Primary Economics Unit: Goods and Services

Shopping Experience
 Come find out about our Shopping experience we create for our Economics Unit!  This experience takes a bit longer to prep before and only takes about 30 minutes to perform.  

The shopping experience teaches about goods and services.  All kiddos get to help in prepping and all kiddos get to have a turn providing a good or service and all kiddos get to have a turn shopping!  As soon as you tell your class that this experience is upcoming, it will be the talk of the classroom!  To begin, you will need materials for the goods and services you will have your kiddos sell.  These are the goods and services we do in our rooms, with supplies listed for each:
Goods 
- bookmarks: colored cardstock, ribbon, stickers
- notebooks: colored cardstock, white printer paper, stickers
- bracelets: pipe cleaners, pony beads

Services  
- pencil sharpening: pencils, pencil sharpener
- cubby cleaning: baby wipes
- desk/table cleaning: baby wipes

We like to ask parents for some of these supplies ahead of time using Sign Up Genius.
Once you have collected you supplies, you will need to prep a few things before the kiddos start helping to create.  To make the bookmarks, you will need to cut rectangular bookmark shapes from the cardstock, hole punch the top, and tie a ribbon through the hole.  To make the notebooks, you will need to cut a cardstock piece in half vertically.  Then you will do the same with plain white computer paper.  Fold the cardstock in half and put the white computer paper inside and staple into a book.

Now it is time for the kiddos to make them fancy!
These are bookmarks that have been decorated with stickers by the kiddos!

These notebooks have been decorated with stickers by the kiddos!

These bracelets have been made by the kiddos using pipe cleaners and pony beads!

Time to Shop!
To get ready to shop, we have the kiddos sign up to sell a good or provide a service.  We do 2 rounds of shopping so all kiddos get a chance to do each part.  On the sign up sheet, we have 2 spots for each job during the selling time and 2 different sets of this set up.  The first rotation takes about 15 minutes.  Half the kids shop and half the kids sell.  After the first rotation, we flip flop.
The kiddos make signs for the job they will be doing.

 The kiddos have dollars and paper bags for their shopping time.  Each good or service costs $1.  We give them $4.  They put their goods in the bag after they purchase!

 Kiddos hand over a dollar to buy a note book!

This kiddo hands over a dollar for a cubby cleaning.  
This kiddos hands over a dollar to get a pencil sharpened!

This kiddos is providing the service of a desk cleaning!

Kiddos grabbing a bookmark!

After we complete both rounds of shopping, we gather the kiddos to talk about what they loved from the shopping experience!  You can grab our Economics Pack for more resources to help teach about Economics, set up this Shopping Experience, and have kiddos provide reflection after the experience has completed.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Economics-in-the-Primary-Grades-569734