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Lynne Farrell Stover stoverlf@jmu.edu 1 Provided by:

Lynne Farrell Stover stoverlf@jmu.edu 2 Home in the Woods Written and Illustrated by Eliza Wheeler Penguin, 2019 Book Synopsis: Six-year-old Marvel along with her mother and seven siblings, are homeless after the death of her father during the Great Depression. They move to a deserted tarpaper shack in the woods and, over the course of a year, turn it into a home. Based on the author's grandmother's childhood; includes historical notes. Lesson Productive Resources in the Woods Introduction: It’s not easy feeding a family of nine during the Great Depression. To make it more difficult, they are living in a one room shack in the woods of Wisconsin. However, they are a resourceful group and manage to apply their skills and tools to use the bounty nature has provided them. Time: 25-30minutes Grade Level: 3-5 Materials: • Visual: Home in the Woods- Productive Resources • Activity Sheet: Home in the Woods- Productive Resources • Writing tools Students Will: • Review the concept of productive resources. • Compete an activity sheet based on natural, human, and capital resources. Virginia Standards of Learning – History and Social Science Economics 2.8 The student will describe natural resources (water, soil, wood, and coal), human resources (people at work), and capital resources (machines, tools, and buildings). History USII.6 The student will apply social science skills to understand the social, economic, and technological changes of the early twentieth century by: d) analyzing the causes of the Great Depression, its impact on Americans, and the major features of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal.

Lynne Farrell Stover stoverlf@jmu.edu 3 Procedure: 1. Prepare and collect materials prior to class. 2. Introduce the lesson telling the students that the story in today’s lesson is based on a book about a family that worked hard to survive during the Great Depression. Explain that the Great Depression took place from 1929 to 1941 when the economy was not working. Banks failed, people were out of work and lost their homes and farms. The Great Depression was worldwide, although it hit the USA the hardest and the longest. 3. Read the book Home in the Woods to the students. This takes twelve minutes. If time is a constraint, read the author’s notes at the end of the book and share some of the more compelling illustrations. 4. Display the Visual Activity Sheet: Home in the Woods- Productive Resources with the students and review its content with them. 5. Distribute the activity sheet and writing tools. Read the directions to the class. Students may work individually or in pairs. 6. Check for understanding. An answer sheet is provided. Extension: Challenge the students to think of other productive resources the Banks family used to keep their pantry full and their woodstove operating. Share these examples with the class.

Lynne Farrell Stover stoverlf@jmu.edu 4 Visual Home in the Woods- Productive Resources During the Great Depression, the nine-member Banks family had to use their wits and the resources around them to survive in a one-room shack in the woods in Wisconsin. By combining the natural resources that the woods provided with their skills and tools they were able to keep their family fed and warm for five years. Natural Resources – the gifts of nature that are used to produce goods and services including land, timber, fish, oil and mineral deposits. Human Resources - people working to produce goods and services (farmers, builders, firemen, cooks, doctors, painters, etc.) Capital Resources - goods made by people and used to produce other goods and services (hammers, computers, trucks, lawn mowers, factory buildings, machines, tools, etc.) Directions: Fill in the chart with matching natural, human and capital resources. EXAMPLE: Natural Resource Human Resource(s) Capital Resources Trout & Bait Fishermen- Marv & Rich Fishing poles Fish hooks Bucket

Lynne Farrell Stover stoverlf@jmu.edu 5 Activity Sheet- Home in the Woods- Productive Resources Natural Resources – the gifts of nature that are used to produce goods and services including land, timber, fish, oil, and mineral deposits. Human Resources - people working to produce goods and services (farmers, builders, firemen, cooks, doctors, painters, etc.) Capital Resources - goods made by people and used to produce other goods and services (hammers, computers, trucks, lawn mowers, factory buildings, machines, tools, etc.) Directions: Using the provided words, fill in the chart so that the rows reflect the matching natural, human, and capital resources experienced by the Banks family while they lived in the home in the woods. Natural Resource Human Resource(s) Capital Resources Word Bank

Lynne Farrell Stover stoverlf@jmu.edu 6 Possible Answers Natural Resources – the gifts of nature that are used to produce goods and services including land, timber, fish, oil and mineral deposits. Human Resources - people working to produce goods and services (farmers, builders, firemen, cooks, doctors, painters, etc.) Capital Resources - goods made by people and used to produce other goods and services (hammers, computers, trucks, lawn mowers, factory buildings, machines, tools, etc.) Natural Resource Human Resource(s) Capital Resources Blueberries Raspberries Jam preserver- Mom Stove Pots & Pans Canning Jars Seeds Rich garden soil Gardeners - Dal & Bea Shovel Rake Trees Logs Wood spitter- Ray Ax Hatchet Word Bank

Lynne Farrell Stover stoverlf@jmu.edu 7 Home in the Woods by Eliza Wheeler Discussion Questions: 1. Marvel tells the story of her life during the Great Depression. In the United States, the Great Depression took place from 1929 to 1941 when the economy was in crisis. Banks failed, people were out of work and many people lost their homes and farms. The Great Depression was felt worldwide, although it hit the USA the hardest and the longest. This story takes place in 1932. How many years ago was that? [If answered in 2021: 89 years ago. Adjust accordingly.] 2. When the story begins it is summer and Marvel’s family, consisting of her mother and seven siblings, are homeless. Why? [Their dad died leaving them without an income to pay for housing.] 3. Scarcity is the condition of not being able to have all the goods and services you want. What do you think Marvel thought the one-room shack in the woods was lacking? [Possible answers: space, furniture, beds, food, indoor plumbing.] 4. The family needed to use human, natural, and capital resources to get the tar-paper shack ready to live in. What human resources did the family members provide? [Mum cooked and canned. The younger children swept the floor, picked vegetables and pulled weeds. The older children chopped wood, washed clothes and took care of the baby.] What capital resources were in the tar-paper shack when they arrived? [There was a rusty oven, a potbelly stove, some old furniture, glass jars and a hand-cranked water pump.] What natural resources did the family find in the woods? [They found wood for fuel, fresh water, fish in the stream, berries, wild animals for hunting, and rich soil for growing a vegetable garden.] 5. The family worked hard to save things that would help them during the winter. What do they save? [They preserve fruit, vegetables, and jams in glass jars that they store for later use in the root cellar.]

Lynne Farrell Stover stoverlf@jmu.edu 8 6. Work is any activity we do for which someone will pay us. What sort of work did Mum do in the autumn to earn money? [She walked into town to do chores for other people.] 7. When they needed supplies, the family walked to town and visited Bennet’s General Store. They can only buy basic items like flour, soap, and oil. Why do you think this is so? [Mum does not earn enough money to buy everything the children want. There is a scarcity of money.] 8. The brothers and sister invent a favorite new game. They name it General Store. What are some of the services they pretend to provide? Services are activities people do to satisfy economic wants. [Pumping gas, managing a bank, selling hats and jewelry, displaying bakery items.] What pretend goods do the children create to sell at their store? Goods are tangible objects that can be bought and sold. [decorated hats, rock jewelry, mud pies, and fuel for the wheelbarrow.] 9. During the cold winter days, the family kept warm around the potbelly stove. They used their time productively. What do they do? [They sewed quilts and learned how to read.] 10. In the spring Marvel and Bea traded Mum’s loaf bread and blueberry jam for fresh milk and eggs at a neighbor’s farm. What’s another name for trade? [Barter: Trading a good or service directly for another good or service, without using money or credit.] 11. The author’s note in the back of the book shares that the eight siblings recount the five years they lived in the tar-paper shack as some of the best times. Why do you think this is so? Would you want to have this experience? [Answers will vary.]