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K.E.1.1. Explain how families have needs and wants based on economic concepts.

K.G.2.2 Explain ways people use environmental resources to meet basic needs and wants (shelter, food, clothing, etc.).

2.G.2.1

Give examples of ways in which people depend on the physical environment and natural resources to meet basic needs.

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I felt like these were really good images to show students to get them thinking about things we need versus what we want.

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What types of needs do we have as humans?

How do we obtain those needs?

How and why do we depend on the environment for the resources we need?

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In this video Paul Andersen explains how the resources required for survival come from the Earth.  The resources are not evenly distributed on the planet and neither are the humans.  According to the NGSS we need to limit the use of nonrenewable resources (like oil and coal) through regulations and increase the use of renewable resources.

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In this video Paul Andersen explains how the resources required for survival come from the Earth. The resources are not evenly distributed on the planet and neither are the humans. According to the NGSS we need to limit the use of nonrenewable resources (like oil and coal) through regulations and increase the use of renewable resources. A teaching progression K-12 is also included.

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ESS3.A: Natural Resources - The Wonder of Science

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In this video Paul Andersen explains how the resources required for survival come from the Earth. The resources are not evenly distributed on the planet and neither are the humans. According to the NGSS we need to limit the use of nonrenewable resources (like oil and coal) throug

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This is a great resource for students that shows them a visual of the types of resources we depend on as humans to live.

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Unit - Life and the Environment - The Wonder of Science

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Those Shoes is a great book to read and discuss on the importance of needs vs wants.

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Those Shoes by Maribeth Boelts | Scholastic

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Jeremy, longs to have the black high-tops that everyone at school has, but his grandmother cannot afford them. So he buys an ill-fitting pair at a thrift shop a

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This is a really great lesson that focuses the importance of materialism and having students reflect on what they have learned.

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Activities will help students:

Understand the concepts of having, not having and the feelings associated with these concepts

Write complete sentences or paragraphs about what they do and do not have and what this feels like

Engage in meaningful community discussions about the feelings and issues behind having and not having certain things

Analyze and critique media messages that encourage materialism

Consider, discuss and describe in writing the possibility of having non-material riches

How does it feel to have more or less than somebody else?

How do media messages make us feel about what we do and do not have?

Are there deeper possible meanings of the word rich? How can you work to change your own and other's understanding of the idea of richness?

How can we celebrate what we all DO have?

Chart paper

Notebook

Samples of current magazine ads, pictures of billboards near the school and/or current TV ads

Thin line markers

Watercolors

Vocabulary

rich [rich] (adjective) having a lot of something

materialism [muh-teer-ee-uh-liz-uhm] (noun) interest in having a lot of money or material possessions

media [mee-dee-uh] ( noun) mass means of communication, like TV, newspaper, magazines, billboards, music videos or Internet

Procedure

1. What does it mean to have-or not have-something? As a class, brainstorm a list on chart paper of things kids might have that make kids who don't have them feel jealous. Some common examples might include specific articles of clothing or technology.

2. In your notebook, write a sentence and draw a picture or write a paragraph describing an experience you can remember of having something that someone else wanted. Then write a sentence and draw a picture or write a paragraph a describing an experience you can remember of someone else having something you wanted.

3. In a group, talk about the experiences you described. Make sure you discuss how you felt in both of the scenarios you described. Then, in your group or as a class, make a chart showing what it feels like to HAVE and NOT HAVE things that are wanted.

4. Where do we get messages that encourage us to value material possessions so heavily? As a class, examine magazine ads and/or discuss pictures of billboards or common TV ads. How do they encourage viewers to believe that possessing particular things makes us better or cooler as people? For instance, some ads make it seem like if you wear a particular brand of clothing, you will automatically be popular.

5. Discuss strategies for avoiding media messages that encourage materialism. Is this possible? What might make it especially challenging, and how can we move past these challenges?

6. What does it mean to be rich? Does being rich mean you have everything you want? Talk about the idea of being rich and how it relates to the discussion of having and not having. Can you be rich in ways that have nothing to do with material possessions? For instance, you can be rich in family or rich in imagination. As a class, create a chart showing different non-material ways to be rich.

7. Independently or with a partner, write a poem describing one non-material way you are rich. When you have revised your poem, publish it on thick white paper with a thin line marker. Then, using the watercolors, create a watercolor image over your published poem that represents the idea you wrote about.

8. When the watercolors have dried, put together all of your class poems into a "What We Have" book. This beautiful book shows all the different ways your class is rich.

Applying What You've Learned

Think about the conversations you've had and the activities you've done as a class around haves, have-nots, materialism and media messages. Create a poster with a counter message in response to a specific company you've noticed encouraging materialism to children through its advertising. Challenge yourself to use examples from actual messages you've seen the company use. Revise, edit and illustrate your message with a partner. Share your posters with your classmates and discuss the new messages. Then hang your posters up in your class or around the school with permission.

There are also a number of children's books that help address issues of class and social inequality, including, but not limited to, Rich Cat, Poor Cat byBernard Waber, The Hundred Dresses byEleanor Estes, A Chair for My Mother by Vera B. Williams, Chicken Sunday byPatricia Polacco and First Things First byKristi D. Holl.

In small groups, create magazine ads or commercial skits advertising a non-material possession that can make you rich. Share your ads or skits with your class, and compare them to the pieces of media you critiqued as part of the lesson.

ELL Extension

When your class brainstorms the list of ways they are rich, you will notice that these are abstract nouns-words that can be hard to remember because you can't necessarily connect them to a specific picture or object. Choose five new words to keep track of in your notebook. For each word, draw a picture OR write about a memory that you think will really help you recall this word. Your work will be personal, so think about what's truly going to help you remember these big ideas.

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Teaching Tolerance provides free resources to educators-teachers, administrators, counselors and other practitioners-who work with children from kindergarten through high school. Educators use our materials to supplement the curriculum, to inform their practices, and to create civil and inclusive school communities where children are respected, valued and welcome participants.