Economics: jobs, earning, and spending, sharing, saving (grade 1) · lesson

Jobs and earning

A farmer, a teacher, and a firefighter

💡 People work at jobs to earn money for the things they need.

A job is the work a person does. Farmers grow food. Teachers help kids learn.

Most grown-ups work to earn money. They use it for food and a home.

Some jobs pay more than others. 5 dollars is more than 3 dollars.

🧠 How to think about it

To pick the job that pays more, look at the two numbers. Which is bigger? Pick that one.

job: the work a person does
earn: get money for work

🏡 Try it at home

Ask a grown-up about their job. What do they do? Draw a picture of it.

Coins, bills, and cards

penny
1¢nickel
5¢dime
10¢quarter
25¢

💡 We can pay with coins, bills, or a card.

A penny is a brown coin. It is worth 1 cent.

Nickels, dimes, and quarters are silver coins. Bills are paper money.

A bank card is a way to pay too. It uses money from the bank.

🧠 How to think about it

To count pennies, count each one. 7 pennies make 7 cents.

cent: a small bit of money; a penny is 1 cent
coin: round money made of metal

🏡 Try it at home

Find some coins. Sort them by kind. Count the pennies together.

Goods and services

Two goods and two services

💡 Goods are things you can touch, and services are work for you.

A good is a thing you can touch. Bread and toys are goods.

A service is work someone does for you. A doctor checkup is a service. So is fixing a car.

Shops in town sell goods and services.

🧠 How to think about it

Ask: can I hold it in my hand? Bread, yes. So it is a good. A checkup, no. It is work, so it is a service.

good: a thing you can touch and buy
service: work someone does for you

🏡 Try it at home

On a walk or drive, name a shop. Does it sell goods or services?

penny
1¢penny
1¢penny
1¢penny
1¢penny
1¢penny
1¢

💡 We can spend some money, share some, and save some for later.

To spend is to buy something now.

To share is to give some to help others.

To save is to keep money for later. A little each week adds up.

🧠 How to think about it

To split 6 pennies into 3 jars, put 1 in each jar. Do it again. Each jar has 2.

spend: use money to buy
share: give some to others
save: keep money for later

🏡 Try it at home

Label three cups: spend, share, save. Split a few coins into the cups.

Donate, borrow, trade

An apple and a banana to swap

💡 We can give, borrow, or swap things without buying them.

To donate is to give a thing to help others. You don't get it back.

To borrow is to use a thing and give it back.

To trade is to swap one thing for another. No money is used.

🧠 How to think about it

Ask: does it come back? If yes, it is borrowing. Is it a swap? Then it is a trade.

donate: give to help others
borrow: use, then give back
trade: swap one thing for another

🏡 Try it at home

Find one toy or coat you don't use. Talk about donating it to a child who needs it.

Jobs and earning

Coins, bills, and cards

Goods and services

Spend, share, save

Donate, borrow, trade