Introducing Goods and Services

If you bribe kids with cookies…

they’ll work hard and be on their best behavior.

If you give a teacher time to TEACH, she’ll plan a fun and authentic lesson.

That’s rare; I know.

I love to use If You Give a Mouse a Cookie to practice identifying goods and services. This was my third time teaching this lesson. Just like wine and Zac Efron, it’s getting better with age!

First, we reviewed prior knowledge. I define goods as “things we can touch and feel” and services as “things we do for others.” We sang our goods and services song (more info here) and the kids gave some examples of each. Today was the last day spent working on goods and services and the activity served as an informal assessment.

Barnes and Noble’s Online Storytime includes a video / read-aloud version of If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. I don’t usually use Online Storytime because it doesn’t show the words, but it is a safe and quick option to hear the popular book.

Then I handed out this little (freebie) worksheet while I asked my students to try and make a connection between the book and economics. Students led a discussion about how everything the mouse requests can be classified as either a good or a service. I told the kids that we were going to reread the book and record every request as either a good or a service. 

I pulled out the big book and we reread, stopping after every one of the mouse’s requests. The students discussed each request to decide whether it was a good or a service and wrote the request in the correct column. They did great!!

Last, I told the kids that they could request a cookie from me, and that they had to ask with an exit ticket telling me the difference between goods and services.

… with cookies, of course!