Foundation to Year 2: Ava makes a difference
Teacher notes
Needs and wants
Pay the price
Goods and services
Money match
Overview
MoneySmart Teaching is an initiative of the
Australian Securities and Investments
Commission (ASIC) to build the consumer and
financial literacy knowledge, skills, values and
behaviours of young Australians.
These digital activities for lower primary aged
students support the development of consumer
and financial literacy skills such as
understanding the difference between goods
and services, distinguishing between needs and
wants, recognizing and using Australian money,
and comparing and contrasting consumer
products and price. Teaching students about
money from an early age is critical to setting up
good foundations for the future.
The activities have been designed to be used in any
of three ways:
as part of the MoneySmart Teaching Primary and
Secondary professional learning packages’ units
of work
as stand - alone activities for use in the
classroom, or
as a tool for engaging parents/carers in their
child’s learning at home.
Getting started
These four digital activities are designed for
Foundation to Year 2 primary students. Each activity
has different levels to cater for the range of
knowledge and understandings of this age group.
Activity duration is approximately 15 minutes
although this may vary depending on the teaching
and learning approach used. Activities can be used
on an interactive smartboard, computer or iPad.
Each activity features colourful graphics and audio
and provides students with the opportunity to develop
consumer and financial literacy skills in a fun way
using the familiar game of matching memory cards to
learn about Australian notes and coins and through
‘real life’ situations getting ready for school and
buying items in a supermarket.
Besides these Teacher Notes the front page of each
activity provides links to:
Parent notes
Curriculum mapping
End user specifications
Contact details
Copyright information
www.teaching.moneysmart.gov.au
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Teacher notes
Links to MoneySmart Teaching
resources
There are two resources linked to this set of four
activities.
MoneySmart Teaching packages:
Level 3: Earning money for services. ‘Ava’ wants to
earn $10 pocket money. Students choose three
services to help her buy a book.
Needs and wants
Enduring understandings/deep learnings
Years F -2 Integrated unit of work – Pancakes can
make a difference.
There is a difference between what we need and
what we want.
Years F – 2 Interactive book – Ava makes a
difference.
People can have different needs and wants which
can change over time.
Go to the MoneySmart Teaching Resource centre.
Other resources:
Visit MoneySmart Teaching where you will find
additional resources including videos, games and
more teaching resources.
Activity topics
Key learning areas: Mathematics, English
Goods and services
Enduring understandings/deep learnings
Money is something that we use in exchange for
goods and services.
Money is finite – we only have a certain income to
spend.
Services and work can be paid or unpaid.
Student learnings
Explain how money is exchanged for goods and
services.
Use money to buy basic goods and services in
real-life contexts.
Understand that work can be paid or unpaid.
Level 1: Sorting goods and services. Students select
an everyday item such as a soccer ball or service
activity such as bus driving, and categorise it as a
good or service.
Level 2: Identifying services. Students help the
character ‘Ava’ to complete a service to earn pocket
money.
Student learnings
Identify and describe the difference between
needs and wants.
Describe how advertising can influence consumer
choices.
Level 1. Identifying needs and wants. Students help
the character ‘Flynn’ to get ready for school by
helping to select what he ‘needs’ rather than the
things he ‘wants’.
Level 2. Comparing items. Students help the
character ‘Flynn’ buy a new top at a good price.
Money match
Enduring understandings/deep learnings
Australian money includes notes and coins.
Recognise that different combinations of notes
and coins have equivalent values.
Student learnings
Recognise and match 5 cent, 10 cent and 20 cent
coins. (Level 1 of resource).
Recognise and match all Australian coins,
including $1 and $2 coins. (Level 2 of resource).
Recognise and match all Australian coins and $5,
$10, $20 $50 and $100 notes. (Level 3 of
resource).
Identify equivalent values in collections of coins
and notes, such as two five-cent coins having the
same value as one 10 cent coin. (Level 4 of
resource).
www.teaching.moneysmart.gov.au
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Teacher notes
Level 1: Matching coins. In a memory style game,
students select two matching images of five, ten, and
twenty cent coins.
Level 2: Matching coins. In a memory style game,
students select two matching images of five, ten,
twenty, fifty cents and one and two dollar coins.
Level 3: Matching coins and notes. In a memory style
game, students select two matching images of ten,
twenty, fifty cents and one, two dollar coins as well as
notes.
Level 4: Matching values. In a memory style game,
students match values such as five x twenty cents
equals a one dollar coin.
Pay the price
Preparation and delivery
The digital activities have been designed for flexible
classroom delivery so that teachers and students can
use them in a range of ways to suit different teaching
and learning needs. Each activity contains multiple
levels to suit the wide range of knowledge and
understandings of Foundation to Year 2 students.
Please note that elements of consumer and financial
literacy education may raise sensitive issues for
some families. For example, not all students earn
pocket money. Teachers are encouraged to vet the
activities first to ensure that they are appropriate for
their students.
Below are suggested approaches that teachers may
use.
Enduring understandings/deep learnings
Australian money includes notes and coins.
Goods and services
Money is exchanged for goods and services.
This resource is intended primarily for teacher-led
group activities, as well as individual use on personal
devices. The introduction screen presents a brief
explanation of the key topic (goods and services) and
three menu options.
Compare prices of similar items
Student learnings
Recognise 5 cent, 10 cent and 20 cent coins and
match them to a price tag (Level 1 of resource).
Recognise all Australian coins and notes and
understand their value (Level 1 of resource).
Compare the costs of similar items (Level 2 of
resource).
Count small collections of coins and notes to
make up a particular value, such as that shown on
a price tag. (Level 2 of resource).
Level 1: Choosing correct money. The character ‘Ava’
needs to buy items from a shopping list. This activity
requires students to match item value with the correct
money from two single coin options.
Level 2: Choosing correct money. The character ‘Ava’
needs to buy items from a shopping list. This activity
requires students to match item value with the correct
money from two multiple coin options.
Level 3: Comparing price. Students assist the
character ‘Ava’ to compare like items on a shopping
list and select the cheapest option. Students then
select the combination of coins required to pay the
total shopping bill.
The initial activity (Level 1) is intended to help young
students gain a base understanding of the difference
between goods and services. The learner sorts a
range of images into groups labelled ‘goods’ and
‘services’. The images reflect activities and items
young students are likely to have seen or
experienced, and the teacher can support
differentiation through explanation and by suggesting
other items or activities relevant to the student group.
Understanding of the concept of ‘services’ is further
developed in Level 2. This activity is aimed at helping
students understand that services are activities that
are generally undertaken for payment. The idea that
money is earned by effort is developed by a simple
animation that requires the student to help complete
the service so that Ava can earn her pocket money.
The concept of earning money by undertaking
services is explored in Level 3. The relationship
between the amount of effort needed and the amount
earned is also explored. Students select three
services Ava can complete in order to earn enough
money to purchase a desired item for a set amount of
money.
www.teaching.moneysmart.gov.au
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Teacher notes
These activities are intentionally couched in the third
person (Ava’s activities, Ava’s goods) rather than the
first person, recognising that not all students will earn
pocket money. Teachers are able to use the activity
as a springboard for discussion about the different
things students may do as a service in their home,
whether for pocket money or not. A minimum amount
of randomisation of elements is available for all
levels, allowing repeated use of the resource to
reinforce the concepts.
Needs and wants
This resource is intended for teacher-led interaction
on interactive whiteboards (IWBs). That is, it is
intended as a teaching tool, not an activity for
independent use by students. The introduction screen
presents a brief explanation of the key topic (needs
and wants) and two menu options.
The initial activity (Level 1) is intended to help young
students consider the difference between something
that is needed (essential) for a school day, versus
other things that are not needed (either because they
are not required for the activities at the user’s school,
or because they are ‘wants’ not needs). A character
is presented and the students are asked to consider
what he needs for school. The teacher leads students
in discussing the various items shown and selecting
which ones are needed for school in their own reallife situation. A second stage presents the selected
and remaindered items for comparison and reflection.
The second task (Level 2) is contextually related in
that the students are advised that the character
needs a new T-shirt, and the task now is to choose
one for him. The teacher leads students in comparing
three identical T-shirts that display different
advertising. The teacher is able to show that the Tshirts are exactly the same, even though the
advertising around each shirt is different.
Money match
This resource, which is based on the card game of
‘Concentration’, gives students practice in identifying
Australian coins and notes. There are four levels,
which all use the same game-play and functionality.
Levelling is achieved via the targeted content and the
number of cards per game.
The resource is intended primarily as a studentdirected activity, with students working on computers,
or iPads or other tablets. It can also be used on
interactive whiteboards (IWBs).
Randomisation of card elements is available at all
levels, allowing repeated use of the resource for
further student practice.
Pay the price
This resource gives students practice in identifying
the values of coins and notes, and reinforces the
concept of exchanging money for goods. The
different levels all use a shopping context and the
same basic functionality.
The resource is intended primarily as a studentdirected activity, with students working on computers,
or iPads or other tablets. It can also be used on
interactive whiteboards (IWBs).
21st century skills
Life for children in the 21st Century is much more
complex than it was for children of any other age, and
it is getting more complex. Today’s children need four
generic skills to enable them to grow into mature,
well-functioning adults. These are:
Ways of thinking: Creativity, critical thinking,
problem-solving, decision-making and learning,
Ways of working: Communication and
collaboration,
Tools for working: Information and
communications technology (ICT) and information
literacy,
Skills for living in the world: Citizenship, life and
career and personal and social responsibility.
What are 21st century skills
These skills are embedded within the four activities
which have been designed to support the
development of consumer and financial literacy skills
in primary school.
www.teaching.moneysmart.gov.au
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Teacher notes
Further information
For teaching students:
Go to teaching.moneysmart.gov.au. In the
resource section is a quality resource called
Making Cents which has an excellent section
dedicated to parents including 11 money topics for
parents.
Visit teaching.moneysmart.gov.au and view expert
videos or read more about ASIC’s MoneySmart
Teaching initiative.
Contact the MoneySmart Teaching team at
[email protected]
For personal money management:
Go to teaching.moneysmart.gov.au and subscribe
to ASIC’s personal learning program for teachers,
‘Financial Health for Teachers’.
Visit the MoneySmart website for consumers at
www.moneysmart.gov.au. It has calculators, tools
and tips to help you make the most of your
money.
ASIC’s MoneySmart Teaching initiative builds
the consumer and financial literacy capabilities of
Australian school students by developing
students’ knowledge, skills, values and
behaviours to enable them to make confident,
informed consumer choices and responsible
financial decisions that are essential to their
future financial wellbeing. To view the
MoneySmart Teaching Primary and Secondary
packages and all the online and digital resources
visit www.teaching.moneysmart.gov.au
www.teaching.moneysmart.gov.au
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