2. Content
STANDARD SS.K.E.1.3 Standard 1: Beginning Economics
Recognize that people work to earn money to buy things they need or want.
STANDARD SS.K.E.1.4 Standard 1: Beginning Economics
Identify the difference between basic needs and wants.
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Disciplinary Content Vocabulary
• Needs
• Wants
• Money
• Price
• Desire
• Buyers (Consumers)
• Sellers
• Work
• Earn
• Buy
• Save
3. Standards: CCSSCCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.1: Read Closely-Evidence & Inferences
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.9: Analyze How Two or More Texts Address Similar Topics
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.4: Interpret Words & Phrases as They are Used in a Text
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.SL.2: Integrate & Evaluate Information Presented in Diverse
Media & Formats: including Visually, Quantitatively, and Orally
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.SL.5: Make Strategic Use of Digital Media & Visual Displays of
Data to Express Information & Enhance Understanding of Presentations
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.2: Write Informative/Explanatory Texts
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.6: Use Technology, including the Internet, to Produce &
Publish Writing and to Interact & Collaborate with Others
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.L.4: Determine or Clarify the Meaning of Unknown & Multiple-
Meaning Words & Phrases by Using Context Clues, Analyzing Meaningful Word Parts,
and Consulting General & Specialized Reference Materials, as appropriate
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.L.6: Acquire & Use Accurately a Range of General Academic
and Domain-Specific Words & Phrases Sufficient for Reading, Writing, Speaking &
Listening
4. Investigate: Text 1 (Fiction)
Text: A Chair for My Mother by Vera B. Williams
Comprehension Questions:
• What did the family want to buy? Why?
They wanted a soft, comfortable chair because their other chair and sofa were lost in a
fire.
• Why didn’t they just buy a new one?
They did not have enough money.
• How were they able to buy a new chair at the end of the story?
She worked at the restaurant with her mother. Her mother's boss would pay her.
5. Investigate: Text 1 (Fiction)
continued…
• What money would the mother add to the savings jar?
She would add the coins she earned from tips at the
restaurant.
• How did the grandmother increase the savings?
She would shop for the family's food at the market.
Anytime she received a bargain price, she would put the
savings into the savings jar.
• What happened after they filled the savings jar with
coins?
They rolled the coins and exchanged them at the bank for
bills. They took the money downtown to purchase a new
chair.
• What will they probably do with the empty jar?
Answers will vary: They will probably start saving again for
something else they want to buy.
6. Investigate: Text 2 (Informational)
• Article (in comic-book format):
http://kids.usa.gov/web_resources/themes/kidsgov/pdfs/Comic_Ki
ds_FINAL.pdf
• Video (Berenstain Bears are conflicted between needs & wants):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhR4VtfgNWU&list=PL2bKpf_mrVixI
S1f87P30RlSGtMvFhG1I
• Additional Article (Needs vs. Wants)
http://pbskids.org/itsmylife/money/managing/article2.html
As a consumer, what is a way you could save for something that
you want or desire?
What is something that you need?
How could you earn money to buy something you want or need?
7. Report… Represent… Interact
Create a book cover illustrating something you want to earn and save
your money for:
http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/student-
interactives/book-cover-creator-30058.html
Play this Brain POP! Game about Needs & Wants:
http://www.brainpopjr.com/socialstudies/economics/needsandwants/
search/
