Title – Wants and Needs
Year Group: Year 8, 9 Home Economics
Topic Reference: Consumer needs and wants
Time/Length: Approximately 1 hour
Aims:
Aim
To introduce the notion of interdependence of wants and the distinction between necessities
and luxuries.
Learning outcomes:
By the end of this lesson pupils will be able to:
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
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distinguish between wants and necessities
Identify economic elements within pictorial stimulus
allocate purchasing power
understand the notion of interdependence of wants
Resources
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Two photographs (attached)
Picture of luxury item (attached)
Magazines
Lesson summary/organisation/activities:
Exercise 1

The first part of the lesson should be devoted to recording individual reactions to the two
photographs (attached). This can be done as a class or group exercise. Discussion can be
stimulated with the following questions:
What are the differences between the two photographs?
In what way would the lifestyles of these two people differ? – food, clothes, entertainment
etc
In what way are the circumstances of the two people similar? – both may have health
implications caused by diet.
General Consumer Council for Northern Ireland – Post Primary
Exercise 2

Groups of students should then be allocated different sums of money e.g. £10, £50, £100,
£500 etc, and asked to choose the first ten items they would buy giving reasons for their
choice.
Things I would buy
Reasons for my Choice
1
2
This simple decision making exercise will introduce the notion of allocating a fixed amount of
purchasing power against a range of possible wants.
Exercise 3

Students should be given a list of goods and services to classify into necessities and
luxuries. Moving back to the two photos students should carry out this task for the child in
photo A and then for the child in B.
The list might include items such as:
Mobile phone
Soap
Vegetables
Doctor
Television
Refrigerator
Dishwasher
Shoes
This discussion should illustrate the differences between wants and needs in different countries.
It might also illustrate that there is no clear-cut dimension between necessities and luxuries.
Homework/ Extension

Students should be asked to consider the interdependence of wants through the purchase
of an item such as a car of a house. The picture could be cut out of a magazine or taken of
the internet.
When they purchase a car for example other wants and needs are created. Two examples are
shown below.
General Consumer Council for Northern Ireland – Post Primary
Want a parking
space at work
Need
insurance
General Consumer Council for Northern Ireland – Post Primary
Source- Oxfam
Source - http://www.healthfoods.com
General Consumer Council for Northern Ireland – Post Primary