The Little Match Girl Lesson Plan

How do the first five paragraphs of the story introduce us to the girl's plight?

At the beginning of the story, we are introduced to the poverty the girl faces. She has been outside all day, in the snow and cold, trying to sell matches for pennies. She must either earn money for her family or face a beating by her father. Having not sold any matches, the girl decides it is better to sleep on the streets in the middle of winter instead of facing her family. We also learn that the girl's home is hardly warmer than the streets as it is. The fact that the girl is wearing her mother's slippers and doesn't have a pair of her own serves to show the reader the poverty of...