The bare necessities

As an introduction to our communities unit, I spun a little tale for my students. We were on a plane heading for South Africa when the engine died and the plane started to crash. We aimed our parachutes for the one small island we saw beneath us. There, we had to set up a new life. OK, so it wasn't incredibly creative, but I don't think the kids noticed.

I asked my students what jobs and people we would need in order to have a functioning community. I prompted them with jobs like "nurse, gardener, carpenter." Their answers were a bit less practical. "Someone to pump our gas if we figure out how to build cars," one boy offered. I also got "a bartender" and "someone to put makeup on the girls." Glad to see you have a good grasp on the essentials of life, kiddos.