Go to page

What About Me?
Below-Level Reader
It's A Fair Swap!
It's a Fair Swap!
Unit 1 Week 2
Target Skill SEQUENCE
Target Skill SUMMARIZE
LESSON VOCABULARY carpenter, carpetmaker, knowledge, marketplace, merchant, plenty, straying, thread
SUMMARY This nonfiction book describes bartering in early America and how, as the country grew, bartering gave way to paper money.
INTRODUCE THE BOOK
BUILD BACKGROUND Discuss with students if they have ever traded or bartered.
PREVIEW/USE TEXT FEATURES Ask students what clues the illustrations provide about the content of the book.
TEACH/REVIEW VOCABULARY Review vocabulary words with students. Then give them a list of definitions and have them match each definition to the appropriate vocabulary word.
ELL Have students write down the compound words marketplace and carpetmaker and separate each word into two words. (market and place; carpet and maker) Ask students to write out definitions for each word and use the words in sentences.
TARGET SKILL AND STRATEGY
Target Skill SEQUENCE Remind students that sequence is the order in which the events happen. Ask students to tell the sequence of getting to school.
Target Skill SUMMARIZING Remind students that summarizing is boiling down what you have read into a few main points. Ask students to summarize a familiar story like The Three Bears.
READ THE BOOK
Use the following questions to support comprehension.
PAGE 4 What is the sequence of events in a barter? (People decide what
they want to trade, approach another person and determine if the goods
have equal value, and either make the trade or not.)
PAGE 5 Why didn't the colonists use European money in America?
(There were no stores or banks.)
PAGE 10 Why did the colonists start using paper money? (It was easier
to carry; goods became more expensive.)
TALK ABOUT THE BOOK
READER RESPONSE
  1. Colonists plant or hunt their own food; the barter system is used at the
    general store; people begin using money to buy things from their local
    merchants; shopping malls replace the general stores.
  2. The general store was important because it sold or bartered everything
    that could not be grown or made on a farm.
  3. Know. Sentences will vary.
  4. Possible responses: candles, paper, books
RESPONSE OPTIONS
WRITING Ask students to write a commercial for something they would like
to barter and then present it to the class.
CONTENT CONNECTIONS
Time for SOCIAL STUDIESSOCIAL STUDIES Have students divide big pieces
of paper in half. On the left side of their papers, students
should draw or paste pictures of something they want.
On the right side, have students draw or paste pictures
of items they think might be of equal value.
 
   
Close  
Sequence
Sequence
Vocabulary
Vocabulary