Unit Lesson: Economy Grade: 3 By Bobbi Jo Williams

Economic collapse/segregation “People didn’t have dreams like that in those days. We lived in the South. Most people were poor. My daddy owned a few acres of land and so did others. But most people were sharecroppers.”

Backdrop is 1920’s segregated South “Even though I was unconscious, the doctors wouldn’t look at me until they had finished with all the white patients.”

The book talks about things such as “red-and-white barber pole” and “sharecroppers”.

The story takes place on the eve of the Great Depression in the South. The information displayed in the book matches with the historical data of the time. Both the author and illustrator used primary sources to lead into the story. The author based the entire story on her grandfather Joe King stating, “his dream was to own his own farm.” The illustrator used actual photos of chickens from his grandfather’s farm and visited his childhood home in North Carolina to get inspiration.

Because the story deals with some segregation issues, the only voices missing from the story are those of the white doctors and bankers that are talked about.

Today racism still exists to some degree. The book presents its meaning as holding onto a dream and learning about saving to achieve a goal.

A visit to her son's first grade class as a volunteer left her with the impression that many of the children faced school without any support from home and lacked self-esteem. Many of them had no concept of why they were there and had never seen a book. "I thought if I could somehow write a book that would inspire children to achieve their dreams, then maybe children would be motivated to stay in school and look to the future for a better life for themselves."

This book will be used to introduce the students to the concept of saving and opportunity cost. This book can also be used to teach about the 1920’s economic conditions and the Great Depression. Lastly, this book will be used to add cultural diversity with its segregation issues.