New Coat For Anna, A
Even though there is no money, Anna’s mother finds a way to make Anna a badly needed winter coat in this book about barter and ingenuity after World War II. Anna learns about resources, producers, specialization and interdependence as she visits the sheep that provide wool, meets the woman who spins yarn, helps her mother dye yearn, brings yearn to the weaver, and goes to the tailor who makes her new winter coat.
Economic Concepts
- Barter
- Trade
- Specialization
- Interdependence
- Producers and Production
- Productive Resources
Grade Levels
- Primary (K-3)
Related Subjects
- Geography
- Science
- History
Teacher Tips for Using this Book
Here’s a teacher “cyberguide” from San Diego County Office of Education:
http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/annas/annastg.htm
Curriculum Guide with a lesson for A New Coat for Anna:
Flowers, B., Meszaros, B., & Suiter, M. C. (1993). Economics and
Children’s Literature (1993). Coulson E. C. & McCorkle S. (Ed.). SPEC
Publishers, Inc. St. Louis, Missouri.
Description of Online Lesson, A New Coat for Anna
http://www.kidseconbooks.com/html/new_coat_for_anna.html
Students read the book and discuss the economics concepts through a set of questions and answers.
A lesson plan book for A new coat for Anna by Harriet Ziefert:
http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/40866222
This book can be the basis for a lesson on barter, its history, the problems with barter and why it was generally replaced by money. The exchanges in the book are good illustrations of a double coincidence of wants.