HASS · Year 7

Active learning ideas

Consumers: Choices and Influences

Active learning lets Year 7 students see how real-world pressures shape consumer choices. By moving, discussing, and simulating, they move beyond memorizing definitions to recognizing how price, peers, and promotions sway decisions every day.

• ACARA Content Descriptions
• AC9E7K02

• 35–50 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Gallery Walk
• 45 min · Small Groups

Gallery Walk: Ad Critique

Display 8-10 real advertisements around the room. In small groups, students rotate every 5 minutes to identify persuasive techniques, target audience, and emotional appeals on sticky notes. Conclude with a whole-class share-out of common strategies.

Analyze how advertising strategies attempt to influence consumer behaviour.

Facilitation Tip

During the Gallery Walk, assign each group one ad to focus on so all posters receive close analysis rather than scattered attention.

What to look for

Provide students with a print advertisement. Ask them to identify one advertising appeal used and explain in one sentence how it attempts to influence a consumer. Then, ask them to write one sentence describing whether the decision to buy the product based on this ad would likely be rational or irrational.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Create
• Relationship Skills
• Social Awareness

Activity 02

• Role Play
• 50 min · Small Groups

Budget Simulation: Shopping Spree

Provide groups with a set budget and grocery lists affected by price changes. Students decide purchases, justify choices as rational or irrational, and adjust for income shifts. Debrief on influences via class chart.

Differentiate between rational and irrational consumer decisions.

Facilitation Tip

In the Budget Simulation, circulate with a running ‘class total’ of spending so students notice how small extras shrink their remaining budget quickly.

What to look for

Present students with three scenarios: 1) Buying bread because you are hungry. 2) Buying the latest smartphone because your friends have it. 3) Comparing prices of three different brands of cereal before choosing one. Ask students to label each scenario as a 'rational decision' or 'irrational decision' and briefly explain why.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

Activity 03

• Role Play
• 35 min · Pairs

Preference Survey: Peer Influences

Students design and conduct pair surveys on product preferences, noting advertising or peer effects. Tally results class-wide, then discuss patterns in influences versus personal values.

Predict how changes in income or price might affect a consumer's purchasing choices.

Facilitation Tip

For the Preference Survey, have students write responses anonymously first, then share in pairs to reduce social pressure before full-group discussion.

What to look for

Facilitate a class discussion using the prompt: 'Imagine you have $50 to spend. How would your consumer choices change if the price of your favorite video game dropped by $10? How would they change if you received an extra $20 for your birthday?' Encourage students to use vocabulary like 'income', 'price', and 'purchasing choices'.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

Activity 04

• Role Play
• 40 min · Pairs

Price Change Debate: Pro-Con

Pose scenarios like price hikes on snacks. Pairs prepare arguments for continued purchase or switching, citing factors. Debate in whole class, voting on most convincing rationales.

Analyze how advertising strategies attempt to influence consumer behaviour.

What to look for

Provide students with a print advertisement. Ask them to identify one advertising appeal used and explain in one sentence how it attempts to influence a consumer. Then, ask them to write one sentence describing whether the decision to buy the product based on this ad would likely be rational or irrational.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teach this topic through layered experiences: first, let students feel the pull of emotions in ads, then ground their choices in real numbers during simulations. Research shows that when students experience both desire and limitation, they develop lasting skepticism about ‘too good to be true’ claims. Avoid long lectures on rational vs. irrational—let evidence from activities guide the insights instead.

Students will confidently distinguish rational from irrational choices and explain how advertising, budget, and social influences affect purchasing behavior. Their reasoning will show understanding of value, not just cost.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Gallery Walk: Ad Critique, students may assume every claim in an ad is true.

  During Gallery Walk, have students highlight the strongest claim on each poster and mark any information that seems missing or exaggerated, then share these gaps with the class to build collective skepticism.

• During Budget Simulation: Shopping Spree, students may believe the lowest price always gives the best value.

  During Budget Simulation, require students to write a short justification for each purchase that includes at least one factor beyond price, such as quality or necessity, and have peers challenge weak justifications.

• During Preference Survey: Peer Influences, students may think all social choices are irrational.

  During Preference Survey, focus discussions on examples where peer influence aligns with genuine needs, helping students see that social context can support rational decisions, not only override them.

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Methods used in this brief

• Gallery Walk
• Role Play