Publisher’s Story Summary: Geraldine is a goat, and Glenmae, a Navajo weaver. One day, Glenmae decides to weave Geraldine into a rug. First Geraldine is clipped. Then her wool is spun into fine, strong yarn. Finally, Glenmae weaves the wool on her loom. They reader learns, along with Geraldine, about the care and pride involved in the weaving of a Navajo rug -- and about cooperation between friends.

LESSON:  THE GOAT IN THE RUG

Lesson Summary

Geraldine, a goat, lives on a Navajo Indian Reservation with her friend Glenmae.  In this story, Geraldine tells a humorous story of how Glenmae, a Navajo weaver, changes her from a plain old goat to a rug. 

Concept:  Productive Resources

Definition:  Productive resources are the natural, human, and capital resources that are used to produce goods and services.

Comprehension Questions

Identify the human resource in the story.
Glenmae, a Navajo weaver

Identify the capital resource in the beginning of the story that was Geraldine’s first clue that she was about to be sheared.
Scissors

Explain how Glenmae used natural resources to clean the wool she clipped from Geraldine.
She mixed roots from the yucca plant with water.

One of the productive resources Glenmae used was dye to color the wool. What natural resources did the dye come from? 
The dye came from these plants:  rabbit brush, wild onion, cliffrose, sumac, juniper, walnut, dock.

List the steps in the production of the rug and the human, capital, and natural resources needed to perform each step.

Production Steps  Human Resource Capital Resource  Natural Resource clip Geraldine’s wool  Glenmae  scissors make soap to clean wool  Glenmae  mallet yucca plant roots, water wash the wool  Glenmae  bucket, pan dry the wool  Glenmae   sun comb the wool  Glenmae  square combs spin the wool into yarn  Glenmae  spindle dye the wool  Glenmae  Pots, stick pole wrap the loom poles  Glenmae  two poles weave the rung  Glenmae  loom

Did Glenmae produce a good or service?
She produced a rug, which is a good.

Extra Credit Questions!

Human capital is a term that describes the training and skills that someone has acquired to help produce a good or service.  What “human capital” does Glenmae have?
She has many skills!  She knows how to clip sheep, make soap to wash the wool, and create dyes from plants.  She also knows how to dry, comb, spin, and weave.

In our modern economy, do you think people who have acquired a lot of human capital are more likely to earn high wages or low wages?
High wages!  People who have lots of human capital are usually highly productive and typically have high incomes.

Other Concepts:  Natural Resources, Human Resources, Capital Resources

  Productive Resources 

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