Common Core State Standard L.CCS.1/2/3/4 Grades 6-12: Video of a current news event is presented for discussion to encourage student participation, but also inspire the use of evidence to support logical claims using the main ideas of the video. Students must analyze background information provided about a current event, draw out the main ideas and key details, and review different opinions on the issue. Then, students should present their own claims using facts and analysis for support.
07/31/2017
Disease might be a root cause of poverty
Providing medical care in impoverished areas can do more than just keep people healthy. It might also help people escape poverty, according to a new study. To determine potential root causes of poverty, researchers collected disease and economic data from 83 countries, from the most developed to the least. They found that poor people could be stuck in poverty if they lived in disease-ridden areas that lacked resources to fight illness. The authors said disease can act like a "poverty trap."
■Class discussion: Could better health care reduce poverty in the United States? Why or why not? Can you find examples of disease causing poverty? Do you know anyone who cannot work because they suffer from disease? Do they have access to affordable medical care? Are nations with universal health care usually richer than nations with less health care? Or, is it just that wealthier nations can afford better medical care?