Isaac the Ice Cream Truck  by Scott Santoro
Henry Holt and Company
32 pages
ISBN 0-8050-5296-8

Summary: Isaac the Ice Cream Truck doesn't feel as important as all the other trucks that provide goods and services for the community. But one day, he provides cooling ice cream for the hot and tired firemen who have put out a fire in the building.


Concept: Specialization

Definition: People specialize when they produce only some of the goods and services they consume, then trade with others to get more of the things they want.

Comprehension Questions:

What is Isaac's job? (delivering ice cream to people of the city)

List all the other community workers in the story. (answers may vary: construction workers, truck drivers, movers, highway workers, street cleaners, garbage collectors, firemen)

Identify each worker's area of specialization. Do they provide goods or services?
(answers may vary:

Community Workers
Specialization
Goods or Services
construction workers build houses both goods and services
truck drivers deliver cars service
moving van drivers help move people's things service
highway workers build roads good
produce deliverymen deliver fruits and vegetables from a farm both goods and services
street cleaners help keep the streets clean service
garbage collectors pick up garbage service
firefighters put out fires service


 

 

 

 

 

 

Explain the importance of having so many different types of "trucks" in a community. (Each truck provided a specialized service. The result was interdependence in the community.)

Isaac wished he could be a more important truck, but in the end he was happy. Describe how even selling ice cream was very important. (Isaac provided goods to the firemen when they were hot and tired from putting out fires.)

Other Concepts: Capital Resources, Economic Wants, Goods and Services



(From KidsEcon Posters©: www.kidseconposters.com)