Get ready for a hands-on printable activity that is all about making Economics fun and relatable for our little learners. The goal is to make the concepts of "needs" and "wants" relatable for your students.

This exercise helps them understand how families make purchase decisions at home. By checking out the stuff their parents pick up for the house, they'll be sorting things into these two buckets "needs" versus "wants". It's like a puzzle that shows how families make choices about what's necessary and what's just nice to have.

Let's get started!

Printable & Activity Objectives

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Age: 8 to 9 year olds, Activity Time: 1-2 hours, Items Needed: Writing pencils

This activity aims to introduce elementary students to the fundamental economic concepts of needs and wants by exploring the goods and services that their parents purchase.

It will help your child or student with:

  1. Build Financial Literacy Foundation: Lay the foundation for future financial literacy lessons by teaching responsible spending, budgeting, and saving.
  2. Develop Critical Thinking: Encourage students to analyze the significance of household items in daily life.
  3. Promote Discussion: Allow students to share perspectives on needs vs. wants, encouraging communication and collaboration.
  4. Encourage Reflection: Conclude the activity with a reflection session for students to consider distinguishing between needs and wants in personal and family finances.

Let's get going!

Classroom Resources

Simple steps to start:

  • Research and learn more about the difference between needs versus wants. Here's a good and brief introduction video about how to distinguish between the needs and wants:

Here's a more comprehensive video about needs, wants and opportunity costs:

  • Get started on the printable worksheet!

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What's in the Printable Worksheet Pack

This printable activity pack consists of 3 creative printable worksheets. Here's what it consists of:

  • 1 Printable Needs versus Wants comparison sheet
  • 1 Printable Goods versus Services comparison sheet
  • 1 Printable Household Spending Needs vs. Wants Tracking sheet

Click on the download link below to get started. Please note that this printable pack is only for paid members.

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