourne-hears-finland-solution/8891920
The radical solution to homelessness: no-strings homes
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/sep/12/homelessness-radical-solution-homes-housing-first
Tiny Homes Foundation
https://www.tinyhomesfoundation.org.au/about

Once complete, invite students to spend some time reflecting on the content of the articles using the following questions:

What information presented in these articles did you find most interesting or important and why?
What different kinds of strategies for addressing homelessness did you find in these articles? Which did you think was the best solution and why?
What do these articles make you think about how we should be addressing homelessness and why?

Step 4.

Once pairs have had an opportunity to read through the resources, invite pairs to join together to form a group of four, and share what they have discovered about affordable housing in Australia. Encourage students to be specific as to where they sourced their answers from and the type of resource that it is.

Part C: Drawing Conclusions About Affordable Housing

Step 1.

Provide students with an opportunity to share their thoughts on the link between the issue of homelessness and the provision of affordable housing. Ask students to stand up (if there is time, they could clear the furniture to the sides of the classroom), and attach the ‘Strongly Agree’ and ‘Strongly Disagree’ signs to the walls on opposite sides of the classroom. Invite students to imagine a line between each sign. That line is a continuum, with extremes at each end. Inform students that you will make a statement, and they should stand in a position between the two signs that indicates their viewpoint.

Step 2.

Write the statement below on the whiteboard and allow students time to move to the position that indicates their view. Once students have chosen their position, invite them to turn to a person close to them, and share their view and the reason for it. Invite some volunteers to share their view and reasons with the class.

Step 3.

Invite students to return to their seats, and summarise their response to the prompt in writing. There is space on the Student Worksheet for them to do so.

Reflection

Invite students to complete the second part of the 3-2-1 Bridge visible thinking routine, focusing on the theme of youth homelessness. Remind students to complete the ‘bridge’ part of the routine to highlight their new thinking about the topic.

Differentiated Learning

Extension – Encourage students to research the public housing policy of their state government, and evaluate whether they think enough is being done.

Provisions for Learning Support – Support students to read through one to two articles listed in Part B of the lesson with your support. Guide students to highlight key points in the articles and to ask questions to clarify key terms and concepts.

Teacher Reflection

Take this opportunity to reflect on your own teaching:

What did you learn about your teaching today?
What worked well?
What didn't work so well?
What would you share?
Where to next?
How are you going to get there?

Life after The Oasis - Youth Homelessness and Affordable Housing

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