Education Fund
Fear the Scarce Resources
In a life or death situation, what resources would you choose to survive—and why? A zombie attack simulation teaches learners the concepts of scarcity and resources in regards to economics. The hands-on activity requires individuals to...
Baylor College
Need or Want?
Even as adults it can be hard to distinguish needs from wants. Using pictures of common, everyday items, children make a pocket chart separating the objects they need from those that they want. Discuss their choices, explaining that...
Curated OER
WANTS VS. NEEDS
Students gain an appreciation for wants and needs by analyzing poems, researching spending choices on the internet, interviewing family members, and create power point slides.
Center for Entrepreneurship and Economic Education
Popcorn Economics
Scarcity of resources is a fundamental economics concepts that kids need to understand. You'll use a large bag of popcorn to demonstrate this concept. Have the class come up row-by-row to fill their snack bags with popcorn. By the last...
Federal Reserve Bank
Wants on a Continuum
You can't always get what you want, but you might just be able to teach your class about wants and choices. This plan leads pupils through a discussion and closes with a worksheet and assessment.
Curated OER
Wants and Needs
Here is an outstanding lesson on wants versus needs designed for 1st graders. Pupils listen to the book, Something Good which presents themes on wants, needs, choice, resources, and counting money. Pupils complete worksheets embedded in...
Curated OER
Introduction To Economics
High schoolers examine the fundamental nature of economics - unlimited wants and scarce resources and the need to make choices, the three questions related to the economic problem and its implications for an economy. This lesson plan...
Carolina K-12
Comparing Economic Systems
How do people make decisions in a world where wants are unlimited but resources are not? How do individuals and governments utilize scarce resources (human, natural, and capital) in different economic systems? Introduce your learners to...
Curated OER
Do I Want or Need?
Students explore wants and needs. In this introductory economics lesson, students use a "pinch card" to display whether a familiar item is a "want" or a "need". Students listen to the book Alexander used to be Rich on Sunday by Judith...
National First Ladies' Library
Eleanor Roosevelt: Economics, Discovery and Daily Life
Examine the causes and effects of the Great Depression and the role of Eleanor Roosevelt during the era. Pupils take an inventory of their home for wants and needs, and conduct online research on The Great Depression. They then convert...
Council for Economic Education
What Do People Want to Wear?
Who doesn't love fashion, especially when it can be applied to economics, supply, demand, market trends, and price equilibrium. Curious young consumers examine market scenarios to determine their effect on the demand and price for...
Curated OER
Economic Reasoning: Why Are We A Nation Of Couch Potatoes?
Students examine the visual aids of this lesson to study the costs and benefits of decisions about diet and exercise. They investigate human choice as it affects behavior and in turns effects economics and consequences.
Curated OER
Popcorn Economics
Students examine the concept of scarcity. In this economics lesson, students define scarcity and take part in an activity that illustrates the concept as it relates to goods and services.
Curated OER
If You Give A Mouse A Cookie: A Lesson In Economics
Students explore the concept of cause and effect as it relates to economics through the story "If You Give A Mouse A Cookie." Students discuss simple cause and effect relationships and make predictions according to the story. They play...
Curated OER
"Do You Need It or Just Want It?"
Students distinguish between "wants" and "needs." Students make a short list of each. They review The Berenstain Bears Count Their Blessings book and discuss what blessings are. Students then rewrite their list of wants and needs.
Curated OER
Lemonade For Sale
2-3rd graders listen to the story, Lemonade for Sale, by Stuart J. Murphy. In the story, children produce and sell lemonade to raise money for their clubhouse, create a product, classify the resources used in production as natural...
Curated OER
First Grade Economics Unit
First graders begin by studying the differences between a "good" and a "service". They compare items to each other to help comprehend the differences. They also look into the differences between buyers and sellers and how the choices...
Curated OER
Centuries of Economic Growth: From Feathers to Robotics
Students read scenarios about the production of Bibles over five historical time periods. Working in small groups, students create skits and develop a retrieval chart that is used to analyze factors that impact economic growth.
Curated OER
Needs and Wants
First graders recognize the difference between needs and wants. In this treaty lesson, 1st graders chart their needs and wants to be used in making a treaty. Students negotiate what should be in the treaty based on the importance of...
Federal Reserve Bank
Lesson 1: Katrina Strikes
Most families have an emergency kit in their home with flashlights, water, and extra food. But what happens to your money when disaster strikes? An economics lesson focused on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 demonstrates the...
Visa
Savvy Spending: Sharpening Money Decisions
Do you really need that new laptop/phone/dress/jacket/etc.? Financial decisions require us to distinguish between our wants and our needs. Through discussion and the evaluation of scenarios on provided worksheets, this resource will...
Federal Reserve Bank
Messy Bessey's Holidays
Teach your class some fairly complex terms—factors of production, human resources, capital resources, natural resources, and intermediate goods—with a storybook (Messy Bessey's Holidays), plenty of visuals and handouts, and related...
Curated OER
Take It To the Bank
Examine how the economics of a school store relate to real world economics. Elementary young scholars explore various websites, complete a Venn diagram, create a schedule of wages for the students, read the book "A Chair For My Mother"...
Curated OER
Consumerism: No Purchase Necessary
Learners read a script that helps them understand the ins and outs of consumerism. They watch a video (not included), and engage in two additional activities. The lesson engages critical thinking skills and brings awareness to the...