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1st grade · Social Studies · Unit 8 of 13

Needs and Wants

What we need and what we want

What your child practices

Practices telling needs from wants, and what affects how families meet their needs and wants.

New York State Learning Standards learning standard: 1.9a; 1.9b · needs and wants, and the choices families make when they cannot have everything

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. A need is something we must have to live, like water.
  2. People work to earn money to buy what they need.
  3. People want different things. That is okay.

Example: Which is something all people need? Everyone must drink to live. Answer: clean water

Needs and Wants in New York

In the New York State Learning Standards, this is unit 8 of 13 in 1st grade Social Studies, after Our Land and before Goods and Services.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: New York State Education Department (NYSED)

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    A need is something we…

    • must have to live
    • buy every week
    • trade for a toy
    • only want on birthdays

  2. Question 2

    Mom has a little money. She buys bread first. Why?

    • Bread is a toy
    • Bread is a want
    • Bread is a need
    • Bread is a game

  3. Question 3

    Which is a need?

    • a candy bar
    • a toy robot
    • food
    • a video game

  4. Question 4

    A want is something we…

    • like to have but can live without
    • find only in a store
    • must have to stay alive
    • never ever get

  5. Question 5

    You swap your apple for a friend’s pear. This is called…

    • racing
    • hiding
    • painting
    • trading

  6. Question 6

    You have a little money. Which do you buy first?

    • a coat for winter
    • a game
    • a sticker
    • a toy

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