Kindergarten+Economics

Key Vocabulary Essential Question(s) Enduring Understandings Unit Objectives Beginning the Unit As the Unit Continues Toward the End of the Unit ||
 * Suggested Materials

Suggested time frame: March/April
 * Economics**

__Essential Questions:__ ·  What is the difference between a need and a want? ·  What is a natural resource? ·  What does it mean to recycle? __ Enduring Understandings: __ · Students will understand that needs must be met to survive while we can do without our wants. ·  Students will understand that the earth's natural resources can be used up or made unusable through pollution. ·  Students will understand that recycling is important protecting the earth’s natural resources __ Unit Objectives: __ ·  Students will begin to tell the difference between needs and wants. ·  Students will begin to identify how families and communities provide for their needs and wants. ·  Students will be able to identify natural resources and understand the need to protect them. ·  Students will participate in activities to understand recycling and conserving our natural resources.

__**Suggested Materials**__ (* means these items were ordered)
 * *Reduce, Reuse, Recycle board game
 * *Guided Reading: __Needs and Wants__, __Do We Need It? Do We Want It?__
 * *__Needs and Wants__ book
 * Recyclables

__**Beginning the Unit**__ Begin this unit around March in order to provide enough time to cover the enduring understandings before Earth Day on April 22nd. Earth Day can be our culminating activity for this unit, as we will be teaching the students all about recycling, reducing waste and reusing materials.

We can start the discussion with the students and say, "Boys and girls, I've been hearing many of you say, 'I need this...I really need...' and I have to tell you that sometimes you don't __really__ need something, you just __want__ it. There is a difference between wanting something and needing something." Once we help the children create a list of wants and needs we can then begin to link wants/needs and the limitations of our natural resources.
 * __Launching a unit__**


 * __Mini-lesson ideas/suggestions__**
 * reuse household products (toilet paper rolls, coffee cans, plastic bags, paper bags, etc.) within the classroom for art projects
 * bring in some of your own recyclables to show the students how to recognize recyclable products (note the sign on the bottom)
 * write a class petition to the principal to improve recycling and reduction of school waste.
 * connect the importance of the visit from the Darien Environmental Group from the beginning of the year (Tupperware) to this unit
 * continue to challenge students when they say, "I need..." to highlight the difference between wants and needs

Students will contribute 2/3 ideas to a class book regarding the conservation of our natural resources. The students will write and illustrate their ideas and we will create a class book to share at an Earth Day celebration.
 * __Assessment__**