Assembly Line Art

In Social Studies we have been learning about needs and wants, goods and services, and the importance of doing a job well. In one lesson we talked about assembly lines. We discussed that if one person does not do their job, and do it well, then it affects the other people doing jobs. To make this concept real to the students, we created art in an assembly line. One group of students were responsible for laying out the mini canvases in rows. Another group of students was responsible for adding strips of painters tape all over the canvases. Another group was responsible for connecting the strips of tape with other pieces of tape. Then the students were divided into groups. The groups were each given a color. They were responsible for their color and had to go to each canvas and fill in a blank space. After all of the canvases were painted, we waited for them to dry. While we waited for them to dry, we discussed the roles of producers and consumers. In this part of the lesson, they were the producers. Once the paint dried, we pulled off the tape. At this point, the students then became the consumers. They were able to "shop" and decide which of the paintings they wanted to keep. I loved this lesson because it incorporated so many concepts but was also cross-curricular and fun. Their final products turned out fantastic!

Birthdays: Making Economic Choices

In Social Studies we have been learning about the need to make choices based on economics. The students made a list of things that they would want to do, want to eat, want to play, and other things they would like to have their birthday party. I then explained that each item would cost them $10 dollars but they only had $40 total. Therefore, they could only choose 4 items. We discussed that they would need to choose just four items. This led to a discussion of choosing all four items from one group versus spreading out the choices across all four categories. They decided it was better to spread out the choices across the categories in order to meet all needs of the party. Each student then chose one item from each category that they would want at their party to illustrate on a foldable.

 

Making Economic Choices

In Social Studies the students have been learning about making economic choices. To help them understand the concept of scarcity, the students played "Musical Chairs." As they played, we discussed how everyone wants the same thing but there is not enough to go around. Therefore, the demand is high but the supply is low. We discussed that when there isn't enough of something, in particular money, then choices have to be made between what is needed and what is wanted.

Needs and Wants

Last week in Social Studies we studied the differences between needs and wants. The students read about, wrote about, and brainstormed various things that we need to live and things that we may want to make life easier or more pleasurable. One of the activities the students completed was to create a foldable to identify one need and one want.