[Read about what it’s like to live in your car with a young child.]

Mr. Pribble, an author and social studies teacher, weaves the issue into his curriculum. When his students learned about the Great Depression, for instance, they also discussed how mass unemployment leads to homelessness.

“Students learn more when teachers make connections between their curriculum and the world in which students live — and this is especially true of homelessness,” he said. “When students think about how much their own homes are worth, or how much their parents are paying for rent, they’re more able to understand why homelessness is such a big issue.”

The median home price in Marin County, where he teaches, is $1,115,200, according to Zillow estimates.

Vanessa McGrady often talks about homelessness with her adopted daughter, Grace, 8, whose birth parents are homeless.

“We come at homelessness probably a little bit differently,” Ms. McGrady said.

Grace has seen the tent where her birth parents live, but it’s hard to talk about the reasons they became homeless. According to Ms. McGrady’s own research, the couple were living in Los Angeles and became homeless after their apartment became infested with bedbugs and Bill lost his job. They were unable to get back on their feet.

[Read about how skyrocketing housing costs are destabilizing the lives of working renters.]

“We talk a lot about helping people and the choices people make, but it’s nearly impossible for me to begin to explain the complexities of why this country is so monstrous in how it treats it most vulnerable residents,” she said. Ms. McGrady chronicled her experiences in a memoir.

“Children are naturally curious and empathetic,” said Michelle Sorkin Levy, a mother of two young kids. As a city planner, she often talks to them about the ways in which cities function. Seeing people in need is a teachable moment for her.