LESSONPLANTEMPLATE

YourName:RachaelBonow
TitleofLesson:YoureallthatINeed
Grade:ThirdGrade
STANDARDS
NOTE:Pleaselistatleasttwocompletestandardsyourlessonplancovers.[CommonCoreStateStandards
(mathandlanguagearts),NextGenerationScienceStandards(science),ArizonaStateSocialStudies
Standards(socialstudies)].

Third Grade Social Studies: Strand 5: Economics: Concept 1: Foundations of Economics

PO 1. Identify how scarcity requires people to make choices due to their unlimited wants
and needs. PO 2. Identify opportunity costs in personal decision-making situations.
Third Grade Science: Strand 3: Science in Personal and Social Perspectives: Concept 1:
Changes in Environments PO 1. Describe the major factors that could impact a human
population (e.g., famine, drought, disease, improved transportation, medical
breakthroughs).

LESSONSUMMARY/OVERVIEW
Provideanoverview/synopsisofthelessonandthetopicsthatitwillcover.Makesuretoprovideareason
whyyouselectedthistoberelevantforaunitonsustainability?

Forthistopic,thestudentswillreviewthedifferencebetweenneedsvs.wantsand
implementthisunderstandinginaminiresearchprojectrelatedtopoverty.
Beforemovingforwardwiththeactivitiesrelatedtoneedsvs.wants,theteacherwillcheck
forbackgroundknowledgebywritingthreewordsontheboard:food,water,andshelter,
andwillaskstudentstofindconnectionsbetweenthesewords.Afterassessingstudents
backgroundknowledge,theteacherwillcontinuewithaPowerPointonneedsvs.wants.
(ThelinktothisPowerPointcanbefoundinthematerialssectionofthislessonplan.)
Gaininganunderstandingofhowneedsvs.wantsdiffer,theteacherwillaskthatstudents
puttheirknowledgetothetestbyconsideringtenormoreitemsintheirownlifethatthey
ownoruseonadailybasis,andsortthemintoaneedsorwantspile.Followingthis,the
studentswillwatchavideoaboutwhatbringspeoplehappiness.Thisvideosharesthe
importanceofvaluesthinkinginmakingdecisions.TotieintheSciencestandard,the
teacherwillsharethatindividualsinpovertyarenotallowedtobepicky.Theydonot
experiencethesameluxuriesexperiencedbymostmiddleclassAmericans.Forthis
reason,individualsinpovertyhavedifferentexperiencesthanlow,middle,orhighincome
families;inreturn,theenvironmentalfactorsshapetheirsuccess.Tounderstandhow
environmentalfactorsaffectindividualslivinginpoverty,thestudentswillconductamini

researchprojectonclassroomlaptopsandsharetheirfindingswithstudentsina
persuasiveformat,usingjottednotesfromtheresearchtodeveloptheargument.
Thislessonisrelevanttoaunitonsustainabilitybecausestudentsareabletoreflecton
theirownlifeandhowitcomparestoindividualsexperiencingpoverty.Studentsrecognize
thatindividualsinpovertyarenotallowedtobepickywhenopportunitiescometheirway;
instead,individualsinpovertyaregratefulfortheopportunitiesthattheydoreceive.Itis
importantforstudentstolearnthatresourcesarenotequallysharedacrosstheworld.This
lessonhelpsstudentsreflectonwhattheybelieveistrulyimportantandgetsthemthinking
abouthowtheycanimproveopportunitiesforindividualsexperiencingpoverty,bygiving
individualsacrosstheworldmoreopportunitiestosucceedanddevelopbymakingsure
thatenvironmentalfactorsaresimilaracrosstheboard(e.g.cleanerairqualityforall
cities,especiallycitiesthatareverypollutedwhichcaneffectbraindevelopmentaswillbe
discussedinthereadaloudarticlebytheteacher).

OBJECTIVES
Describewhatyouwantstudentstoknow/beabletodoasaresultofthelesson.
Forexample,Studentswillbeableto

Students will beabletoexplain the difference between needs vs.wants byconsidering

personalitemsthattheyenjoyandwhetherornottheyarerequiredforsurvivalthrougha
needsvs.wantstenitemlist.
Studentswillbeabletodeterminehowenvironmentalfactorseffectbraindevelopmentby
readingan articlethathighlights brain developmentand access tobasicneeds suchas
nutritionandsafeairquality.
Students will be able to defend opinions by researching the environmental factor they
considermostimportantfordevelopmentthroughtakingonthemakebelievepositionasa
persuasiveCongressmaningovernmentthatusesevidencetosupporttheiropinion.
ASSESSMENT/EVALUATION
Whatmeasureswillyouusetoknowifyoustudentsmettheobjectives?

Tocheckifstudentsmeeteachobjective,formativeandsummativeassessmentswillbe
usedthroughoutthelesson.Formasteryofthefirstobjective,studentsareexpectedto
createatenormoreitemlistofgoodsthattheyenjoy.Aftercreatingthelist,studentsare
toseparatetheitemsintoaneedsorwantspile.Theteacherwillknowifstudents
understandthedifferencebetweenwantsversusneedsbywalkingaroundtheclassroom
andcheckingtoseewhatitemsstudentsincludedintheneedsvs.wantspile.Ifanitemisin

theincorrectpile,theteacherwillquestionwhythestudentplacedtheitemwherehe/she
did,andthestudentwillsupporttheirdecisionwithreasoning.Itisduringthisassessment
thattheteacheralsohastheopportunitytogaininsightintowhatstudentsvalue.This
activityassessmentisquickandinformal.Studentsareabletorelatethenewlylearned
words,needsvs.wants,throughathoughtprovokingandrelatableactivityasopposedtoa
quizorworksheet.
Next,theteacherwillassessstudentsknowledgeofthenextobjective,Studentswillbe
able to determine how environmental factors effect brain development by reading an
articlethathighlightsbraindevelopmentandaccesstobasicneedssuchasnutritionand
safeairqualitybyhavingstudentsannotatethearticleasitisreadaloudbytheteacher.
Theteacherexpectsstudentstohighlightunfamiliarvocabularyandwritelearningnuggets
learnedduringthereadaloudonthesidebarofthephotocopiedarticle.Priortoreading
thearticle,theteacherwilldeterminewhatsectionofthearticlewillbereadtothestudents
to hold student attention (as the article is rich in academic language far beyond the
studentsindependentreadinglevel).Whiletheteacherreadsportionsofthearticle,she
willwalkaroundtheclassroomtocheckthatstudentsarefollowingexpectationssetprior
toreading.
Finally, the last objective is for students to defend their opinions by researching an
environmental factor mentioned in the article or approved by the teacher that affects
studentsabilitytoachievesuccessintheclassroom.Theenvironmentalfactorssuggested
in the article are components experienced in povertystricken areas. For this reason,
studentsareusingvaluesthinkingtodeterminewhatismostimportant,intheiropinion,to
studentsuccessandproperbraindevelopment.Toaccessstudentlearning,theteacherwill
requirestudentstoconduct1520minutesofresearchontheirchosenenvironmentalfactor
and reportback tothegroup theirresearch through anywritten format,usingstrong
persuasivelanguagemodeledbyCongressmanandothergovernmentpolicymakers.

PREREQUISITEKNOWLEDGE
Whatwillstudentsneedtoknowpriortocompletingthislessonandhowwillyouaccesstheirprior
knowledge?

Priortocompletingthistopic,studentswillhavetounderstandwhatenvironmentalfactors
andbasicneedsare.Studentsshouldknowpriortothelessonhoweverthatthereareonlya
fewbasicneedsrequiredtosustainlife:food,water,andshelter.Toassessstudent
knowledge,theteacherwillwritethefollowingwordsonthewhiteboard:food,water,and
shelter.Then,theteacherwillaskstudentstoconsidertherelationshipbetweenthese
words.Shewillask,Howarethesethreewordsrelatedorconnectedtooneanother?

Providingwaittimeforthestudentstoconsiderthisquestion,theteacherwillthencallon
volunteerstosharetheirsuggestions.Hearingstudentanswers,theteacherwillthengive
themtheopportunitytoexpandandelaborateonthesharedanswersbytalkingattheir
tablegroupsforadditionalstatements.Abouttwominutesofadditionaldiscussiononthe
connectionofthethreewordswillbeallotted.Then,theteacherwillbringtheclassbackto
wholegroupandprovidethemwiththetermanddefinitionofbasicneeds.Theteacher
willexplainthattheseareitemsneededtosurvive.
Atthispoint,theteacherwillelaborateonthispreviousknowledgebyposingthefollowing
questionstothestudents,Whatenvironmentalfactorscouldplayaroleinanindividuals
inabilitytoreceivethesebasicneeds?Forthispartofthepriorknowledgeactivity,the
teacherwillallowstudentstoshoutoutthoughtsandideas,whichtheteacherwillwrite
ontheboardforstudentstoreferenceandtakenotes(ifdesired).Theteacherisableto
assesswhetherornotstudentsarefamiliarwithwhatenvironmentalfactorsare,andif
examplescanbeprovided.Thispriorknowledgeactivityflowsnicelyintothenewlesson
beingtaught:needsvs.wants,andtheteachercanjumpintotheactivitiesfortheactual
lessonaftersharingthatthedayslessonfocusesonbasicneedsandenvironmentalfactors.

Listofrequiredmaterials.

Needs vs. Wants PowerPoint link: https://www.wisc-online.com/learn/formalscience/mathematics/abm3302/needs-vs-wants

Whiteboard and marker (one classroom white board and one marker)
Collage-ruled paper (for ten or more item list activity) (25 sheets)
What makes you happy? PBS learning video link:
http://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/lpsc10.sci.life.happy/happiness/
Classroom laptops (class set, 25 laptops)
26 Photocopies of Carolyn Gregoires article Study reveals sad link between
poverty and childrens brain development link to this article:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/30/braindevelopmentpoverty_n_6968758.ht
mlcps=gravity_2888_4648557740919786609 (25 copies)
*This article document is also attached on the Day 2 page of the website.
Social studies notebook (to write notes in during PowerPoint) (25 student
notebooks)

Listofkeyvocabularyterms.

MATERIALS

VOCABULARY/KEYWORDS

Environmentalfactors:knowncharacteristicsinanenvironmentthatimpactthe
survival,operationsandgrowthofanorganization
Needs:ofnecessity,arequirementofsomething
Wants:tocrave,demand,ordesire

Persuasive:convincing,compelling,forceful

TEACHINGPROCEDURES
ProceduralSteps(Stepbystepinstructionsforteachingthelesson):

Tostart,theteacherwillrefreshstudentsbackgroundknowledgebywritingthree
basicneedsontheboard:food,water,andshelter.
Theteacherwillask,Lookatthesethreewordsontheboard.Whatdoyounotice
aboutthesethreewords?Aretheseitemsyourfamilyhastheopportunitytoenjoy
everynight?Iwantyoutoconsiderthesethreewordsanddecideiftheycouldbe
categorizedinanyspecificmanner.
Aftergivingtimeforstudentstothinkaboutthequestion,theteacherwillcallon
studentvolunteerstosharetheirresponsewithwholegroup.Studentsmightsuggest
thattheseareitemsindividualsuseeverydayandarethereforedailyitems.Other
studentsmightsaythatfoodandwaterarereoccurringthingsthatcanbereplaced,
whileshelterissomethingthatisntchangedonadaytodaybasis.
Oncesomestudentresponsesareshared,theteacherwillbringthestudentsbackto
wholegroupandclarifytheconnectionsofthethreewords:food,water,andshelter
asbasicneedsneededforsurvival.
Followingthis,theteacherwillhavestudentsconsiderhowthesebasicneedscanbe
effectedbytheenvironment.Studentsaretoanswerthisquestionbysharingideas
aloudtotheteacherasthestudentthoughtsarewrittenbytheteacheronthewhite
board.Studentgeneratedresponsesmightinclude:money,food,population,
naturaldisasters,resources,location,etc.Studentswillbelistingenvironmental
factorsthatmightcontributetoanindividualsinabilitytoaccessbasicneeds.
Aftergeneratingthislist,theteacherwillconcludethatthedayslessonwillfocuson
basicneedsversuswantsandhowthesebasicneedsareshapedbyenvironmental
issues.
Next,aPowerPointtitledWantsvs.Needsfoundatthefollowinglink:
https://www.wisconline.com/learn/formal-science/mathematics/abm3302/needs-vswantswillbesharedwiththestudentsthatclearlydefinesthedifferencebetween
wantsvs.needs.
Thestudentsthenpracticedifferentiatingthetwowordsbytellingtheteacher
wheretoplacethePowerPointsanimateditems,eithertheneedorwantbag,
dependingonwhatthestudentsthinkisaneedversusawant.
Theteacherwilldrageachcomputeritemintotheappropriatebagbasedonwhat
thestudentsthink.
Then,studentswillthenmaketheirownneedsvs.wantslist.Theywillpicktenor
moreitemsthattheyownoruseonadailybasissuchascellphones,food,showers,
clothes,laptops,etc.,andwritetheseitemsonthecollagerulednotebookpaper.

Afterjottingdownatleasttenitemsonnotebookpaper,thestudentswilltheneither
cuttheitemsoutandsortthemintoaneedsorwantspile,orwilllabelnexttoeach
itemaW(forwant)orN(forneed).
Theteacherwillwalkaroundtheclassroomandlookathoweachstudentseparated
theirtenitems.Ifstudentsplaceditemsinacategorythatappearstobeincorrect,
theteacherwillaskthestudenttoexplaintheirreasoning.
Onceallstudentshavetheopportunitytocompletethisactivity,theteacherwill
sharethathowwecategorizeitemsdependonwhatwebelieveisimportantinour
life.
Instructionwillcontinuewithavideoonwhatbringshappiness.Thefollowinglink
iswherethevideocanbefound:
http://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/lpsc10.sci.life.happy/happiness/.
Afterthisvideoisshown,theteacherwillcontinuethelessonbysharingthat
individualsinpovertyhavelittleaccesstotheitemsweenjoy,butwhentheyare
blessedwithfood,toys,technology,etc.theyareoftenextremelygrateful.Whatthey
considerimportantwilldifferfromwhatwemightthink.Forinstance,students
mightthinkcellphonesareaneedastheyareconstantlyonthegowithoutthe
abilitytocommunicatetoparentsorfriends.Yet,adultsknowthatcellphonesare
notneededforsurvival.
Furthermore,theteacherwillintegratetheSciencestandardintothelessonby
explainingthatindividualsinpovertywillhavedifferentopportunitiesandaccessto
goodsbecauseofenvironmentalfactors,whichareknowncharacteristicsinan
environmentthataffectsurvival.
Beforetheteacherreadsparagraphs49ofthearticletitled,Study reveals sad link
between poverty and childrens brain development, which is found at
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/30/braindevelopmentpoverty_n_6968758.ht
mlcps=gravity_2888_4648557740919786609, thestudentswillgenerateaclasslistof
environmentalfactorsthatcanaffectanindividualfromsucceedingbyshoutingout
thefactors.
Asthestudentssuggesttheseenvironmentalfactorsthataffectbraindevelopment,
theteacherwillhavethestudentoftheweekgrabthephotocopiesofthearticle,
Studyrevealssadlinkbetweenpovertyandchildrensbraindevelopmentand
distributeonecopytoeachstudent.
Theteacherwillreadaloudparagraphs49ofthearticle.
Duringthereadaloud,thestudentsareexpectedtolisten,followalong,and
annotatetheinformationheard.Annotatemeanstounderlinewordsthatmightbe
unfamiliartothemandmakesidenotesthatincludelearningnuggetsthatthe
studentsdiscoveredwhenreadingthearticle.
Oncetheteacherfinishesthereadaloud,thestudentswillsharewhatlearning
nuggetstheygainedfromthearticle.Learningnuggetsmightincludethatthe

brainssurfaceareasizecorrelatestofamilyincome,orthatwaterqualityisan
environmentalfactorthatcancontributetobraindevelopmentinstudents.
Aftersharingtheselearningnuggets,theteacherwillpassoutapieceofpaperthat
providesinformationonthenextsetofdirections.
Thedirectionsread:Forthisactivity,studentswillresearchanindividuallypicked
environmentalfactorthataffectsbraindevelopmentandstudentssuccess,as
discussedinthearticle,onaclassroomlaptop.Belowisalistofpossible
environmentalfactorsdiscussedinthearticlethatyoucanchoosetoresearch
independently.Thelistwillincludeenvironmentalfactorssuchasnutrition,
healthcare,jobs,etc.Aftercirclingoneofthechoicesprovidedonthepieceofpaper
thatwereincludedinthereadaloudarticle,thestudentswillresearchtheir
environmentalfactor.
Questionsthatstudentsshouldconsiderintheirresearchwillalsobeprovidedon
theworksheetpassedoutinclass,butingeneral,studentsshouldcollectinformation
astowhytheirenvironmentalfactorisimportanttoprotectandpossiblestatisticsto
howmanyindividualshaveinadequateaccesstotheseresources.
Theteacherwillprovideabouttwentyminutesforstudentstoresearchandjotnotes
abouttheirenvironmentalfactorintheirSocialStudiesnotebook.
Thelastsetofdirectionsisforstudentstosharetheirresearchedenvironmental
factorinsmallgroupsofthreetofourstudentsusingpersuasivetechniquesto
persuadeclassmatestochoosetheirspecificenvironmentalfactorasthemost
importantinsupportingbraindevelopment.
Studentswillconveytheirresearchedideasusingpersuasivelanguage.How
studentspersuadetheirpeerswillbeentirelyuptothem,whetherthatisthrough
pathos,ethos,logic,andwhatstudentsvalueasthemostefficientpersuasive
techniques.Studentsareallowedtobeascreativeastheywantfortheassessment,
theonlyrequirementisthatthestudentsusepersuasivelanguagetoexplainwhy
theirenvironmentalfactoristhemostimportanttobraindevelopment.(Astudent
exampleisincludedatthebottomofDay2onthewebsite).
Oncestudentshavetheopportunitytosharetheirminiresearchprojectinsmall
groups,theteacherwillclosethelesson.
Theteacherwillhavestudentsanswerthefollowingquestion,Whatlearning
nuggetfromthearticlereadorresearchgatheredreallystoodouttoyou?Once
eachstudentsharesonelearningnugget,theteacherwillpassapostitnotetoeach
student.
Forthelastfiveminutesofthelesson,theteacherwillaskthateachstudentwrite
howneedsvs.wantsrelatestoreallifeapplicationsonapostitnote.
Theteacherwillmodelexpectations.Theexpectationsinclude:athoroughsentence
thatconnectshowneedsvs.wantsareportrayedinreallife.Ateacherexample
mightinclude:Needsvs.wantshelpusdeterminewheremoneyisspentandhow
policiesareenforcedingovernmentallaws.

Studentsmightcomment,1)Understandingneedsversuswantsappliestoreallife
applicationsbecauseithelpsmedecidewhatIreallyneedtoconsiderwhenasking
myparentsforthings.2)Needsvs.wantsareimportantinreallifetodetermine
howmoneyisspentandwhetherthethingspurchasedareessentialforsurvival.3)
Needsvs.wantsarebasedonindividualinterestsandpersonalities.
Theteacherwillwalkaroundtheclassroomtomakesurestudentsareontask
duringthisfinalassessment.Afterfiveminutes,theteacherwillhaveeachstudent
wavetheirpostitnoteintheairtoshowtheyhavefinished.
Then,theteacherwillconcludebylisteningtoafewstudentresponsesandoffer
suggestionsabouthowneedsvs.wantsrelatetoreallifesituations.
Theteacherwillcomment,Thanksforsharingyourideas.Weneedtoremember
thatneedsvs.wantsdeterminehowindividualsuseorsavetheirmoney.Every
individualhasdifferentgoalsandpersonalitiesthatwillplayaroleinhowtheyview
happiness.Wehavelearnedthedifferencebetweenneedsvs.wantsandarenow
familiarwithhowwantsexceedbeyondtheitemsweneedtosurvive:food,water,
andshelter.Wealsolearnedhowindividualsinpovertysufferwithhavingtopick
andchoosebetweenbasicneeds,whichcanaffectsocial,cognitive,oremotional
development.Nowthatweunderstandthedifferencebetweenneedsvs.wants,we
canreconsiderwhatweappreciateandvalueinlife.

RESOURCES
Listanyreferencesyouusedtocreatethislesson.Ifyouborrowedideasfromanylessonplanspleasenote
themhere.UseAPAformat.

Biekkola, Kristin (2002). Needs vs. wants. Wics-Online. Fox Valley Technical College, WI.
April 3, 2015.
Corporation for Public Broadcasting [CPB]. (2015). Loop Scoops: Happiness. Retrieved
from http://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/lpsc10.sci.life.happy/happiness/
Dicitionary.com (2011). Retrieved from
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/persuasive?s=t
Gregoire, Carolyn. (2015). Study reveals sad link between poverty and childrens brain
development. The Huffington Post. Retrieved from
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/30/brain-development
poverty_n_6968758.html?cps=gravity_2888_4648557740919786609

What is environmental factors? Blacks Law Dictionary. Retrieved from

http://thelawdictionary.org/environmental-factors/

WAYSOFTHINKINGCONNECTION
Provideacompleteexplanationofhowyourlessonplanconnectstofutures,system,strategic,orvalues
thinking.Definethewayofthinkingyouselectedandusedinthislessonplan.Remember,thisshouldbe
includedmeaningfullyinthelessonplan.

My lesson connects to values thinking because students must consider how individuals
purchase goods based on what they value as most important. For instance, individuals that
live in poverty might choose to spend money on food before shelter because they value
keeping their body healthy and strong, before having access to a safe place to sleep.
In the lesson, students use values thinking to determine ten or more items that they own or
use on a daily basis, and whether these goods are wants or needs. Values thinking is used to
determine what items the students will choose for the activity. For instance, the teacher
might list a SmartBoard as an item. This item is something the teacher uses on a regular
basis and something she values.
The teacher is able to reflect on what students value most by walking around the classroom
and reading what students write in their notebook and separate into a wants versus needs
column. Furthermore, later in the lesson, students are to choose an environmental factor
from the article read-aloud by the teacher to research further. The environmental factor
students choose to research in greater detail is chosen based on what students value as most
detrimental to student success. Rather than forcing each student to choose an
environmental factor to research, students are able to pick a topic that they think is most
impactful to student success. Even how they approach sharing their researched information
in a table group setting is entirely based on what persuasive techniques the student values
as most effective in supporting an argument. For example, if students use pathos to convey
their researched information in the small group of three to four students, it can be assumed
that the student values sympathy and compassion. Overall, the lesson has several sections
where students demonstrate understanding of values thinking.