Unit Plan 31 (Grade K Social Studies): Making Choices and Sharing
Help kindergarteners practice choices, saving, trading, sharing, and voting through fair, simple activities that build economic understanding and classroom community.
Focus: Help children practice making choices, saving, trading, and sharing fairly during simple classroom games and activities. Students connect ideas of choices, saving, and trade/exchange with listening, taking turns, and voting so that everyone can participate fairly and feel included.
Grade Level: Kindergarten
Subject Area: Social Studies (Economics • Civics • Inquiry)
Total Unit Duration: 5 sessions (one week), 20–30 minutes per session
I. Introduction
In this unit, students become “Fairness Friends” who learn to make good choices and treat others kindly when they save, share, and trade. They explore what it means to wait their turn, listen, and vote in simple class decisions. Through stories, role-play, and token activities, children practice deciding when to save or spend, how to trade fairly, and how to share materials and time so everyone gets a chance.
Essential Questions
- What is a choice?
- How can we save for something we want later?
- What does it mean to trade and to trade fairly?
- How do we take turns, listen, and vote to make group choices?
- How can making good choices and sharing help our classroom feel fair and kind?
II. Objectives and Standards
Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:
- Describe a choice they make during classroom games or centers and explain what they give up.
- Practice saving tokens or turns for a later reward or activity.
- Participate in simple trade/exchange (e.g., swapping crayons or picture cards) in a fair way.
- Show civic participation by listening, taking turns, sharing, and joining in a simple class vote.
- Use basic language such as choice, save, trade, share, fair, take turns, and vote when reflecting on group activities.
Standards Alignment — Kindergarten (C3-based custom)
- K.C3.Econ.4 — Describe choices, saving, and simple trade/exchange.
- Example: Save three tokens for a bigger reward; trade crayons fairly.
- K.C3.Civ.3 — Practice participation: listening, taking turns, sharing, and simple voting.
- Example: Vote on a class game and accept the result.
Success Criteria — Student Language
- I can name a choice I made and what I did not choose.
- I can explain when I saved instead of spending right away.
- I can trade or share materials in a way that feels fair to both people.
- I can listen, take turns, and vote on a class choice.
- I can use words like choice, save, share, or fair when I talk about what we did.