Trash

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. What are some of the challenges facing underdeveloped nations and the people who live in poverty there?

Teaching Suggestion: With sensitivity to low-income families, it may be beneficial to contextualize this novel’s setting and characters’ financial situations by discussing the disadvantages of people around the world who survive on less than $2/day. The articles below mention government corruption and how it plays a part in poverty. This is central to the novel’s themes of Corruption, Poverty, and Education. The main characters are in an impoverished situation in the midst of a political scandal. To improve their situation, the boys embark on a journey to recover stolen funds from a corrupt government.

• This article describes some of the challenges facing the poor in underdeveloped countries.
• This article details the 10 poorest countries in the world and some of the political and economic backgrounds of those countries.
• This 7-minute video explores the main reasons for the prevalence of poverty in some areas.

2. What is the connection between political corruption and poverty? What causes corruption?

Teaching Suggestion: With sensitivity to low-income families, students may benefit from discussion on how political corruption often causes poverty. The boys in the novel Trash are disadvantaged in part due to a political leader who stole funds that belonged to the country.

• This article explains how political corruption increases Poverty.
• This 2-minute video describes four types of motivation for Corruption.

Personal Connection Prompt

This prompt can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection homework before reading the novel.

Describe a time when you were shocked by an example of political, corporate, or public corruption, either in your area or in another place. What motivated the politicians or those in authority to behave in the way they did? Were those responsible reprimanded for their actions, or were there no consequences? How did the people around you respond to the news?

Teaching Suggestion: It may be difficult for some students to remember a specific incident involving corrupt politicians or organizations. In this case, consider allowing students to read about examples of Corruption or to search online for possible examples.

• This article from the FBI offers several examples, as does this list from Transparency International.

Differentiation Suggestion: For advanced students or students who require an additional challenge, consider allowing them to research a famous example of government Corruption in history in depth and share their findings.