The document describes an activity where students must help Ms. Hegadorn choose three items to purchase for her new dog with limited money. Students are instructed to read three websites about economic needs vs wants, scarcity of resources, and a pet owner's economic wants. They then must write a letter to Ms. Hegadorn recommending three items from a list and explaining why each is needed by a dog owner. The activity aims to teach students about making choices due to limited resources.

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1. The Question
Ms. Hegadorn got a new pet dog
for her birthday. She is going
to the store to buy some
supplies for her dog but she
only has enough money to buy
three items. Which three items
from the list below do you think
she should buy? Why?
• Dog food
• Chew toy
• Doghouse
• Pet bed
• Dog treats
• Leash
• Dog sweater Image courtesy of Microsoft Office Clip Art
• Flea collar
These materials are © 2011 L. Hegadorn, Timber Grove Elementary, all rights reserved.

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2. Information Sources
You will visit three websites to learn
about
• economic needs vs. wants
• making choices because of a
scarcity of resources and
• the economic wants of a pet
owner.
Read the information on the three
websites. As you read, think about
the things a dog owner might need
and which items would be the
most important for Ms. Hegadorn
to buy.
Image courtesy of Microsoft Office Clip Art
These materials are © 2011 L. Hegadorn, Timber Grove Elementary, all rights reserved.

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3. The Student Activity
Read the information on the
websites below:
Wants vs. Needs: Basic Economics
Scarcity and Choices
Things
Economic Wants of Pet Owners: a dog
Interactive needs
As you read, use this graphic
organizer to record things that a
dog needs to live. This will help
you determine which items are
most important for Ms. Hegadorn
to buy.
Image courtesy of Microsoft Office Clip Art
These materials are © 2011 L. Hegadorn, Timber Grove Elementary, all rights reserved.

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4. The Assessment Activity
Ms. Hegadorn has a scarcity of money. She can only purchase three of
the items below for her new pet dog. Write a letter to Ms. Hegadorn
telling her which three items you think she should choose to buy. Be
sure to tell her the reason why each would be needed by a dog
owner.
• Dog food
• Chew toy
• Doghouse
• Pet bed
• Dog treats
• Leash
• Dog sweater
• Flea collar
Images courtesy of Microsoft Office Clip Art
Type your letter in a Microsoft Word document. Please print it when you
are finished. Use friendly letter format when writing the letter. Check
for proper capitalization, punctuation, spelling and usage.
These materials are © 2011 L. Hegadorn, Timber Grove Elementary, all rights reserved.

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5. Enrichment Activities
When you finish your You may also want to learn more
letter, complete this about what happens after you
make a scarcity choice. The
activity to decide which most important thing that you
items to buy a pet fish had to give up is your
with limited money. opportunity cost.
• Fishbowl Interactive
Complete the following activities
to learn more about
opportunity cost:
• Kids Econ Posters:
Opportunity Cost
• Crayola Production
Image courtesy of Microsoft Office Clip Art
These materials are © 2011 L. Hegadorn, Timber Grove Elementary, all rights reserved.

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6. Teacher Support Materials
• Teacher Notes: This lesson will be • VSC Indicator and Objective:
taught as part of the third grade Social Studies 3.4.A.1.b Explain that people
economics unit, titled Econ and Me. must make choices because resources are
• Objective: We will make an economic limited relative to unlimited wants for goods
decision about the needs of a pet and services. Identify and apply the steps in
the decision-making process
owner in order to solve a scarcity
problem. • Common Core State Standards for
English Language Arts & Literacy in
• Differentiation: I will provide a letter
History/Social Studies, Science, and
frame with sentence starters to aid
Technical Subjects:
struggling writers.
Reading Standards for Informational Text
• Time Management Strategies: I would
Grade 3
use this lesson with my class over a
three day time period. I would 10. By the end of the year, read and
comprehend informational texts, including
introduce the question and allow them
history/social studies, science, and technical
to read and take notes on the first day. texts, at the high end of the grades 2–3 text
On the second day, they could review complexity band independently and
what they read and begin their letter. proficiently.
On day three they could edit their
letters and type a final copy.
These materials are © 2011 L. Hegadorn, Timber Grove Elementary, all rights reserved.