Grades K–2
You Can Only Pick One
Four simple trade-off choices (a kite or a puzzle, the pool or the park): kids pick one, write what they gave up and explain why.
Social studies worksheet · Needs and wants
How I Can Earn Money
A chore-and-earnings chart: kids list jobs they can do at home, when they will do them and what they earn, then plan what to save for.
- Grade level
- Grades K–2
- Time
- About 20 minutes
- Topic
- Needs and wants
- Answer key
- Not needed: answers vary
- Kids practice
- Needs and wants, Money and choices, Goods and services, Basic economics
What kids do
“People work to earn money for their needs and wants. What jobs can you do at home? Fill in your chore chart.”
Printed on the sheet:
- I am saving up for…
- Is it a need or a want? How do you know?
Teacher tip
Keep it about jobs kids can do, like helping with laundry or feeding a pet.
How to use it
- Bring in a few real items and sort them as a class first.
- Use play money for the money sheets.
- Keep a classroom globe, a world map and a U.S. map in reach while kids work.
Watch for
Money can be a sensitive topic. Keep examples pretend and never ask about family income.
Talk about it
- What would you save for?
- What question would you ask an expert on this topic?
Take it further
Run a classroom store for a week.
US Letter, prints well in black and white. Free for home and classroom use: print as many copies as you need.
More needs and wants worksheets
Grades 1–2
Producers and Consumers
12 sentences to sort: who is the producer (the farmer who grows corn, the baker) and who is the consumer (the kid who buys the toy, the family at the restaurant).
Grades 1–2
From Farm to Table: Bread
Put 6 steps in order, from the farmer planting wheat to the store selling bread, and see how many workers help make one loaf.
Grades 1–2
Every Home Is a Shelter
Shelter is a need: match 6 kinds of homes, from a houseboat and a stilt house to a yurt and an adobe house, to how they are built, then draw your own home.
Free for teachers
Get the free Classroom Drawing Kit
12 printable pages: six step-by-step lessons, a grid activity, draw-and-write sheets and teacher notes, sent with your welcome email. After that, new classroom printables by email.