The Little House By: Virginia Lee Burton

In congruence with the NYS social studies curriculum, teachers are required to explain the difference between city living, rural living, and suburban living.  This Caldecott Medal book is direct progression of all three.  Therefore, it is a great literary resource to use while teaching social studies.

The Little House

Author: Virginia Lee Burton - The deceased Virginia Lee Burton was a fantasti author and illustrator.  Her stories included happy endings, beautiful illustrations, heroes and nostalgia.  Besides writing and illustrating this Caldecott Medal winner, Virginia Lee Burton also taught a local design class in her hometown in Massachusetts.  Virgina Lee Burton Biography   

Genre: Nonfiction

Grade Level: K - 2

Theme/Skill: Rural/Suburban/Urban

Brief Synopsis: Little House was originally built in a small community but as years went by the community was transformed into a city.   Little House could no longer see the stars, moon, sun and seasons change because the trolley cars, skyscrapers, train tracks and other advances covered her view.  As a result, she greatly missed the country side.

Pre-Reading Activity: What do you think of when you picture a community?  How would you describe a city?  Would you rather live in a community or a city?  Display two categories – community and city.  Students will brainstorm characteristics of each.  Depending on the group of students, either write their thoughts on the board or the students can write their own thoughts up.

Post-Reading Activity: How did Little House act like a person in this story?  What happened to the area surrounding Little House?  Originally, Little House lived in a small town but by the end of the story she lived in a __________.  There is a direct progression of events in this story.  As a class, map out the sequence of events in this book. (What happened first in the story? Next? After that? Last?) Students will be given a worksheet to fill in as we work through it on the board.

Burton, V. (1942) The Little House. New York: Scholastic Inc. Grades K – 2.