Strategies for Teaching Students in Poverty

         Although the brains of students from families above the poverty line do not seem as if they would be different from those who come from families at or below the poverty line, differences do exist due to poor nutrition, higher rate of substance abuse, and less prenatal care.  Poor nutrition for example, can have detrimental effects on a child’s brain.  Students’ thoughts could become detracted from lessons in the classroom due to a preoccupation of where their next meal will come from, or they may be unable to learn because of the pain from a hungry stomach.  As with any other organ in the body, poor or lacking nutrition can have physical manifestations in the brain.  If children are not receiving the necessary care and nutrition in utero and during the early developmental years, there can be lasting effects.  Jensen (2009) explains that, “Deficits in these areas inhibit the production of new brain cells, alter the path of maturation, and rework the healthy neural circuitry in children's brains, thereby undermining emotional and social development and predisposing them to emotional dysfunction” (“Cognitive Lags,” para.2).  However, as teachers of all children from an extensive array of backgrounds and familial situations, we can have a lasting impact of children from low-income homes.  As Smith and DeBord (2005) stated, “…it is essential that teachers know the disadvantages under which these children live each day.  In some cases the school setting will be the first ordered environment the child has ever known.  A teacher can have a tremendous influence upon such a child” (“Family Resource Practices,” par.6).  Below you will find practical and beneficial strategies for teaching children in poverty or those from low-income homes. 

Teaching Strategies

In order to encourage more parents from lower socioeconomic statuses to attend parent-teacher conferences, create student buy-in and enthusiasm for this type of important events by hosting student-led conferences at the end of grading periods.  Be sure to also include goal setting during these meetings to enable students to have ownership over their own learning and progress.   

Teachers can provide character lessons and develop the social skills of their students.  Since they are not biological behaviors, teachers should explicitly teach learned emotional behaviors such as compassion, acceptance, and social skills to their entire class.  Because children in poverty often have less interaction with parents due to the adults working multiple jobs or being from single-headed homes, they do not learn those behaviors we assume to be innate in other students.  Teachers can easily accomplish this by reminding students to make eye contact when speaking to others, greet their classmates in a morning meeting, and thank their classmates after completing group activities.

Since academic vocabulary is not as common in low-income homes in comparison to the homes of more affluent students, teachers should explicitly teach academic language.  As Jensen (2009) explained, “…low-income caregivers speak in shorter, more grammatically simple sentences. There is less back-and-forth— fewer questions asked and fewer explanations given. As a result, children raised in poverty experience a more limited range of language capabilities” (“Cognitive Lags,” para.7).  When students do not know the language of academia, their success in school will suffer, especially in the high school years and beyond.  Less knowledge of academic language could also prevent some students from entering or succeeding in college, effectively preventing them from breaking the cycle of poverty that can plague them.  

Since language and life lessons can be acquired through reading text, teachers should provide access to more books in the classroom and even encourage students to take the books home.  Since reading can be a strong indicator of school success, teachers should provide students with the access to books low-income families often do not have or cannot afford their students.

In an effort to not exclude students or cause shame or embarrassment, educators in the classroom should not host activities such as gift exchanges.  Teacher should account for the inability of some students to participate in these types of situations.  Having students create valentines in class as a classroom project is another way to still carry on the tradition of giving certain holidays are centered around.

School personnel can create an environment of college readiness (even in elementary school) to set all of their students up for success.  By providing students with an attitude geared toward optimism and equal opportunity, students can be afforded the realization that they do have the power to break generational poverty.  This type of school culture can also work to cultivate the positive attitude toward learning that is often lacking in the homes of children in poverty.

When teaching content that requires background knowledge, teachers need to assess their students carefully to ensure the class has the required schema to continue learning successfully.  If students are lacking  background knowledge, the necessary experiences should be afforded to them so that they will have equal access to the subject matter.   An example of this is when students are learning about counting money.  Children living in low-income homes may not have the experience of counting coins from a piggy bank at home.  In this case, providing students time to count and explore real coins or even play money would be beneficial prior to beginning instruction.  Another example of how teachers can provide meaningful, real world learning experiences would be to do class cooking projects to teach how to make healthy snacks.  This type of activity would also afford low SES children an opportunity to learn about healthy eating, something that is not as common in low-income homes.  

Instead of sending projects home and expecting them to be completed with or under the guidance of the adults in the home, projects such as science fair projects or book reports can be completed in class.  Since there is traditionally less support at home for children in low-income homes, these children should have access to these great learning activities with support.

Teachers of children in poor communities should include units on healthy eating, personal hygiene, and oral health since poor children may not receive these important life lessons at home.  Schools could also help by inviting nonprofit organizations, groups, or programs such as KidsSmiles to provide free or low cost dental care to families who need it but may not be able to acquire it on their own.

Teachers of children will brains affected by substance use and abuse, poor nutrition, lower instances of prenatal care, and less community resources should help students develop appropriate emotional responses instead of requiring the students to change their behavior on their own.  For example, instead of telling kids to "be responsible” or “be respectful” teachers should demonstrate appropriate responses and the circumstances in which to use them.  Students should also be allowed to practice applying them in class.

          As Jensen (2009) stated teachers should: Help students increase their perception of control over           their environment by showing them how to better manage their own stress levels. Instead of       

          telling students to act differently, take the time to teach them how to act differently by implement             social-emotional skill-building programs in the early years. Programs like the PATHS program,             Conscious Discipline, and Love and Logic embed social skills into a classroom management    

          framework. (“Effects on School Behavior, para.9)

Teachers of children in poverty should work hard to cultivate an inclusive classroom community that encourages a positive relationship and affiliation with the school.  Creating this feeling of belonging will allow students from all walks of life to feel that they belong and that their learning and growth does matter.