Activity 01
The Classroom Shop
Set up a mock shop with desirable items like special stationery, stickers, or free time vouchers. Give each student a limited budget of 'class cash' to spend, forcing them to make choices as they cannot afford everything they want.
Explain what might happen if a resource, like fresh water, became very scarce in our community.
Facilitation TipAfter the shopping, facilitate a whole-class discussion about the choices students made and what they had to give up.
What to look forUse a think-pair-share activity where students identify a limited resource in the classroom and explain a choice that has to be made because of it.
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Activity 02
Desert Island Survival
In small groups, students imagine they are stranded on a desert island. They are given a list of 15 items but can only choose five to take, compelling them to prioritise needs over wants for survival.
Identify two resources you use every day that are limited.
Facilitation TipAsk each group to present their five items and justify why they are more important than the ones they left behind.
What to look forStudents draw or write a short story about a character who has to make a difficult choice between two wants because they only have enough money for one.
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Activity 03
Needs and Wants Collage
Students use magazines and catalogues to cut out pictures of various items. They then sort and paste them onto a large sheet of paper, divided into a 'Needs' column and a 'Wants' column.
Analyse why money is considered a limited resource for families and schools.
Facilitation TipEncourage discussion between pairs about why they categorise certain items, especially those that could be both, like fancy food.
What to look forStudents complete an exit ticket at the end of a lesson, listing one need, one want, and one limited resource they encountered during their day.
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Generate Complete Lesson→A few notes on teaching this unit
Start with what students already know by using examples from their own lives, like sharing toys or spending pocket money. Use hands-on activities like sorting cards or role-playing to make abstract ideas like 'scarcity' feel real and understandable. Consistently use and display key vocabulary to build students' economic literacy. Encourage talk and discussion to help them articulate their reasoning.
Your students will learn to tell the difference between things we need to live and things we simply want. They will be able to point out limited resources in their daily lives and explain why this scarcity forces us to make choices.
Watch Out for These Misconceptions
If I really want something, it must be a need.
A 'need' is something essential for us to survive, like food, clean water, and a safe place to live. A 'want' is something we would like to have but could live without, such as a new toy or a lolly.
There is an endless supply of everything, like water from the tap or paper for drawing.
Many resources we use are limited. The water in our dams can get low during a drought, and paper comes from trees, which take a long time to grow. We need to use these resources carefully.
Money isn't a real resource because we can just print more.
Families, schools, and even countries have a limited amount of money, called a budget. If more money was simply printed, things in shops would become more expensive, so the new money wouldn't be able to buy as much.
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