HASS · Year 3 · Economics and Business · Term 4

Making Economic Choices

Because resources are limited, we have to make choices. Let's investigate how people decide what to buy, what to save, and what to go without.

TL;DR:Ever wondered how a pile of flour, tomatoes, and cheese becomes a delicious pizza? This topic uncovers the secret life of everyday objects and the amazing journey they take to get to us.

• ACARA Content Descriptions
• Australian Curriculum: HASS - Year 3 - Economics and Business - The difference between needs and wants and why choices need to be made about how to use limited resources

About This Topic

This topic introduces Year 3 students to fundamental economic concepts by exploring the production of goods. Aligned with the Australian Curriculum: HASS (Economics and Business), it focuses on the key idea that resources are used to meet needs and wants. Students will investigate the different types of resources: natural (materials from the environment, like cotton or water), human (people's work and skills, like a baker or a truck driver), and capital (tools and machinery, like an oven or a sewing machine). The learning is grounded in tangible, everyday examples that are relevant to students' lives.

By deconstructing the journey of simple items like a pizza or a t-shirt, students begin to understand the concept of a supply chain and appreciate the interconnectedness of producers and consumers. This foundational knowledge helps them recognise that the products they use don't just appear in shops but are the result of a complex process involving many people, places, and materials. It encourages critical thinking about the world around them and builds an initial understanding of economic systems and the value of work.

Key Questions

1. Justify a choice you would make if you had $0 to spend on either a book you want or a ticket to a movie.
2. Explain the concept of 'opportunity cost' using an example of choosing how to spend your afternoon.
3. Evaluate the factors a family might consider when choosing how to spend their weekly budget.

Learning Objectives

• Identify the natural, human, and capital resources used to produce familiar goods.
• Describe the sequence of steps in a simple production process.
• Explain that different jobs are required to produce goods.
• Analyse how various resources are combined to create a final product.
• Categorise resources used in production into natural, human, and capital.

Key Vocabulary

Good	A physical item that you can touch and buy, such as a toy, food, or clothing.
Resource	Anything used to produce goods or services, including natural, human, and capital types.
Production	The process of making or growing something from various resources.
Consumer	A person who buys and uses goods and services to satisfy their needs and wants.
Producer	A person, company, or country that makes, grows, or supplies goods for sale.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

Goods just come from the shop.

What to Teach Instead

Shops are the final step in a long journey. A product like milk starts on a farm with a cow (natural resource), is collected by a farmer (human resource), processed in a factory (capital resource), and then transported to the shop.

Common Misconception

You only need money to make things.

What to Teach Instead

Money is used to buy the resources, but it isn't a resource itself. To make a wooden table, you need wood (natural), a carpenter (human), and tools like saws and sanders (capital).

Common Misconception

Making things is a simple, one-person job.

What to Teach Instead

Most goods are the result of many people working together in a process. From the person who grows the raw material to the person who sells the final product, many different jobs are involved.

Active Learning Ideas

Think-Pair-Share

Pizza Production Planners

In small groups, students create a flowchart on a large sheet of paper showing how a pizza is made. They must draw or write the natural resources (wheat, tomatoes), human resources (farmer, delivery driver, chef), and capital resources (tractor, oven) needed at each stage.

45 min·Small Groups

Think-Pair-Share

The T-Shirt's Tale

Students create a comic strip or a digital story that illustrates the journey of cotton from a farm to a finished t-shirt in a shop. Each panel should represent a key step in the production process, such as harvesting, spinning, weaving, and sewing.

60 min·Individual

Think-Pair-Share

Who Made My Book?

Using a familiar picture book, the class works together to identify all the jobs involved in its creation. Roles like author, illustrator, editor, printer, and bookseller are written on sticky notes and placed on a large chart to visualise the human resources required.

30 min·Whole Class

Real-World Connections

• Examining 'Made in...' labels on clothing and classroom items to discuss global production.
• Conducting a 'resource audit' of the classroom to identify the natural, human, and capital resources used to make it a learning space.
• Visiting a local bakery or pizzeria to observe the production process and interview workers about their roles.
• Creating a class 'market day' where students produce and sell a simple good like lemonade or decorated bookmarks.
• Discussing the jobs their parents and other community members do and classifying them as producing goods or providing services.

Assessment Ideas

Exit Ticket

Use an exit ticket where students must list one natural, one human, and one capital resource needed to make a simple good, like a glass of orange juice.

Peer Assessment

Students choose a familiar good and create a labelled diagram or flowchart that illustrates its production process from raw materials to the final consumer.

Quick Check

Students use a 'two stars and a wish' reflection to identify two things they learned about how goods are made and one question they still have.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between a 'good' and a 'service'?

A good is a physical object you can touch and own, like a pencil or a jumper. A service is a job that someone does for you, like a haircut or a dental check-up.

Why can't we have everything we want for free?

Because it takes resources, time, and work to produce goods. These resources are limited, so we have to make choices about what we produce and consume.

Are all resources from Australia?

No, many of the goods we use are made with resources from all over the world. You can often find out where something was made by looking at its label.