Grades 1–2
Bartering: Trading Without Money
Learn how people traded before money (bartering), answer 4 questions about trades and plan 3 swaps with friends.
Social studies worksheet · Needs and wants
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.
- Grade level
- Grades 1–2
- Time
- About 15 minutes
- Topic
- Needs and wants
- Answer key
- Yes, page 2 of the PDF
- Kids practice
- Needs and wants, Money and choices, Goods and services, Basic economics
What kids do
“Everyone needs a home, but homes look different around the world. Draw a line from each home to what it is like.”
Printed on the sheet:
- A home built from tree trunks
- A home that floats on a river or a lake
- Many homes stacked up in one tall
- A home built up high on poles, where water can flood
- A round tent in Mongolia that can be packed up and moved
- A home of thick mud bricks that stays cool where it is hot and dry
- How does your home keep you safe and warm?
Teacher tip
Show photos of each kind of home.
How to use it
- Talk about how needs are the same for everyone, and wants are different.
- Connect it to a class store or a pretend shopping trip.
- Pair it with a picture book or a short video on the same topic.
Watch for
Money can be a sensitive topic. Keep examples pretend and never ask about family income.
Talk about it
- Why do we have to make choices with money?
- How does this connect to where we live?
Take it further
Plan a pretend class party on a budget.
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 1–3
Party on a Budget
Plan a party with $20: add up cake, balloons and juice, find what is left, and learn why a budget means choosing.
Grades 1–2
Not Enough for Everyone
Learn the word scarcity with 4 classroom problems (6 kids and 3 swings, one last cookie), then think of fair ways to share.
Grades 1–3
My Savings Goal
A savings goal tracker: kids pick a goal, color a step of a 10-rung ladder for every dollar saved and plan where the money will come from.
Free for teachers
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