Uncle Jeds Barbershop

By, Margaree Mitchell

Illustrated By James Ransome
Grade

Grade Level: 2nd

Themes:
Social Studies Themes: Needs & wants, goods,
services & trades, opportunity cost, savings,
helping others
Language Arts/ Literacy Themes: Writing in
response to literature & non-fiction texts
Math Themes: Solve real world problems
involving addition and subtraction within 100
Learning Invitations:
Social Studies Invitation: Needs & Wants
Picture Sort
Social Studies Invitation: Goods, Services &
Trade in Uncle Jeds Barbershop & the World
Language Arts Invitation: Think & Write
Math Invitation: Savings Game

Teacher Notes:
Before reading the book, mark with sticky notes in the text when the
terms or ideas of needs & wants, savings goals, trading, goods &
services, and opportunity cost are mentioned. Stop at these points in
the text and discuss the ideas during read-aloud. Have these main ideas
written on the board or anchor chart in the classroom. Mark down
students main ideas of each term during discussion while reading.
Segregation and the Great Depression are briefly mentioned in the
text. Briefly explain the concepts in about one sentence during readaloud. Focus on economic concepts.
After read-aloud explain each station to the class and split students
into groups. Students will have about 10 minutes to complete each
station. The teacher should spend time at each station to assist, and
check for understanding. Teacher will evaluate students

understanding for the Needs & Wants Picture Sort and Goods, Services
& Trade in Uncle Jeds Barbershop & the World activity when students
raise hand signifying that they have finished.
Materials needed to complete each invitation:
Needs & Wants Picture Sort:
Copies of wants & needs compare chart worksheet
Cut out images of wants & needs from Uncle Jeds Barbershop
pasted onto notecards (template provided under invitation)
Goods, Services & Trade:
1 copy of directions sheet
8 goods and services traded from Uncle Jeds Barbershop cut
out and pasted onto 8 different notecards (template provided
under invitation)
Copies of Trading & The World worksheet
Think & Write:
1 copy of directions sheet
Copies of writing template
Savings Game:
1 copy of savings goal explanation sheet
1 copy of savings game direction sheet
Saving & spending chart copies
Saving or losing money events cut out and glued onto 7 different
notecards (template provided under invitation). Events numbered
1 through 7 on notecard

Summary
Uncle Jeds Barbershop details the life of an African American barber and his
niece Sarah Jean. The story takes place in a small farming county in the south just before
the Great Depression. In the beginning of the story Sarah Jean reveals that her Uncle Jed
is her favorite family member. Jed and Sarah Jean have a special relationship. Uncle Jed
always shares his dreams with Sarah Jean of opening a barbershop with fancy equipment,
shiny floors and a big red and white barber pole out front. Sarah Jean always wants Uncle
Jed to cut her hair too, but her Mama wont have it. Instead, Uncle Jed pretends to cut
Sarah Jeans hair and pats lotion on her neck so she smells nice all day long.
Many people didnt believe in Uncle Jeds dream because most people in his town
were poor and had to work on other peoples farms in order to eat. But Uncle Jed keeps
saving his money. One day Sarah Jean gets very sick. Her parents rush her to the hospital
that is twenty miles from town, and they have to ride the horse and wagon in those days.
At the hospital Sarah Jean and her family have to sit in the colored waiting room and wait
for all of the white patients to be seen because it is during the time of segregation. When
the doctor finally sees Sarah Jean he says that Sarah Jean needs an operation and that it
will cost $300. Sarah Jeans parents dont have the money. Sarah Jeans father asks Uncle
Jed if he could pay for the operation and he says of course without hesitation. Sarah Jean
gets better, but the cost of the operation delays Uncle Jeds barbershop dream.
Soon after the operation, Uncle Jed finds out from his friend that the bank with all
of his money had closed. Uncle Jed lost all of his savings for the barbershop. This was
the beginning of the Great Depression. Nobody had any money. Uncle Jed keeps cutting

hair, but now in exchange for food or other goods since no one can pay him. Eventually
people have enough money to pay, but it takes a long time. When Uncle Jed is 79 years
old he finally reaches his dream and opens his barbershop with fancy chairs, shiny floors
and a big red and white barber pole out front. Sarah Jean is there to see it all.

Uncle Jeds Barbershop

Needs & Wants
Needs are things that people must have to live. Wants are things people
like to have but do not need.
Work in your group to organize the pictures from Uncle Jeds
Barbershop into either the needs box or the wants box. Once youre
finished raise your hand for the teacher to check your work!

Needs

Wants

Uncle Jeds Barbershop

Images & Answer Key

Uncle Jed is the only barber in the county could go

under either needs or wants. Ask students to explain
why they put it under the category they did when you
check students work.

If you finish early, make a list of needs and wants in your own life!

Needs

Wants

Uncle Jeds Barbershop

Goods, Services & Trade
We make trades for goods and services everyday!
Goods: Things that are grown or made to sell
Services: Something useful people do for others
Trade: When we give something and then get
something back
For example, at the grocery store you trade money for
food (good). Also, we might trade money for a car wash
(service).
There were many trades for goods and services that
happened in Uncle Jeds Barbershop.
1. Split the cards at your station equally between each group
member. Each card has something that was traded in Jeds
Barbershop written on it.
2. Once each group member has their cards, trade each of
your cards for what the characters in Uncle Jeds
barbershop needed in return.
3. Once you have made your trades lay each card next to
what it was traded for and have your teacher check your
work!

Now do the Trade and the World activity to see how we trade with
other countries around the world.

Print and Paste on notecards for the trading cards

Uncle Jeds Barbershop

Sarah Jeans Operation

$300 of Uncle Jeds

saved barbershop money
During the Great
Depression when no one
had money, Uncle Jed
cut hair for
Uncle Jeds saved money

Anything they had.

Sometimes a hot meal,
vegetables or eggs.

Sharecroppers work on
somebody elses farm
for

Food or a share of the

crop

Trading & The World

Trading for goods and services happens ALL of the time.
Everyone trades, even countries all over the world trade!
Many countries make or grow more goods than they need.
They can trade these goods with other countries and get
something back.
Look at the map. What goods does the United States trade with
Nigeria, a country in Africa? What goods does Nigeria give the
United States in return?
Why might Nigeria and the United States need each others
goods? Take a guess!

Uncle Jeds Barbershop

Think & Write

In Uncle Jeds Barbershop, Uncle Jed had to make

a hard decision. Uncle Jed decided to give up
$300 of his saved money to pay for Sarah Jeans
operation. Uncle Jed decided that Sarah Jeans
operation was more important than his
barbershop. The $300 Jed gave up so that Sarah
Jean could have the operation is called
opportunity cost.
Opportunity cost is what we give up for something
else.
Think about a time when you had to give something
up in order to help someone else like Uncle Jed.
Now write about that time! Write 2 paragraphs or
half of a page.

Name

Uncle Jeds Barbershop

The Savings Game
Uncle Jed saved his money for his own barbershop.

Save means to keep your money to use for later.

Uncle Jeds Barbershop was his savings goal.
It wasnt easy for Uncle Jed to get his barbershop. He
had to save his money for a very long time. It wasnt
until he was 79 years old that he opened the shop.
It took Uncle Jed so long because he had to give up
$300 of his savings to pay for Sarah Jeans operation,
and because when the Great Depression hit, Uncle Jed
lost all of his money and had to start all over.
Now you are going to play a savings game to see what
its like to save money for a savings goal.

The Savings Game

Your next-door neighbor Rosies dog had puppies. Rosie
is selling the puppies for $75. Your family says you can
have a puppy if you save up the money yourself to buy
it. Play the savings game to see if you can reach your
goal and how long it takes you!
Directions
1. Take turns rolling the dice and picking a card in
order from the pile at your station.
2. The number you role on the dice is how many
months have passed. For example, if you role a 3,
3 months have passed. This number goes in box 1
on your spending and savings chart.
3. The card you choose will tell you how much money
you made or lost. You will put this information in
box 2. If you make money add it to your total. If
you spend money, subtract it from your total.
4. Keep track of how much time has gone by and how
much money you made or lost by adding or
subtracting. You will put this number in box 3 on
your savings chart.
5. See if you can reach your savings goal and how
long it takes you! Now you can better understand
how hard it was for Uncle Jed to save up enough
money for his barbershop!

Spending & Saving Chart

Group Member Names:
Savings Goal: A puppy that costs $75
1. How many
months have
passed?
(Number on
dice)

2. Event you
made or lost
money from

Did you reach your savings goal?

How long did it take you?

3. Amount of
money you made
or lost +/(Add if you made
money, subtract
if you lost money)

4. Total amount
of money
you have

+/-

New Total

+/-

New Total

+/-

New Total

+/-

New Total

+/-

New Total

+/-

New Total

+/-

New Total

1.) You helped your

neighbor Mrs. Lopez
mow her lawn. She paid
you $25 for your help.

2.) You accidently broke

your friends baseball
bat. You have to pay
your friend $20 so he
can get a new bat.
3.) You have a lemonade 4.) You help your big
stand. You make $42
brother clean his room.
selling lemonade.
He pays you $5 for your
help.
5.) You go to the candy 6.) Your sister decides
store with friends and
she really wants the
cant help but to buy 3
puppy too. She gives you
packages of M&Ms. You $21 towards your
spend $3.
savings goal.
7.) You decide to put on
a talent show to raise
the rest of the money
for the puppy. You
charge each person who
comes to the show $1. 7
people come to watch.
You make $7.

Resources
Banks, J. (2009). Economics. In People and places. Columbus, OH: Macmillan/McGrawHill.
Mitchell, M., & Ransome, J. (1993). Uncle Jed's barbershop. New York: Simon &
Schuster Books for Young Readers.
Savings Game adapted from:
https://www.stlouisfed.org/legacy_assets/education_resources/assets/lesson_plans/UncleJ
edsBarbershop.pdf