Needs and Wants Lesson Plan: Economics
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This lesson accompanies the BrainPOP Jr. topic Needs and Wants, and supports the standard of identifying the difference between basic needs and wants. Students demonstrate understanding through a variety of projects.
Step 1: ACTIVATE PRIOR KNOWLEDGE
Ask:
- What things do you use everyday?
- Which of these things do you need? Which of these do you want?
Step 2: BUILD KNOWLEDGE
- Play the Needs and Wants movie.
- Click the pause button each time a question appears in Annie’s Notebook and discuss it as a class. Then play to see how Annie answers it.
TIP: The pause button turns red to remind you to pause.
Step 3: APPLY and ASSESS
Students take the Easy Quiz or Hard Quiz, demonstrating what they learned about the topic while applying essential literacy skills.
Step 4: DEEPEN and EXTEND
Students express what they learned about needs and wants while practicing essential literacy skills with one or more of the following activities. Differentiate by assigning ones that meet individual student or grade-level needs.
- Draw About It: Draw what a person needs to live.
- Activity: Create an ad for an item that people might want.
- Talk About It: Identify what your community needs versus what it wants.
- Write About It: Write about services you can do to earn money.
More to Explore
Economics Unit: Continue to build understanding around needs and wants by exploring more BrainPOP Jr. topics.
Teacher Support Resources:
