Wants Versus Needs: Primary Grades

Objectives
Activities will help students:

• Understand the concepts of having, not having and the feelings associated with these concepts
• Write complete sentences or paragraphs about what they do and do not have and what this feels like
• Engage in meaningful discussions about the feelings and issues behind having and not having certain things
• Consider what it might mean to be rich in a way that is not connected to material possessions

Essential Questions

• How does it feel to have more or less than somebody else?
• What does it really mean to be rich? How can you work to change your own and other’s understanding of this idea?
• How can we celebrate what we all DO have?

Glossary

rich [rich]
(adjective) having a lot of something 

materialism [muh-teer-ee-uh-liz-uhm]
(noun) interest in having a lot of money or material possessions 

 Materials

• Chart paper
• Journals or notebooks
• Thin line markers
• Watercolors

Activities

1. What does it mean to have—or not have—something? As a class, brainstorm a list of things kids might have that make kids who don’t have them feel jealous. Some common examples might include video games, particular toys or clothing.
2. In your journal or notebook, write a sentence and draw a picture to go with it showing an experience you can remember of having something that someone else wanted. Then write and illustrate a sentence describing an experience you can remember of someone else having something you wanted.
3. In a group, talk about the experiences you recorded. Make sure you discuss how you felt in both of these situations. Then make a class chart depicting what it feels like to HAVE and NOT HAVE things that are wanted.
4. What does it mean to be rich? As a class, talk about the idea of being rich and how it relates to the discussion of having and not having particular things. Can you be rich in ways that have nothing to do with material possessions? For instance, you can be rich in family or rich in imagination. As a class, create a chart showing different non-material ways to be rich.
5. Independently or with a partner, write a poem describing one non-material way you are rich. When you have revised your poem, publish it on thick white paper with a marker. Then, using the watercolors, create a watercolor image over your published poem that represents the idea you wrote about.
6. When the watercolors have dried, put together all of your class poems into a “What We Have” book. This beautiful book shows all the different ways your class is rich. Share with your friends and family.

ELL Extension

When your class brainstorms the list of ways they are rich, you will notice that these are abstract nouns [1]—words that can be hard to remember because you can’t necessarily connect them to a specific picture or object. Choose five new words to keep track of in your notebook. For each word, draw a picture OR write about a memory that you think will really help you recall this word. Your work will be personal, so think about what’s truly going to help you remember these big ideas.

Extension Activity (Optional)

Sometimes having and not having things can be a reason for bullying or exclusion. In your notebook, write a skit or draw a comic showing a scenario where kids get teased or excluded because of what they do not have. In your skit, show how you would respond in this situation and help solve the problem. Try to make your solution as realistic as possible. Share or act out your skit with classmates.