{"id":1885,"date":"2009-10-26T11:06:35","date_gmt":"2009-10-26T16:06:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/openwidelookinside\/archives\/1885"},"modified":"2009-10-26T11:06:35","modified_gmt":"2009-10-26T16:06:35","slug":"teaching-economics-with-childrens-literature-the-night-worker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/openwidelookinside\/2009\/10\/26\/teaching-economics-with-childrens-literature-the-night-worker\/","title":{"rendered":"Teaching Economics with Children’s Literature: The Night Worker"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"night-worker.jpg\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The Night Worker<\/a>\u00a0written by Kate Banks<\/a>\u00a0and illustrated by Georg Hallensleben<\/a>\u00a0provides a simple and colorful description of the job of night-working engineer.<\/p>\n

The book begins with Alex’s father taking him on a surprise nighttime visit to his job site. They see many other nighttime workers like street sweepers, policemen, and a delivery man on their way there. Upon their arrival, Alex’s father describes what he and the rest of his crew are doing, “Men are hollowing out the earth. A building is going up.” In simple language, he further describes the functions of the heavy machinery they use such as bulldozers, excavators, cement mixers, cranes, and loaders. Alex, with the help of his\u00a0father,\u00a0is even allowed to operate the loader which prompts him to say, “I’m a night worker, too.”<\/p>\n

\u00a0Kate Banks<\/a>‘\u00a0beautifully written and illustrated children’s book does a thorough job of teaching young students what engineers do at work and may even inspire them to take that career path later in life.<\/p>\n

Curriculum Connections\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Night Worker<\/a>\u00a0is an excellent way to help kindergarten students match a simple description of work that people do with the name of the job (VA SOL K.6). In this case, the job of a night-working engineer and construction worker is described.<\/p>\n

Additional Resources<\/strong><\/p>\n