Life Skills Arcade Middle school Family and Consumer Sciences, grades 6 to 8

Slide outline 2.7

Slides 02.07: Needs vs Wants Showdown

Unit
Unit 2: Me, My Goals, My Money
Lesson
Lesson 2.7: Needs vs Wants Showdown
File
Slides 02.07 - Needs vs Wants Showdown.md

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Lesson 2.7, one day, 12 slides. All prices marked [update].

Slide 1

Do now

  • Is a smartphone a need or a want?
  • One sentence. One reason.
  • Then we vote: need, want, or depends.

Teacher notes

Count the vote on the board. Most classes split three ways. That split is the lesson.

Slide 2

A need

  • Keeps you safe, healthy, and able to do school or work.
  • Food. A place to live. A coat in January. A way to get to school.
  • Price does not decide. The job the item does decides.

Teacher notes

Image: a winter coat on a hook.

Slide 3

A want

  • Makes life more fun or more comfortable.
  • You could go without it and still be safe and healthy.
  • Wants are fine. They just need a plan.

Teacher notes

Image: the same coat, in a second color, on a second hook.

Slide 4

The gray zone

  • Some items can be either. It depends on the person and the situation.
  • A laptop is a want. Until school requires one and does not lend one.
  • The test: "Do I need this to be safe, healthy, and able to do school or work?"
  • Copy the test sentence onto your sheet.

Teacher notes

Image: a phone with a cracked corner.

Slide 5

Your values decide the middle

  • Lesson 2.1: you picked your top values.
  • The gray zone is where values do the work.
  • A gift for your brother: want, or family value?
  • Keep your values list out. You will need it.

Teacher notes

Put the class values list from Lesson 2.1 on the board next to this slide.

Slide 6

The Showdown rules

  • 30 cards. Three mats: NEED, WANT, GRAY ZONE.
  • Both partners must agree before a card lands.
  • Cannot agree? Gray zone, with a note that says why.
  • Finish early? Pick your three hardest cards and fill in Part A.
  • 10 minutes.
Slide 7

Class tally

  • Bus pass. Phone. Name brand sneakers.
  • School lunch. Streaming. Gift for a sibling.
  • Hold up N, W, or G when I call the card.

Teacher notes

Tally on the board. Pick the most split card for the two-pair argument.

Slide 8

Which value decided it?

  • Two pairs argue the split card.
  • Then: which value from Lesson 2.1 decided it for you?
  • Say the value, not the item.

Teacher notes

Write the values students name next to the card. This is the line you will point to in Lesson 2.9.

Slide 9

The $100 task

  • You have $100. Fourteen items with prices.
  • Cover at least one need before any want.
  • Do not go over. What you do not spend is saved.
  • Spent plus saved must equal $100.

Teacher notes

Image: a single $100 bill next to a short shopping list.

Slide 10

Model line

  • Monthly bus pass, $60 [update], BUY, N.
  • "I cannot get to school without it."
  • Running total: $60. Left: $40.
  • Now you.
Slide 11

Three sentences

  • One need I covered and why.
  • One want I skipped and why.
  • The value that decided my hardest choice.
  • Full sentences. Name the value.
Slide 12

Exit line

  • 3 items you called needs
  • 2 wants you skipped today
  • 1 value that decided a hard card
  • Tomorrow: where does the money come from in the first place? Bring a question about your first paycheck.