Continual Education for Teachers
Article 1: "Teaching Financial Literacy To Kids: Needs and Wants" by Jean Folger
This article first outlines definitions and the relationship between needs, wants, and services that can be used in the classroom. What was particularly insightful about this article was that it explained and clarified the overlap between "wants" and "needs." There is not always a set label for an object as being a want or a need. The example used in the article was a car. Folger explains that students may see a car as being a need because it is used to accomplish mandatory tasks throughout the day. However, a large percentage of Americans use a car that is more expensive and more luxurious than they particularly need. Leather seats and six cup holders would be considered a want, although the bare car itself is a need. I incorporated this idea into my taught lesson. When students were distinguishing between wants and needs, I first had them label food as a need. Then, students had to decide whether ice cream was a want or a need. Although it is a food, students can live without the tasty treat, making it a want.
The image above was taken from the article as an activity for students to do. This activity helps students divide the spending money each week between wants and needs. The activity would help students gain insight on the spending patterns for their parents. I might adapt this activity for younger grades or demonstrate it whole class.
Article 2: "Let's Teach Students to Prioritize: Reconsidering 'Wants' and 'Needs'" by Suzanne Gallagher and Shannon Hodges
Gallagher and Hodges also address the issue that labeling items as wants or needs is very subjective. This article explains that students need to learn how to prioritize resources and items that they want and need in order to become "empowering people [that] make thoughtful choices." Students need to be taught about resources and the scarcity of such things. Opportunity cost needs to be addressed and taught so that students understand that their choices impact other outcomes. The quotation from this article that accurately sums up these ideas is: "Teaching children to consider costs and benefits, prioritize their wants, and make thoughtful, informed choices will be far more valuable than having them memorize the phrase “needs are food, shelter, and clothing.”"
TedTalk: Joseph Pine: "What Consumers Want"
Joseph Pine explains goods, pricing, and services from an economic perspective. Majority of the ideas stated by Pine would not be directly taught to Elementary students. However, this video is a great resource for teachers to get a "big picture" idea of why we are teaching about wants, needs, and economics at such a young age to begin with. This talk also discusses the consumer extensively which is a term that could be introduced to students and related to wants and needs.
This article first outlines definitions and the relationship between needs, wants, and services that can be used in the classroom. What was particularly insightful about this article was that it explained and clarified the overlap between "wants" and "needs." There is not always a set label for an object as being a want or a need. The example used in the article was a car. Folger explains that students may see a car as being a need because it is used to accomplish mandatory tasks throughout the day. However, a large percentage of Americans use a car that is more expensive and more luxurious than they particularly need. Leather seats and six cup holders would be considered a want, although the bare car itself is a need. I incorporated this idea into my taught lesson. When students were distinguishing between wants and needs, I first had them label food as a need. Then, students had to decide whether ice cream was a want or a need. Although it is a food, students can live without the tasty treat, making it a want.
The image above was taken from the article as an activity for students to do. This activity helps students divide the spending money each week between wants and needs. The activity would help students gain insight on the spending patterns for their parents. I might adapt this activity for younger grades or demonstrate it whole class.
Article 2: "Let's Teach Students to Prioritize: Reconsidering 'Wants' and 'Needs'" by Suzanne Gallagher and Shannon Hodges
Gallagher and Hodges also address the issue that labeling items as wants or needs is very subjective. This article explains that students need to learn how to prioritize resources and items that they want and need in order to become "empowering people [that] make thoughtful choices." Students need to be taught about resources and the scarcity of such things. Opportunity cost needs to be addressed and taught so that students understand that their choices impact other outcomes. The quotation from this article that accurately sums up these ideas is: "Teaching children to consider costs and benefits, prioritize their wants, and make thoughtful, informed choices will be far more valuable than having them memorize the phrase “needs are food, shelter, and clothing.”"
TedTalk: Joseph Pine: "What Consumers Want"
Joseph Pine explains goods, pricing, and services from an economic perspective. Majority of the ideas stated by Pine would not be directly taught to Elementary students. However, this video is a great resource for teachers to get a "big picture" idea of why we are teaching about wants, needs, and economics at such a young age to begin with. This talk also discusses the consumer extensively which is a term that could be introduced to students and related to wants and needs.