Student Resources
Teacher Resources

World Hunger:
Explore,
Understand, Act

 Children under the age of five are most at risk.

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed it's the only thing that ever has."
~Margaret Mead

Research Scenario

Political factors causes hunger in North Korea.

Political factors cause hunger in North Korea. Photo courtesy of World Health Organization, 2005.

In 2006, the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations reported that, "852 million people across the world are hungry," which is 10 million more people than were hungry last year. The World Bank reports that "In the developing world," where there are no food stamps, nor government assistance, "more than 1.2 billion people currently live below the international poverty line, earning less than $1 per day." A family that can not grow enough food has nowhere to turn for help. As a result, every day, "more than 16,000 children die from hunger-related causes - one child every five seconds."

Even in America, some 30 million people are undernourished. The World Health Organization notes that "Poor nutrition and calorie deficiencies cause nearly one in three people to die prematurely or have disabilities."

Read more about the effects of poor nutrition here.

Yet, there is no good reason why anyone in the world should be short of food. According to the Bread for the World Institute, "Enough food is available to provide at least 4.3 pounds of food per person per day worldwide - enough food to make most people fat!"

If food is available, why is there hunger? Your job is to investigate the causes of food scarcity around the world. After you research the issues that cause scarcity, you will debate what you can do as an individual to impact world hunger.

Children under the age of five are most at risk.
Essential Question: What causes food scarcity and what can you do as an individual to end world hunger?

Task and Product

Children under the age of five are among those most severely affected by malnutrition

Children under the age of five, like this boy from Swaziland, are among those most severely affected by malnutrition.

Photo courtesy of World Health Organization, 2005.

The most difficult part of a research assignment is knowing where to begin! You may feel overwhelmed by the assignment, the vast amounts of information, all the reading you will need to do, and the decisions you must make in order to ace this assignment. If you need help during any part of the process, check out the the Information Literacy Process Model for a step-by-step guide.

Task #1: Take this online prequiz to test your knowledge.

Task #2: Explore how geography and climate affect the world food supply by examining a series of interactive maps. Click here to download the directions.

Task #3: Work colloboratively with a team to research a hot spot (a country that is currently experiencing a famine or food shortage). Your teacher will assign you to one of the following hotspots: Haiti; Zambia; Ethiopia; Colombia; Bolvia; Afghanistan; Bangladesh; North Korea; Mali; or Swaziland. Each member of your team will be responsible for researching a specific factor that impacts your country's food supply:

Factors contributing to world hunger.

Political
Economic
Cultural

Environmental
Climatic
Natural Disasters

Use the resources in the "Gather and Sort" section to guide your research.

Task #4: Socratic Seminar

After conducting research individually, each member will share his/her findings with the rest of the group. Then, you will share your ideas in a Socratic Seminar; the two questions that will initiate the seminar are:

1. What is the major cause of world hunger?

2. What can you, as an individual, do to solve the problem?

Reflect on what you learned participating in the Socratic Seminar by writing a One-Minute Paper.

Task #5: Individual Action Plan

Finally, use the thoughts and ideas you gathered by participating in the Socratic Seminar to create your final product. For your final product, you will create an Individual Action Plan or a Video Documentary that addresses the causes of world hunger.

Assessments

Children in Bolivia gather for their only meal of the day

Children in Bolivia gather for their only meal of the day.

Photo courtesy of the World Health Organization, 2005

The following scoring tools may be used or adapted by your teacher to evaluate your research process and your final product and presentation.

Research Process Assessments:
Questions

ciated child weeps at a centre in 3.6 million people said to be facing starvation in the south of Niger.

Photo courtesy of BBC News, 2005.


Essential Question: What causes food scarcity and what can you do as an individual to end world hunger?

Subsidiary Questions:

  1. What is food scarcity?
  2. What causes food scarcity?
  3. How serious a problem is undernutrition?
  4. What role do political factors have in causing world hunger?
  5. What role do cultural factors play?
  6. How important are economic factors?
  7. What role do environmental factors play?
  8. How important are natural disasters?
  9. What role do climatic issues have?
  10. What can individuals do to help solve the problem?
Above are a few examples of questions you might need to answer through your research. At the top of separate sheets of notebook paper or index cards, write some additional questions about factors that contribute to world hunger. Write as many questions as you can. Although you may not find information to answer some of these questions, you may think of different questions as you do the research. By the end of your research you should be able to answer the essential question.
Gather and Sort

1 in 2 school age children in the District of Columbia is at risk of hunger. In Montgomery and Prince Georges Counties, 1 in 5 school age children is at risk of hunger and in Northern Virginia, 1 in 6.

  • 1 in 2 school age children in the District of Columbia is at risk of hunger.  In Montgomery and Prince Georges Counties, 1 in 5 school age children is at risk of hunger and in Northern Virginia, 1 in 6.
  • Photo courtesy of Capital Area Food Bank, 2006.

Use a variety of resources for gathering information about the factors that affect the supply and distribution of food within various countries.

Sort your research findings using a graphic organizer, separate sheets of notebook paper, or note cards containing your subsidiary questions. Be sure to avoid plagiarism, and remember to cite your references. Check a research guide for details about the proper citation of sources. For MLA guidelines and examples, click here. For an easier format click here.

 

Organize

Drought causes shortages in Mauritania.

Drought causes shortages in Mauritania.

Photo courtesy of the World Food Programme, 2006

Analyze your research notes to to answer the following questions:

    • Have you taken sufficient notes to answer all of your subsidiary questions in detail?
    • Can you eliminate facts which are not useful, are repetitive, or do not relate to your questions?
    • Do you need to rearrange the information in different categories?
    • Can you condense or combine the information?
    • Do you need to develop new questions to adequately cover your topic?

Share your research findings with your group. Now you should have sufficient information about the causes of food scarcity to participate in the Socratic Seminar.

Synthesize your findings by creating an Individual Action Plan. Before you begin, check make sure you have:

  • sufficient facts to answer each of your questions
  • a fairly complete understanding of the important facts
  • a thorough knowledge of the causes of world hunger
  • an understanding of how individual action can help end world hunger

Click here for the Individual Action Plan planning sheet.
 Evaluate your finished product by asking:

  • Does my Individual Action Plan state the problem?
  • Does my Individual Action Plan describe who is most at risk?
  • Does my Individual Action Plan state the causes of the problem?
  • Does my Individual Action Plan describe how I will change the situation?
Conclusion

Aid agencies say the crisis in Niger- caused by locusts and a long drought - was foreseen months ago but nothing was done.
Aid agencies say the crisis in Niger- caused by locusts and a long drought - was foreseen months ago but nothing was done.

Photo courtesy of BBC News, 2005.


Reflection: People claim that a picture is worth a thousand words. Look at the picture on the left. Think about everything you've learned by doing this research model. Which activity - viewing the picture or conducting the research - tells you more about the causes and consequences of hunger?


Extension Activity: Click here for the forms to turn your Individual Action Plan into a Service Learning Project.

Last update: August 2009

Created by Sharon Grimes

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