1.8 Overview Social Studies SOL

1.8 OVERVIEW

The student will explain that people make choices because they cannot have everything they want.

SUGGESTED INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

Talk to the students about a time when they spent the night at a friend’s house or went on a trip and stayed over night. What kinds of things did they take on their trip?
Read a trade book about a family or child going on a trip. Discuss what things the characters may have packed or taken with them.
Make a list of things to take on a camping trip. Then make a list of things to take on a trip to the beach, a trip to a famous place, etc. Briefly discuss why these items are important.
Give students a paper with a copied outline of a suitcase or provide students with gallon sized zipper baggies. Pick a fictional or real destination and tell students to write or illustrate five things they would take with them. They can write an explanation for why they choose each item: "I chose _________ because_______________." As students share their items, discuss the choices made and the reasons.
Show the class a basket full of a similar items such as pencils, erasers, candy, book marks, etc. Tell everyone to write down on a sheet of paper the number of items they would like to have from the basket. Collect the papers and begin a list on the board of the number requested on each sheet. Add the numbers and then count how many of the actual items are available. Discuss how the total number requested is greater than the number available. The students should discover how the choices made affect others and their choices.
Provide the students with a variety of toy catalogs or other similar material. Give everyone a sheet of blank paper and tell them to pick out two toys or games they would like to have and then cut and glue the items on the paper. After each student has picked their two toys they can share it with the class or a small group and compare with others and talk about why they picked those items.
Tell the students to pretend that they only have a specific amount of money. Would they still be able to pick the same items? Would their choices have been different or limited? Discuss how limits in money affect our choices.
Collect menus from local restaurants, or create your own.
-Provide students with a set amount of play money (or have them earn the money with classroom chores, behavior incentives, homework completion, etc.).
-Tell the students to select a meal (or perhaps a sample breakfast, lunch, and dinner) from a menu based on the amount of money they have available.
-List or draw the food selections and the prices. Students can practice their counting and adding skills with money. Discuss why they made their choices. It should become clear that they cannot have everything on the menu, because they do not have enough money and they would not be able to consume everything they might want.
Have students choose things they would like to have. Give students a set amount of money and have students choose from what they originally wanted. Students have to make choices, because they do not have enough money to get everything they want.
Explain that when you pick between two things you are making a choice.
Provide the class with a choice, such as extra recess time or extra free reading time.
Help students begin to think about the pros and cons of each choice.
Explain that sometimes we choose things we like or because we want them and sometimes we choose things because we need them.
Lead the class in the steps of creating and using a decision tree, i.e. listing the positives and negatives of both choices and then using the results to make a final decision.
In small groups, students can work together to replicate the process of a decision tree for other similar choices or scenarios put forth by the teacher. Share results with the class.
Continue throughout the school year with various class decisions.
Voting is one fair way that Americans make choices. The teacher can read a trade book that provides an example of voting or a character making a choice and practicing the qualities of a citizen.
Create a scenario where students will vote to choose between three to five options.
The class could brainstorm a list of ways to spend some free time in class.
As the list is developed, ask students how the class could decide fairly which option to choose.
Discuss voting and stress that groups make choices too. Voting is a fair way for a group to make a choice. Have students observed examples or situations where adults were voting? Have students ever voted for something? What are ways students can vote (raising hands, writing a choice on paper, verbally making a choice, etc.).
Let the class vote for their free time activity by creating a class chart or graph. Each student can place his or her vote by filling in the appropriate section of the graph. Practice reading the completed graph and discuss the results.
Discuss other means of voting (secret ballot, ballot boxes, etc.) and how voting is one way to make a choice.

WEB SITES

http://www.pen.k12.va.us/VDOE/Instruction/info.pdf
This Virginia Department of Education resource provides a discussion of the concepts and principles in the economics strand of the History and Social Science Standards of Learning.

http://www.econedlink.org/lessons/index.cfm?lesson=EM279
Based on the song, “I Can Do Anything,” students learn about community jobs and that they have choices to make about their future careers.

http://www.econedlink.org/lessons/index.cfm?lesson=EM465
This lesson introduces students to work activities that grown-ups do to earn money and includes an interactive activity where students can choose jobs.

http://www.practicalmoneyskills.com/english/at_school/teachers/
This resource, sponsored and developed by VISA, presents a series of lessons and activities designed to help students understand what money is, make decisions about spending, and gain a better understanding of financial planning issues.

http://www.mcps.k12.md.us/curriculum/socialstd/Econ_Geog.html
This Web site offiers geography and economics lesson plans for 32 primary children's books.

http://chumby.dlib.vt.edu/melissa/posters/firstposter.html
Social studies curriculum resources poster sets are available for grade one.

LITERATURE LINKS

Making informed decisions about purchases

Wells, Rosemary.
Bunny Money. New York: Puffin, 2000.
Max and Ruby spend their money on a variety of items while shopping for a gift for Grandma.