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Kindergarten · Social Studies · Unit 3 of 14

Needs & Wants

What do we really need?

What your child practices

Sorting needs (food, water, a home, warm clothes) from wants (toys and treats), and how families meet their needs.

Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) teks student expectation: K.5(A); K.5(B); K.5(C) · basic needs of food, clothing and shelter, needs and wants, and how they are met

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. A need is something we must have to live.
  2. Food, water, a home and sleep are needs.
  3. A want is nice to have, like a toy. We can live without it.

Example: Which one is a need: water or a toy? Can we live without a toy? Yes. Can we live without water? No. Answer: water

Needs & Wants in Texas

In the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), this is unit 3 of 14 in Kindergarten Social Studies, after Families and before My Jobs, Rules & Leaders.

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: Texas Education Agency (TEA)

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

    Wants are things that are…

    • 🎈nice to have
    • 💧needed to live

  2. Question 2

    Why do we need sleep?

    🛏️
    • 🌧️to make it rain
    • 🧸to get new toys
    • 😴to rest our bodies

  3. Question 3

    Leo wants a new toy. Is a toy a need or a want?

    🧸
    • 🎁want
    • 🏠need

  4. Question 4

    What does a pet dog need?

    🐕
    • 🎮a video game
    • 🎩a fancy hat
    • 🦴food and water

  5. Question 5

    Need or want? Tap a picture, then its basket.

    Sort into: 🏠 need · 🎁 want

    • 🛏️a bed to sleep in
    • 🥕healthy food
    • 🎮a video game
    • 🏡a home
    • 🍭candy
    • 🛹a skateboard

  6. Question 6

    You are thirsty. What do you need?

    • 💧water
    • 🧸a teddy bear
    • ⚽a ball

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