Spotlight on Literacy #14 - "Charlie Needs a Cloak"

Trading and Bartering: Introduction
We can learn about the origin of monetary system by reading the following stories.  Think about the plot in terms of the system of barter that takes place.  After  the bartering system, it is just a small step to think about the evolution from bartering to exchanging goods and services for money — the evolution of our monetary system.

Trading and Bartering:  Story #1
View and read along:  https://youtu.be/zclyZ2FzELE -

Tomie dePaola's Charlie Needs a Cloak (Simon, 1973; Aladdin, 1988 pb).  Charlie shears the wool of his sheep, cards, washes, and spins it into thread.  He dyes the thread and weaves the thread into cloth. Using the cloth, he cuts and sews his own cloak.

In this story Charlie does all the tasks to make his cloak.  This is an example of a person being self-sufficient.

Fill in the blanks on this sheet.  Review the story if you need to.

If you wish to print this, click on the image.

Think and write:
Check out what the mouse is doing on each of the illustrations.  Write or tell his story.

For more learning activities visit http://bit.ly/mclinks101

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McElmeel, Sharron (2020, April 27). Spotlight on Literacy #14 - Charlie Needs a Cloak.  Reading Trove.  Retrieved from http://bit.ly/readingtrove-14

Next pages available in the days that follow are

http://bit.ly/readingtrove-15 — The Goat in the Rug by Geraldine, as told to Charles L. Blood and Martin Link.  Illustrated by Nancy Winslow Parker. (Four Winds, 1980; Aladdin, 19) — self-sufficient

 http://bit.ly/readingtrove-16  — Pelle’s New Suit by Else Beskow. (Gryphon House, 1993) — bartering services for services

http://bit.ly/readingtrove-17 — A New Coat for Anna by Harriet Ziefert.  Illustrated by Anita Lobel. (Knopf, 1986) — bartering services for goods

You may wish to also locate a copy of On Sand Island by Jacqueline Briggs Martin - a final view of the system.

Spotlight on Literacy #12 - Observing Trolls

One of our favorite stories by Tomie dePaola is Helga's Dowry: A Troll Love Story.  In some places in the world when a man and woman get married, the woman's family pays the man a dowry — money and goods that reward the man for agreeing to take care of the woman.  If the woman is poor, she is likely not going to have a very big dowry. 
In Helga's Dowry, Helga is an orphan and doesn't have anyone to pay her dowry.  She expects to marry Lars but ...
When Lars agrees to marry Inge, because she has a larger dowry, Helga sits herself under a bridge. That is when she decides to do something about the dowry. So what does Helga do?  She sets out to do something about earning her own dowry. But it is also when someone else notices Helga. 

As you read or view the book, watch carefully to see who sees her under the bridge and who is watching her every time she goes down the hill to earn more of the dowry?  At the end of the story you will know who has been so interested in Helga and her work ethic — too bad for Lars.

Helga's Dowry, a Troll Love Story, by Tomie dePaola. Read by Jill, at Little Scandinavia, in Elkhorn, Nebraska.  https://youtu.be/L9F8CV42ZLE

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For more learning activities visit http://bit.ly/mclinks101

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McElmeel, Sharron (2020, April 23). Spotlight on Literacy #12 - Observing Trolls.  Reading Trove.  Retrieved from http://bit.ly/readingtrove-12