{"id":323,"date":"2008-10-16T07:25:28","date_gmt":"2008-10-16T12:25:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/openwidelookinside\/archives\/323"},"modified":"2008-10-16T07:25:28","modified_gmt":"2008-10-16T12:25:28","slug":"teaching-economics-with-childrens-literature-clothes-and-crafts-in-roman-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/openwidelookinside\/2008\/10\/16\/teaching-economics-with-childrens-literature-clothes-and-crafts-in-roman-times\/","title":{"rendered":"Teaching Economics with Children’s Literature: Clothes and Crafts in Roman Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Have you ever wondered how producers in ancient Rome used resources in the production of goods? Luckily, Philip Steele provides a comprehensive book that explains how Roman craft workers used the resources available to them to and produced beautiful jewelry, woodwork, metalwork, pottery and clothing in his text,\u00a0Clothes and Crafts in Roman Times<\/a>.\u00a0The book starts off by giving a brief introduction of the Roman times including a map as well as a small history lesson. \u00a0The book then goes on to explain how Romans made their crafts (pottery, glass, woodwork, metalwork, stonework, and mosaics), clothes and fashion (weaving and textiles, clothing, boots and shoes, hats and sunshades, jewelry, makeup) as well as things they made for different festivals and holidays.Each section provides lots of pictures and representations of how Romans used the resources available to them to make things they needed in their every day lives. \u00a0In describing how the Romans made clothes, Steele explains:<\/p>\n

\u00a0The Romans used woven material, or textiles, for clothing. \u00a0A plant called flax was used for making linen cloth. \u00a0it was grown in Egypt. \u00a0cotton and silk were rare and costly imports from Asia. \u00a0The most important material was wool, which was produced all over the empire. \u00a0After the sheep were sheared, the wool had to be washed to remove its natural greasiness and any dirt. \u00a0it was then dried and wound onto a stick called a distaff, which spinners held under their arm. \u00a0The woolen threads, or fibers, were pulled out and tied to weighted stick called a drop spindle… (the section goes on to provide in further detail how they produced their clothes from natural resources).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The book also provides some interesting facts about the Romans including some mottoes that Romans put on their pottery: BIBE (Drink!), REPLE (Fill Up!) and DA VINUM (Bring Wine!). \u00a0At the end of the book, Steele offers some fun activities where directions are provided for students to make their own mosaics or crowns! \u00a0The back of the book also contains a useful glossary with very simple and student-friendly definitions.<\/p>\n

Curriculum Connections<\/strong>
\nThis book can be a fun way to introduce students how producers in ancient Rome used natural resources, human resources and capital resources in the production of goods and services. \u00a0Although the book doesn’t explicitly use these phrases, there are multiple examples of each of them throughout the text that students can use to understand the concepts. \u00a0In Virginia, this book would be suitable to fulfill the Social Studies Standards of Learning 3.7.<\/p>\n

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