Teaching Sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

10 minutes

Tune In: Homelessness statistics

25 minutes

Find Out: Exploring causes of homelessness

25 minutes

Take Action: Formulating questions

5 minutes

Reflection

Learning Intentions and Success Criteria

Students will:

understand some of the causes of homelessness through film, statistics and research
learn how to develop research questions by using a thinking tool.

Students can:

explain some key points about the causes of homelessness.
create good research questions about an aspect of homelessness.

Tune In: Homelessness statistics

Step 1

Initiate a game of 'True or False' with students by presenting the below statements one by one, based on homelessness statistics reported by the Australian Government in 2023 and information from the report to the Government from Sacred Heart Mission regarding their Journey to Social Inclusion Program.

Designate areas of the classroom as 'True' and 'False', prompting students to move to the side that aligns with their agreement with each statement. In between rounds, encourage discussion by having students articulate their reasons for choosing their positions.

True or False?

In 2023, on any given day across Australia, over 72,000 people sought help from specialist homelessness service agencies. (True)
In 2023, on any given day across Australia, roughly 5% of those who sought help were young people presenting alone. (False - 15% or 11,000 were young people)
In 2023, on any given day across Australia, most people who sought help were receiving it for the first time. (False - only 275 people who reached out to an agency had done so for the first time)
The costs to the community of people experiencing chronic homelessness are high, ranging from an estimated $40,600 to $51,600 per person per year. (True due to the cost of emergency services response, hospital, legal and homelessness services)

Note: You may want to explain to students that ‘specialist homelessness service agencies’ provide support to people experiencing, or at risk, of homelessness. The support offered by these agencies ranges from general support and assistance to immediate crisis accommodation. For more information, refer to the Teacher Content Information.

Step 2

If time permits, facilitate a discussion about whether any of the statistics were surprising to students and whether they have any questions as a result.

Find Out: Exploring causes of homelessness

Step 1

Display the Causes of Homelessness presentation on the whiteboard and talk through each slide. Throughout the presentation, assist students in connecting the content to the themes, events, or characters depicted in the film.

Step 2

Show students this clip (clip 8) 31:22 - 43:34, where Tina and Frances meet at the social worker’s office. Ask students to identify:

Tina’s lack of housing/history of housing.
What makes Tina vulnerable to experiencing homelessness?
Tina’s pathway to experiencing homelessness.

Step 3

Explain that students will now be starting a project to be completed at the end of the next lesson (Lesson 4). The statistics within the presentation will serve as a starting point for this project. The work for the project is split into two connected parts:

For the remainder of this lesson, students will create some in-depth questions (using Phil Cam’s Question Quadrant) about homelessness based on one of three topics: housing, trauma, or women.
In the next lesson (Lesson 4), students will conduct some rapid research on their topic to try to answer any of their questions. They will then use their findings to ideate (brainstorm) a range of possible actions to help address their particular topic related to homelessness.

Take Action: Formulating questions

Step 1

Divide students into groups (ideally 3-4) and ask them to pick one of the topics to focus on (housing, trauma, or women). Use the Question Quadrant visual to introduce students to Phil Cam’s tool for generating in-depth questions, using the instructions below to explain how to add ideas to each quadrant.

Based on the information from the presentation, students should aim to generate one question for each quadrant:

Comprehension questions are based on what they have learned to help expand upon their understanding. For example, ‘In 2022-2023, what percentage of specialist homelessness agency clients were female?’.
Research questions delve deeper into the reasons or implications behind the statistics, which often require the help of experts. For example, ‘How does the representation of women among specialist homelessness agency clients reflect broader societal issues?’.
Speculation questions focus on creative solutions or approaches to address perceived challenges. For example, ‘If the government committed to providing women experiencing homelessness with safe and secure housing, what would happen?’.
Enquiry questions focus on the big picture, usually having multiple answers and reflecting personal experiences, values and perspectives. For example, ‘Should the primary focus of addressing homelessness be on immediate support or on resolving underlying social issues such as family violence and mental health?’.

Step 2

Guide students in formulating questions based on the presented material and film clips using the Question Quadrant template in their Student Worksheet. Encourage collaboration and discussion within the groups to refine and strengthen their questions.

Step 3

Facilitate a sharing session where groups can present their questions and discuss the thought processes behind them. If time permits, ask groups to provide feedback and suggestions on ways they could tweak or add to their collection of questions.

Extension task: In preparation for the next lesson, assign students to research homelessness support services available in their local area, either during class or as a homework assignment. Offer examples of innovative initiatives from around Australia, such as the Sleepbus in Ballina, NSW; Orange Sky Laundry based in Brisbane (with mobile vans operating in several states), and the website www.couchsurfer.org.au which offers help to the 17,700 people in Australia who couch surf every night – use these to inspire students and broaden their understanding of the diverse approaches to supporting individuals experiencing homelessness.

Reflection

Wrap up the lesson and get students excited about working on this project in the next lesson, by asking the following questions:

What insights did you gain from the Causes of Homelessness presentation, and how did it deepen your understanding of the themes portrayed in the film?
As you brainstormed research questions, what factors did you consider in order to delve deeper into the reasons or implications behind the statistics? How were the questions based on each topic (trauma, housing, women) similar/different?

Investigating the Causes of Homelessness

Summary

Lesson Guides and Printables

Investigating the Causes of Homelessness

Summary

Lesson Guides and Printables