Need, Want… or It Depends?
A class packs for a rainy trip — is a warm coat a need, a want, or does it depend?
Ready-to-print worksheets
PDF · Ages 6–8Beautifully designed and ready to print. Opens as a PDF you can print or save.
In the year workbook
My Money YearThis lesson has a companion in the printable year workbook: pupil pp. 32–33, teacher companion p. 28.
Learning objectives
- Sort water, a warm coat and a fancy badge under NEED, WANT or DEPENDS
- Explain why a need or want can depend on the situation
- Name a question that helps decide before buying
Vocabulary
- Need
- Something you must have to live, like food or a home.
- Want
- Something nice to have but you can live without.
- Choice
- Picking one thing when you cannot have everything.
- Priority
- Something important you choose to do or pay for first.
Materials
Minute-by-minute flow
5′
Hook
Teacher does
Read the rainy-trip story: the class lists water, a warm coat, a fancy badge and a bus ticket. Ask which card facts are known and what to find out.
Students do
Say what is certain and what the class must decide.
10′
Model
Teacher does
Think aloud through task 1: put water, a warm coat and a fancy badge under NEED, WANT or DEPENDS, giving a reason for one choice.
Students do
Help place each card — water a need, the coat depends, the badge a want — and give one reason.
20′
Practise
Teacher does
Set tasks 2 and 3: a bus ticket is needed if the trip is too far to walk — what changes if it is next door? When could a classmate be right that a phone is a need?
Students do
Answer both and point to the fact behind each choice.
7′
Discuss
Teacher does
Surface the misconception: a label is not permanent — ask about the person and situation without judging family resources.
Students do
Explain how the same item can change category.
3′
Exit
Teacher does
Pose the reflection: what question helps you decide before buying?
Students do
Write one, such as “What happens if I do not buy it?”
Check for understanding
Can the learner explain why the coat depends on the situation while water is a need and the badge a want?
Exit ticket
Write one question that helps you decide before buying, such as “What do I already have?”
Support
Sort only water and the fancy badge using picture cues.
Stretch
Add a fixed fictional budget and ask which item should wait.
Home connection
At home, pick two things and sort them as need, want or depends, then ask “What happens if I do not buy it?” — no need to discuss family money.