LP Upper School
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High School Lesson Plan - Generative Thinking
Mountainside has a full library of lessons plans for levels K-12 and all disciplines: English, History, STEM, Arts, etc.
Four-class sequence for an 11th-grade US History or Contemporary Issues course.
Unit Overview
Grade: 11 (advanced)
Length: 4 class periods (≈50 minutes each)
Theme: Design a targeted program to address one dimension of homelessness
Culminating task: Two in-class essays (initial proposal, then a revised, more detailed proposal) arguing why a hypothetical non-profit should invest in the student’s program.
Long-term goals
Students will:
Analyze one specific facet of homelessness (e.g., addiction, housing, mental health, job placement, chronic illness, veterans, youth).
Propose a realistic, targeted program, considering unique challenges of working with unhoused populations.
Practice iterative argument writing: initial proposal → feedback → deeper research → revised proposal.
Employing Generative Thinking - AI as a research assistant critically (asking specific questions, checking plausibility, and noting limitations).
Understand the power of Generative Thinking/AI as a brainstorming and research buddy to quickly make your arguments more concrete and effective.
Class 1 – Defining the focus and researching model objectives
Students will:
Select a specific dimension of homelessness to focus on.
Identify at least two programs (historic or contemporary) that address that dimension.
Take one page of content-rich notes (not an outline) to bring to the next class.
Materials
Devices with internet access
Handout or slide with possible focus areas and guiding questions
Note-taking template (optional) emphasizing narrative notes, not bullet outlines
Opening (3-5 minutes)
Brief mini-lecture or discussion:
Clarify that “homelessness” is not one problem but many overlapping ones (housing affordability, addiction, trauma, health, employment, systems involvement, etc.).
Emphasize the unique challenges of working with unhoused populations: instability, lack of documentation, trust issues, trauma, safety concerns, zoning and neighborhood resistance, funding volatility, etc.
Present the project:
Each student (or pair) chooses one dimension of homelessness.
They will research how others have tried to address this dimension, then design a program that a newly funded non-profit could invest in.
Activity 1 – Choosing a focus (3-5 minutes)
Students choose or are assigned one focus area (examples):
Substance use / addiction
Emergency or transitional housing
Permanent supportive housing
Mental health treatment
Job training and placement
Chronic physical illness and disability
Families/children in shelters
Youth/young adults
Veterans
Reentry from incarceration and homelessness
Have them write:
“My focus: __________.Why does this matters in the homeless crisis: __________.”
Activity 2 – Researching comparable programs (40 minutes)
Student task:
Research programs that have tried to address their focus area, in different cities and/or time periods.
Quantify the dimensions of the problem they are solving.
Have the begin the essay by stating the dimensions of the problem:
How many homeless in their city,
How many their program would serve (i.e. how many single Moms.)
Is the problem getting better or worse.
Goal: At least two concrete examples (e.g., “Housing First in Utah/Finland,” “safe injection sites in Vancouver,” “veterans’ supportive housing in LA,” “NYC’s employment-first initiatives,” etc.). Encourage attention to:
What the program actually did (logistics).
Who it served.
What worked (outcomes).
What challenges it faced (cost, opposition, implementation barriers).
Provide guiding questions on the board/handout:
“What is one program that tried to solve this problem? Where and when?”
“What services did it provide?”
“What made it effective, or why did it struggle?”
“What unique challenges did it face because clients were homeless?”
“What lessons could we borrow for a new program?”
Emphasize narrative notes, not an outline:
Teacher role:
Circulate and push for specificity (“What exactly did they do?” “How many people?” “Did they need staff 24/7?”).
Remind them to make one page of notes next class (handwritten or printed).
Notes should be rich in details, chart graphs, not bullet skeletons of an essay.
Class 2 – First in-class essay: Proposal to the non-profit
Objectives
Students will:
Use their notes to draft an in-class essay proposing a program that a non-profit should fund.
Articulate a clear claim, rationale, and basic description of logistics.
Materials
Students’ one-page notes
Essay prompt (projected or printed)
Lined paper or devices (depending on your writing setup)
Opening (5 minutes)
Review the scenario:
“A non-profit has just received a large grant specifically to help address homelessness. You are proposing one targeted program in your focus area for them to fund.”
Briefly review expectations:
Clear thesis: what your program is and why it deserves funding.
Use at least 2–3 examples/lessons from other programs.
Address some unique challenges of serving homeless clients.
Main activity – Timed essay (40 minutes)
Prompt suggestion:
“Write an essay proposing a specific program that a non-profit should fund to address one part of the homelessness crisis.
Clearly state which aspect you are focusing on (e.g., addiction, youth homelessness).
Describe what your program would do and who it would serve.
Explain why this program is a good investment, using examples or lessons from other cities or times.
Show that you understand the unique challenges of working with people experiencing homelessness.”
Students write for most of the period.
Teacher role:
Light guidance: remind them to be concrete (numbers, settings, daily operations) as much as they can based on current knowledge.
Collect essays at end of class.
Closing (5 minutes)
Very brief reflection (if time): “What part of this proposal did you feel most confident about? What did you wish you had more information on?”
Have them jot 2–3 things they wanted more detail on (logistics, cost, staffing, legal issues, etc.); keep these for Class 3.
Class 3 – Feedback, deepening research with AI, and planning
Objectives:
Students will:
Receive targeted feedback on their first proposal essay (especially on logistics, feasibility, and cost).
Use AI and other sources to research missing details.
Revise their program concept in notes, ready for a second essay.
Materials
Teacher-commented essays (or quick conferences)
Devices with internet/AI access
“Deepening the proposal” question sheet to guide AI queries and note-taking
Opening – Feedback focus (5 minutes)
Graded Essay uploaded to the portal with recommended areas of expansion.
Answer student questions about feedback and new essay.
Clarity of program design – this essay is an extension not a correction.
On the Board Write Common Areas Needing More Detail
Specificity (logistics, cost, staffing, scale, timeline).
Realistic understanding of homeless clients’ needs and barriers.
“Scale: How many people can you serve?”
“Logistics: Where is this located? Who runs it? What hours?”
“Cost: Rough sense of major expenses (staff, buildings, services) and funding sources.”
“Partnerships: Who would you need to work with (city, hospitals, shelters, employers)?”
“Risks: What could go wrong? How would you handle community pushback, safety, or burnout?”
Activity – Guided AI research (30–40 minutes)
Students use AI as a research assistant to fill in gaps in their proposal.
Instructions to students (you can model on the board):
Do not just ask for “a better essay.”
Ask specific, focused questions like:
“What are typical costs of a small transitional housing program serving about 20 people?”
“What staffing is needed to run a drop-in mental health clinic for homeless youth?”
“What are common logistical challenges in providing job training for homeless adults?”
“How do successful Housing First programs work in practice?”
Ask follow-up questions:
“What might be unrealistic about those numbers in a mid-sized US city?”
“What community partners do these programs usually rely on?”
“What evidence is there that this type of program actually reduces homelessness or improves outcomes?”
Student task:
Use AI and other sources to gather new details that respond directly to teacher feedback.
Take notes (again, not an outline) on:
Revised program description with more specifics.
Approximate scale and cost bands (even if rough).
Partnerships, staffing, schedules.
Potential risks and how to mitigate them.
Teacher role:
Circulate to monitor AI use and push for skepticism:
“Does that number sound plausible?”
“How could you cross-check that?”
“Are you confusing capital costs with operating costs?”
Closing (5 minutes)
Students write a short planning statement:
“In my revised essay, I will add more detail about:
________,
________,
________.”
Collect or have them keep this as a roadmap for Class 4.
Class 4 – Revised proposal essay
Objectives
Students will:
Write a second, more detailed proposal essay that incorporates new research and feedback.
Show stronger command of logistics, scale, cost, and feasibility while maintaining moral and social rationale.
Materials
First essay with feedback
New notes and planning statement from Class 3
Writing materials/devices
Opening (5 minutes)
Brief reminder: “This second essay is not just longer; it’s more concrete and realistic.”
On the board, list reminders:
“Who, what, where, when, how much, with whom.”
“Keep your moral argument (why this matters) but now back it with details.”
Main activity – Revised in-class essay (40 minutes)
Prompt suggestion:
“Write a revised proposal to the non-profit that explains your program in greater depth.
Clearly explain what your program does, who it serves, and where it operates.
Include realistic details about scale (how many people), logistics (staffing, location, schedule), and cost categories.
Explain how your design responds to the unique challenges of working with people experiencing homelessness.
Use examples or evidence from programs in other places to support your choices.”
Expect more specificity:
Approximate numbers (e.g., “20 beds,” “3 full-time case managers,” “operating budget in the low hundreds of thousands per year”).
Concrete actions (“weekly medical outreach,” “evening job training classes,” “co-located mental health counseling”).
Teacher role:
Monitor time; encourage students to leave a few minutes for a quick reread and minor editing.
Closing (5 minutes)
Quick write: “One thing my thinking changed about between Essay 1 and Essay 2 was ______ because ______.”
Optionally, have a few students share how learning more about logistics and cost changed their view of “easy solutions” to homelessness.
Assessment and extension
Assess both essays with a rubric that separates:
Historical/contemporary understanding of homelessness and its dimensions.
Quality of argument (thesis, reasoning, evidence).
Attention to logistics, feasibility, and ethical considerations.
Optional extension:
Short presentations pitching their programs to classmates acting as a funding committee.
A reflection on the role and limits of AI in designing social programs (What did it help with? Where was it unreliable?).
This structure keeps the advanced level (argumentation, policy thinking, critical use of AI) while giving clear scaffolding over four class periods.