Welcome to the Research Unit!

YOU NEED TODAY: RESEARCH NOTEBOOK, SOMETHING TO WRITE WITH, A GROWTH MINDSET.

HOMEWORK: WEB EVALUATION DUE DAY 1

Welcome to the Research Unit!

WEB EVALUATION DUE DAY 1http://

www.smes.org/main/library/Tutorials/Web_Eval_Assignment.html

Go to St. Margaret’s Library e-resourcesChoose from middle school menu: Web Evaluation

Comic Strip posted with permission from author. (Cravens, Greg.  Buckets. Jan 4 2008.)

WELCOME TO THE RESEARCH UNIT

Challenging, but worth it. A challenging task is an opportunity to build dendrites.

Persistent effort drives success.Further your skills as a researcherYour teachers will assume you know researching skills and tools.

Research is the process of answering questions.

UNIT OVERVIEW: THE NEXT 13 WEEKS• Research Training and Techniques• Practice accessing, evaluating,

processing and analyzing information from a variety of resource types.

• Two Outlines >>> Two Essays • Formal Debate!

ADJUST YOUR MINDSET

Advice from past 7th graders. Stay organized. Stay organized. Stay organized.I wish I spent more time doing notepackets well. It would have saved me a lot of time later

Don’t procrastinate!!!!!!Don’t give up, doing well on the debate will be worth it.

Don’t just research the side you like. Research BOTH sides!

Whatever you do don’t loose your Research Binder!

RESOLVED: The United States federal government should increase social services for persons living in poverty.

PROCESS IS IMPORTANT!!

FIGURE OUT THE QUESTIONS

Ask yourself “What do I know or what do I think I know?”

Gather a little info to get started

Brainstorm/generate questions

RESOLVED: The United States federal government should increase social services for persons living in poverty.

Stpoverty

WHAT IS POVERTY?Poverty is the deprivation of food, shelter, money and clothing that occurs when people cannot satisfy their basic needs. Poverty can be understood simply as a lack of money, or more broadly in terms of barriers to everyday life. (Wikipedia)• In 2011, the official poverty rate was 15.0

percent and there were 46.2 million people in poverty.

• Who are these people?http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/data/incpovhlth/2011/table3.pdf

US Census website

GAME QUESTION #11. What is the FPL? (Federal Poverty Level is

the minimum amount of money a family of 2 can live on in America)

A. $25,000/yrB. $14,000/ yrC. $12,000/yrD. $39,000/yrE. $52,000/yr

GAME QUESTION #11. What is the Federal Poverty Level? (or the

amount of money a family of 2 lives on)

A. $25,000/yrB. $14,000/ yrC. $12,000/yrD. $39,000/yrE. $52,000/yr

FEDERAL POVERTY LEVEL

The federal poverty level (FPL) is the set minimum amount of income that a family needs to meet the basic needs, such as food, clothing, transportation, shelter.

The FPL is developed by the Department of Health and Human Services, and is updated yearly.

Family Size Gross (Pre-tax) Income2 people = $14,710/ yr

3 people = $18,5304 people = $22,350U.S. Department of Health & Human Services,

http://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty/11poverty.shtml

IN COMPARISON

FPL= $14,710

SMES Tuition (MS)=

$21,976

CHILDREN IN POVERTY21% of children in the U.S. live in families

that are considered officially poor. Child poverty rates are highest among

black, Latino, and American Indian children.

Across the states, official child poverty rates range from 9% in New Hampshire to 31% in Mississippi.

Two most prevalent outcomes: academic failure and poor health.

National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP). http://www.nccp.org/topics/childpoverty.html

GAME QUESTION #21. What is the average yearly salary

in the USA?

A. $55,000B. $38,000C. $69,000D. $43,000E. $75,000

GAME QUESTION #21. What is the average yearly salary

in the USA?

A. $55,000B. $38,000C. $69,000D. $43,000E. $75,000

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO LIVE?

A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE

WHAT DOES POVERTY LOOK LIKE?GOOGLE IMAGE SEARCH ON “POVERTY

UNITED STATES”

StSocial Services

GAME QUESTION #3What does our government spend the

most $$ on?A. Social ServicesB. DefenseC. EducationD. Social SecurityE. Medicaid/Medicare

GAME QUESTION #3What does our government spend the

most $$ on?A. Social ServicesB. DefenseC. EducationD. Social SecurityE. Medicaid/Medicare

WHERE THE MONEY GOES

WHERE DOES THE MONEY GO?

WHAT ARE SOCIAL SERVICES?Synonyms: Welfare, public services, Government spending intending to aid

people in the society. Income supplements

Food stamps Housing assistance

Medical costs Education access

Child-care subsidies Transportation

Tax credits

TWO TYPES OF SOCIAL SERVICES

Social Insurance: Individuals contribute to a fund through payroll taxes and receive benefits based on their lifetime contributions

(Social Security)

Means-Based Programs provide benefits based on need. People need to prove that their income is low enough to qualify.

(food stamps)

GAME QUESTION #4How many people in America

receive benefits from means-based social services?

A. 1.2 billionB. 18 millionC. 106 millionD. 898 thousandE. 59 thousand

Hint: Current US Population is 314,885,189

GAME QUESTION #4How many people in America

receive benefits from means-based social services?

A. 1.2 billionB. 18 millionC. 106 millionD. 898 thousandE. 59 thousand

Hint: Current US Population is 314,885,189

Seven different Federal Agencies

Program overlap126 different

programsFunding sources blend

federal, state, local and private funds

A CONFUSING SYSTEM?

Source: Michael Tanner, “The 15 trillion dollar war on poverty is a failure”

TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE FOR NEEDY FAMILIES (TANF)

(1) provide assistance to needy families so that children may be cared for in their own homes or in the homes of relatives;

(2) end the dependence of needy parents on government benefits by promoting job preparation, work, and marriage;

(3) prevent and reduce the incidence of out-of-wedlock pregnancies and establish annual numerical goals for preventing and reducing the incidence of these pregnancies; and

(4) encourage the formation and maintenance of two-parent families.”

income assistance (including wage supplements for working poor families); child care; education and job training;

transportation; and a variety of other services to help low-income families.

THE SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (SNAP)

Formerly known as food stamps, SNAP helps low-income people buy food.

Includes funds for training people on how and where to use food stamps

Transportation to and from food stamp stores.

MEDICAID SERVICES

Covers all or part of medical services for low income.

MedicalDental

PharmacyMental/emotional

TransportationHospital/Institutional/Home care

At-home care

CHILDREN’S HEALTH INSURANCE PROGRAM (CHIP)

Provides health coverage to children in families with incomes too high to qualify for Medicaid, but can’t afford private coverage.

GAME QUESTION #5How many hours do Americans

spend in their cars? A. 10 hrs/wkB. 11hrs/wkC. 15 hrs/wkD. 17 hrs/wkE. 20 hrs/wk

GAME QUESTION #5How many hours do Americans

spend in their cars? A. 10 hrs/wkB. 11hrs/wkC. 15 hrs/wkD. 17 hrs/wkE. 20 hrs/wk

EARNED INCOME TAX CREDIT (EITC)

Allows low income workers a tax credit

Income must each be less than:$43,998 with three children$40,964 with two children

$36,052 with one child$13,660 with no children

Maximum credits:$5,751 with three children$5,112 with two children

$3,094 with one child$464 with no children

2011 Tax Year Source: http://www.irs.gov/

CHILD TAX CREDITWith the Child Tax Credit, qualifying

households may be able to reduce federal income tax by up to $1,000 for each qualifying child under the age of 17.

Qualifying Households = Married families with income $110,000 or below (approximately).

PELL GRANTS

Provides money for college/university to those qualify based on income and schooling costs.

Max benefits $5,550.00 /yearAverages 4 year 2 year

All 18,497 22,092 8,909Public 13,564 15,918 8,085Private 32,026 32,617 23,871

Source: National Center for Educational Statistics

Annual Tuition/Room/Board Costs for Higher Education

SUPPLEMENTAL SECURITY INCOME (SSI) It is designed to help aged,

blind, and disabled people, who have little or no income

It provides cash to meet basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter.

GAME QUESTION #6Amount that federal welfare spending has

increased in last 4 year. A. 59%B. 41%C. 30%D. 15%E. 2%

GAME QUESTION #6Amount that federal welfare spending has

increased in last 4 year. A. 59%B. 41%C. 30%D. 15%E. 2%

COSTS OF LARGEST WELFARE PROGRAMS

Source: Michael Tanner, Cato Institute

MIXED OPINIONS…“Since President Obama took office,

federal welfare spending has increased by 41 percent, more than 193 billion per year... Clearly we are doing something wrong. Throwing money at the problem has neither reduced poverty nor made the poor self-sufficient.”

--Michael Tanner, CATO Institute

“The passage of economic recovery legislation that includes funding for basic needs and other supports is crucial to helping poor and low-income families weather the current financial crisis.”

--Joy Moses, Center for American Progress

WHAT DO YOU NEED TO KNOW TO MAKE A DECISION?

Should the United States federal government

increase social services for persons living in poverty?

DEFINE YOUR TERMS!

Resolved: The United States federal government should increase social services for persons living in poverty.

DEFINE YOUR TERMS!

Resolved: The United States federal government should increase social services for persons living in poverty.

DEFINE YOUR TERMS!US federal government : The President, the House and

the Senate.

increase : Raising of payments, goods and services. Decrease in taxes? Raise exemptions?

social services : food programs? housing programs? educational programs? medical services? insurance?

living in poverty : what definition are you using?

PRESEARCH: MAKE A PLAN

File materials immediately.

File materials in the correct category.

Know where your binder is at all times.

YOUR RESEARCH BINDER

Works Cited

Allan, Diana. "Which Mindset Do YOU Have?" Peak Performance for Musicians. N.p., 2012.

Web. 2 Dec. 2012. <http://www.musicpeakperformance.com/which-mindset-do-you-

have/>.

International Revenue Service. IRS, 2012. Web. 2 Dec. 2012. <http://www.irs.gov/>.

National Center for Children in Poverty. National Center for Children in Poverty, 2012. Web. 2

Dec. 2012. <http://www.nccp.org/>.

"Percentage of Poor Households with Amenities." The Heritage Foundation. The Heritage

Foundation, 2012. Web. 2 Dec. 2012. <http://www.heritage.org/>.

Tanner, Michael. "The 15 Trillion Dollar War on Poverty Is a Failure." USA Today Sept. 2012:

10-14. eLibrary. Web. 11 Sept. 2012.

"The 2011 HHS Poverty Guidelines." Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation Home

Page. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 2012. Web. 2 Dec. 2012.

<http://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty/11poverty.shtml>.

United States Census Bureau. U.S. Department of Commerce, 2012. Web. 2 Dec. 2012.

<http://www.census.gov/>.