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Causes and Impacts of Hunger

Grades: 
6, 7, 8
Subjects: 
Language Arts
Social Studies
Arts Education
Philanthropy
Keywords & Concepts: 
Hunger
Poverty
Malnourishment
Undernourished
Stunted Growth

Students explore the causes and impacts of hunger, and how hunger differs depending on location.

Duration 
Print2 hours
Objectives 

Students will:                       

  • define vocabulary and key terms.
  • explain how hunger changes depending on where in the world a person lives.
  • identify the causes and impacts of hunger.
Materials 

Students will need access to computers and the Internet to do research.

  • United Nations. "What Causes Hunger?" WFP: United Nations World Food Programme, 2015. Web.                                     
  • "World Hunger Facts." Freedom From Hunger, 06 August, 2012. Web. 
  • "Repercussions: What Are the Effects of Hunger." Hunger Initiative 2013. The WTN Global Challenges Program, 2013. Web. 
  • "The State of Food Insecurity in the World." World Food Programme, 2015. Web. 
Vocabulary 
  • malnourishment
  • stunted growth
  • undernourished
Reflection 

Ask students to reflect on and write about the following questions:

  • If there is enough food in the world to feed everyone, why does hunger exist?
  • How does hunger in the developing world differ from hunger in industrialized nations?
  • How is hunger hidden in North America?
  • How does poverty impact hunger? Is poverty the cause of hunger?
Bibliography 
  • United Nations. "What Causes Hunger?" WFP: United Nations World Food Programme, 2015. Web.                                                    
  • "World Hunger Facts." Freedom from Hunger, 06 Aug. 2012. Web.
  • "Repercussions: What Are the Effects of Hunger." Hunger Initiative 2013. The WTN Global Challenges Program, 2013. Web.
  • "The State of Food Insecurity in the World." World Food Programme, 2015. Web.
Related Resources 

Instructions

Print

  1. Review vocabulary: malnourishment, stunted growth, and undernourished.

  2. Divide students into groups of 5-8. Give them the three articles from the internet that provide a background on the topic of hunger. Ask students to read the articles independently, and then to discuss and summarize, as a group, what they learned about the causes and effects of hunger.

  3. Give each student access to the article, The State of Food Insecurity in the World (2015). Assign each group a region of the world to analyze using what they learn. Students read and then summarize what they learned from their analysis. 

  4. Students gather and organize statistics by region (i.e. number of malnourished, undernourished, etc.).  Students present their findings in a spreadsheet and/or chart or graph.

  5. Provide students with question prompts to complete a reflection in their personal journal.

Assessment 

Students are able to complete the reflection questions.

Discussion