Social Studies: Needs and Wants

Grade: 3
Essential Question: What is the difference between a need and a want in our community?
Standards:
6.1.4.C.10 - Explain the role of money, savings, debt, and investment in individuals' lives.
6.1.4.C.2 - Distinguish between needs and wants and explain how scarcity and choice
influence decisions made by individuals, communities, and nations.
Learning Objectives and Assessments:
Students will be able to analyze and synthesize needs and wants they may have in their
community through oral responses and in class worksheets.
Materials:
Computer
Activboard
Slide show presentation on Needs and Wants
Needs and Wants sorting game
Wants versus needs worksheet
The things I Want to Do and The Things I Have to Do worksheet
Kahoot review
Pre-lesson assignments and/or prior knowledge: Students have been introduced to the first
lesson of working in a community in which they learned about budgets, earnings, and savings
and how we as individuals in a community can earn money. In addition to this, students have
practiced formulating a need and a want they may have in a review question found in the
previous lesson.
Lesson Beginning: Teacher will asses prior knowledge through a Do Now activity, which asks
students to apply the knowledge of the lesson prior to a question that pertains to their every day
life. This question asks the students to think of ways that they themselves can earn money.
Response will be shared with a partner and then answers will be picked as a group.
Instructional Plan:
Teacher will review the homework with the students. The homework introduced a budget
chart with the earnings, spendings, and savings a person acquired over the span of 4
weeks. Class will review the worksheet together and clear up confusion related to the
lesson prior.
Teacher will point to three pictures that have been placed at the bottom of the definitions
of needs and wants on the board within the powerpoint. Class will review all three
pictures and decipher whether they are needs or wants. (Pictures are of a house, Xbox,
and glass of water)

Students will then use this knowledge to produce their own needs and wants. Ideas will
be shared and written on the board in the correct column.
Students knowledge will be pre-assessed in a Kahoot review that gives five objects and
asks the students to acknowledge whether they are a want or a need. Review will provide
an interactive and independent way for the students to assess their own knowledge on the
topic.
Students will be separated into pre-arranged groups. Three of these groups will work on a
card sorting game in which the members of the group are given instructions to sort
whether the object on the card is a want or a need. The other groups will complete an
independent, two-sided worksheet at their desks. Groups will change after 7 minutes in
order to have full participation in all stations.

Differentiation
Groups have been separated so that the students who need assistance in this topic are
paired with students performing beyond the expectations. In addition to this, the groups
are equally distributed in gender and number.
The definition and practice of needs and wants is given by using multiple techniques so
that all learning types have a positive experience. In making practices independent,
grouped, interactive, and visual, all students can attain this information in multiple ways.
Closure:
An exit ticket will be distributed. This exit ticket gives a scenario of a child and his
shopping trip to Target. Items are described within the text. Students will be given this
paper and will be instructed to list the needs and wants, provided in a T chart on the page.
Homework will be distributed to encourage practice at home.

Name: _____________________________________________

Wa n t s

versus n e e d s

There is a big difference between things that you want and things
that you need. Below, show how you understand the difference.

I want manythings, but I

dont need them. H ereare
somethings that I want:

I need somethings in order

tosurvive. H erearesome
things that I need: