Crash Course Sociology Episode | 24 Social Class and Poverty in U.S. by Teach Simple

About this resource

What's inside this resource

Marx's two-class model of the bourgeoisie and proletariat opens a set of fifteen video-response questions built around Crash Course Sociology's Episode 24 on social class and poverty in the United States, moving on to Weber's income-education-power-prestige definition and the five classes sociologists use to describe American society, from upper class to lower class. Students write a short answer under each question while watching the linked video, then check their work against a separate two-page answer key that includes statistics such as the 20% of Americans in the bottom quintile and the 9% of children born into the bottom income quartile who complete a four-year degree. The final three questions shift from definitions of class toward poverty itself, asking how the federal poverty level is calculated, who is most vulnerable to poverty, and what competing theories explain its causes.

Product description

From the author

Crash Course Sociology Episode 24: Teaching Resource

This teaching resource takes an in-depth look at the pressing issue of Social Class and Poverty in U.S, presenting it as a video and worksheet, fostering understanding amongst high school students.

Resource Composition

Worksheet with 15 questions that checks comprehension of key themes catered to high school students. This is available in Microsoft Word format.
The video is linked for quick access at the top of the document.
An answer key separated from the main document promoting self-assessment – a part of independent learning.

Note: This resource can be used both in classrooms (public or homeschooling) allowing flexibility within different educational frameworks including group discussions or solo activities... Potential Advantages:,

Fosters collective debates being watched once during full-class settings;
Promotes deeper understanding on replay during smaller groups or individual sessions (if technology permits).

Incorporate Crash Course Sociology Episode 24 into your lesson plan today! The Active Social Studies Storefront also offers other engaging educational resources such as American Civil Rights Lecture and Ethnocentrism slides catering for enriching subjects like Social Studies & beyond!

In the classroom

Teaching tips & learning objectives

Learning objectives

Compare Marx's two-class model (bourgeoisie/proletariat) with Weber's multidimensional definition of social class (income, education, power, prestige).
Identify the five social classes sociologists use to describe American society and a defining characteristic of each.
Explain how the federal poverty level is calculated and identify groups particularly vulnerable to poverty.

Teaching tips

Pause the video after the Marx and Weber sections (questions 2-4) to confirm students can articulate the difference between the two theorists' definitions before moving on to the five-class breakdown.
Have students look up the current federal poverty guideline for their household size after question 13, since the worksheet explains how the threshold is set without citing a specific dollar figure.
Use the separate answer key for a quick self- or peer-check pass, since it gives a full explanation with specific percentages rather than a one-word answer for every item.

Skills covered

Comparative theory analysis — students distinguish Marx's two-class model from Weber's multidimensional definition of social class (questions 2-4).
Statistical interpretation — students record specific figures from the video, such as the percentage of Americans in the lower class and the percentage of low-income children who complete college.
Causal reasoning about social issues — students explain competing individual and systemic theories for the causes of poverty (question 15).

Good to know

Questions teachers ask about this resource

Do the questions only ask students to define terms from the video?

No — most ask for a definition or statistic, but question 3 asks students to apply Marx's framework to a specific example: how he would categorize a small business owner who also works at their store.

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Resource details

Concepts & topics

Core concepts

social class theory (Marx, Weber)
American class structure
poverty and its causes

Topics

Social class poverty sociology education Crash Course Sociology critical thinking

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Categories this resource belongs to

History Worksheets Social Studies Worksheets 10th Grade Worksheets 11Th Grade Worksheets 12Th Grade Worksheets High School Worksheets

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