Unit Plan 28 (Grade K Social Studies): Needs and Wants

Focus: Help children tell the difference between needs (things we must have to live and stay safe) and wants (things that are nice to have) and connect both to the idea of limited resources. Students practice sorting picture examples, listening to simple stories, and making choices in a pretend “class store” where they cannot get everything they want.

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 “Smart Shoppers” as they learn to tell the difference between needs and wants. They explore pictures, stories, and real-life examples (food, toys, clothes, shelter) to decide which are needs and which are wants. Through a simple class store activity with limited tokens, they practice making choices and explaining why they chose one item instead of another. The unit builds early understanding that we cannot have everything at once and that people must decide what is most important.

Essential Questions

• What is a need? What is a want?
• Why can’t we always get everything we want?
• How do we decide what to choose when we have limited tokens or money?
• How can we be thoughtful and fair when we make choices?

II. Objectives and Standards

Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:

1. Describe in their own words what a need is (e.g., food, water, shelter, clothes, love/safety) and what a want is (e.g., toys, treats, extra items).
2. Sort pictures or objects into “Needs” and “Wants” with increasing independence.
3. Explain in simple terms that we cannot always have every item because tokens (resources) are limited.
4. Use a class store to make choices and say what they chose and why (“I chose __ because we need it.” or “I chose this toy because it’s a want I really like.”).
5. Show they understand limited resources by choosing one or two items instead of everything and talking about what they gave up.

Standards Alignment — Kindergarten (C3-based custom)

• K.C3.Econ.1 — Differentiate needs and wants; connect to limited resources.
  • Example: Food vs. toys; choose one item from a class “store.”

Success Criteria — Student Language

• I can tell if something is a need or a want.
• I can sort pictures into needs and wants and explain my thinking.
• I know that we cannot get everything, so I have to choose.
• I can say what I picked in the class store and why I picked it.
• I can tell what I did not pick and what I gave up.