Needs vs. wants can be a tricky subject for kindergarten students. Their life is driven by their wants while their parents dictate their needs. The needs and wants of kindergarteners lie on two sides of a very blurry line. In your classroom, you can teach some fun activities for needs and wants and help your students understand where the differences lie!
Resources to help you teach needs vs. wants in kindergarten?
Of course, you will want also to find books that match these topics. Kindergarten learners are suckers for a good storytime. Truth be told, so am I! I love reading books in my classroom, and when they go along with the lesson you’re teaching, it’s like getting two birds with one stone. If you’re having trouble finding some books to go along with these topics, I’ve got you covered.
- Waiting is Not Easy!
- The Bad Seed
- The Pigeon Needs a Bath
- Need It or Want It
- Lily Learns about Wants and Needs
- Let’s Explore Needs and Wants
Videos to Teach about Needs and Wants for Kindergarten
While there are lots of topics and fun books to go with them out there, sometimes you can’t go wrong with a quick video. Videos have a way of capturing the attention of a kindergartener better than anything else. Especially if it’s only a few minutes long and full of excitement to keep their attention.
Brainpop Jr
Brainpop Jr is one of my favorite video sources for the kindergarten classroom. They have an awesome video all about needs vs. wants entitled BrainpopJr Needs and Wants. This three-minute-long video begins by talking about saving money and how we can use the money for needs and wants in our lives.
Cartoon for Kids!
Another video I’ve used in my kindergarten classroom to discuss needs vs. wants is Cartoon for Kids! Needs and wants. Social Studies for Children. This five-minute video will hold your students’ attention as it discusses the necessary things to have with you and keep on hand and which ones are just nice to have. Your kindergarteners will understand needs vs. wants in no time.
FREE Activity for Needs and Wants
As far as activities for needs and wants in your kindergarten classroom go, I have a deal for you. How about a FREE Needs vs. Wants Worksheet?!? Um, yes, please!
This FREE Needs vs. Wants Worksheet is all set up for your students to practice deciding which things in their lives are needs and wants. The easily downloadable and printable worksheet allows students to see a T-chart with a house on one side representing needs like shelter, food, water, and clothes. The other side of the T-chart has a tub of popcorn representing things we want, like junk food, technology, and toys. Students get to color and cut out images of the needs and wants and paste them onto the correct side of the T-chart.
Social Studies Notebook
The Kindergarten Social Studies – Interactive Notebook is one of my absolute favorite resources. This resource is perfectly leveled for kindergarten readers, allows students to work independently or in small groups, and encourages building vocabulary while covering various social studies topics and standards. The lessons are adaptable, so you can find the best way to use them for your students. If you’d like to learn more about this resource and how I have personally used it in my classroom, read all about it in Social Studies Interactive Journals for Kindergarten.
Kindergarten Social Studies Resources
If you are looking for an amazing source of social studies resources for your kindergarten class, I would encourage you to click here and find the Social Studies Resources I have available for teachers like you. Inside, you’ll find the best social studies books and journals for kindergarten, Presidents’ Day resources, and Martin Luther King, Jr. resources. If you go check now, you will also find some FREE Social Studies Resources!
Needs vs Wants Made Easy
Teaching needs vs. wants in your kindergarten class doesn’t have to be difficult! Stop beating your head against the wall, and check out the Kindergarten Social Studies – Interactive Notebook. No matter how blurry the line between needs and wants is for your kindergarteners, these activities will help them see clearly needs vs. wants. Which activities for needs and wants for kindergarten are you most excited to try?
