1. 1.How would you describe Kit’s appearance? 2.How would you describe Kit’s house? 3.Based on the picture, predict the kind of life you think Kit has. Book Cover

2. M EET K IT : A N AMERICAN G IRL By: Valerie Tripp Illustrations: Walter Rane Vignettes: Susan McAliley

3. Unemployment exists when people who are actively looking for work do not have jobs. 1. Why didn’t Kit like the real newspapers? 2. What was the bad news? 3.Based on the garden club meeting, how can you tell that Kit had a nice life? 4.Why was Mrs. Howard quitting the garden club? 5.What does unemployed mean?

4. People earn income for the work they do when they are employed. When people are unemployed they don’t have income. People use income to buy goods and services. 1.How does being unemployed affect the Howard family? 2.What was Mr. Kittredge’s job? 3.Why did Mr. Kittredge have to close his business? 4.How did this affect the Kittredge family? 5.What were some fathers who had lost their jobs doing to try to earn money? 6. Why had some kids disappeared from school?

5. Banks are businesses in the community that accept deposits from people(in saving and checking accounts) and make loans to people. 1.How did the Kittredges buy their house? 2.How did they repay the bank? 3.What would happen if they couldn’t make these payments?

6. Discussion of Skits 1.What will happen to the consumer spending of those people who are now unemployed? 2.Based on the skits, what happens when consumers spend much less? Give an example. 3.As more people become unemployed, what happens to consumer spending?

7. Review 1.What were employment conditions during the Great Depression? 2.What is a bank? 3.Define unemployment. 4.What are some costs that unemployment imposes on individuals? 5.What did Kit mean by “a mess” in the following excerpt from the book? “She [Kit] knew there hadn’t been much good news in the real newspapers for a long time. The whole country was in a mess because of the Depression.”