Bedsit, flat, bungalow, cottage, digs, hostel, caravan - which type of accommodation would you choose? Many questions are posed in three modules for second-level students from Focus Ireland. Trying to prevent homelessness is one of the main aims of the modules, which also aim to raise awareness and challenge stereotypes.
Margaret O'Gorman of Focus Ireland says the two packs for senior students and the third pack for junior students "could well be very useful to a wide range of students".
Each pack contains worksheets, homework and project suggestions, discussion questions, teachers' notes, various scenarios on homelessness and a range of useful addresses. A Place of My Own, aimed at Leaving Cert Applied students, looks at basic life skills such as budgeting, finding your own flat and sharing your living space. The second pack, Homelessness as a Contemporary Issue, is also for use with Leaving Cert Applied students; it looks at media, human rights and myths and stereotypes.
The third pack is a civic, social and political education (CSPE) module launched last November. Focus Ireland has been "inundated with requests" for this one, which looks at the causes, effects and solutions of homelessness.
All three packs are written by Barbara Gill, a Kilkenny-based teacher. To get a copy, write to Margaret O'Gorman at Focus Ireland, 1 Lord Edward Court, Bride Street, Dublin 8 (fax: (01) 475 1972).
