What significance do
GOODS and SERVICES have
on our lives?
Rationale
This lesson sequence reflects the Unit of Work entitled “Who will buy?” which is featured in the HSIE K-6 Syllabus. Through this
program students learn the significance of goods and services on their daily lives, and the reasons why they are so significant.
Students learn about their needs and wants, and how interacting with other people in social and economic systems contributes to
society. It focuses on developing inquiry learning skills and providing experiences that are meaningful for students (e.g.
conducting interviews and posing questions to guest speakers from different cultures) and engaging them with actual places and
issues. In the final lesson of the sequence there is an evident link to the values and attitudes associated to ecological
sustainability. The lesson highlights to students the need to make responsible decisions, as they consequently may affect them
now and in the future. The teaching strategies/practices uterlised, including flow charts, retrieval charts, concept maps, interviews
and moral dilemmas; allow students to organise their information using an inquiry process, and social and civic participation. In
summary, this program will equip students to participate as responsible citizens in maintaining and improving the quality of their
society and environment.
Syllabus
Outcomes
Social Systems and Structures
SSS2.7 (Resource Systems)- Describes how and why people and technologies interact to meet needs and
explains the effects of these interactions on people and the environment.
SSS2.8 (Roles, Rights and Responsibilities)- Investigates rights, responsibilities and decision-making processes in
the school and community and demonstrates how participation can contribute to the quality of their school and
community life.
Indicators
Assessment
Both formative and informative (observations) assessments will take place
throughout the lesson sequence regarding students’ ability to meet the adjacent
indicators. All formative assessments are indicated via the black star. The
assessments will assess students’ ability to:
 Identifies and distinguishes between a
need and a want.
- distinguish between a need and a want
 Identifies sources of satisfying needs
and wants.
 Identifies the components of a system
that provides goods and services and how
the components need to interlink.
 Defines the terms goods and services.
 Explains the changes to a system over
time and the advantages and
disadvantages of these changes (e.g.
shops).
 Examines and compares the goods and
services provided within the community
and by community organisations to meet
needs.
 Identify how advertisements can
influence consumers choice when
uterlising businesses and purchasing
goods and services.
 Identifies the production and distribution
of goods.
 Identifies the different technologies
involved with monetary exchange.
 Explains how and why people and
technologies interact to meet needs and
assess the effects of these interactions on
people and the environment.
 Explains the processes involved in civic
action within the community.
 Investigates current community issues.
- discuss possible sources of satisfying needs and wants (e.g. shops, farms,
factories, community organisations, government organisations)
- list shops in their local community and categorise them in a concept map
- describe a good and service and sort through respective images
- conduct interviews with family members and guest speakers
- listen and draw conclusions about the changes of shops over time and identify
differences across cultures
- watch video clips which display differences of goods and services
- list differences across cultures
- design and make a ‘shop/business’ that offers a service to the local community
- state that good advertising techniques and service are important for a successful
business
- work in groups in order to compose an advertisement
- research the production and distribution of goods and represent their finding in a
flowchart
- present findings to their jigsaw group
- visit their local shopping centre and list the payment methods available
- explore both tangible and online catalogues
- discuss the pros and cons of each resource (e.g. which is more effective in it
purpose and why)
- read and design alternative plans of action to show commitment to ecological
sustainable development community issues and their lifestyles
- be environmentally responsible
Perspectives
Gender Considerations:
This lesson sequence caters for a range of learning styles for both male and female students. Through the discussions and
hands-on learning activities students are given the opportunity to explore the goods and services that provide for the needs and
wants of producers and consumers (BOS Units of Work, 1998, p. 109). The activities and resources uterlised throughout the
lessons are diverse and have been strategically chosen in order to meet the needs and interests of all students. When addressing
student differences, teachers need to design lessons that emphasise different intelligences and recognise that different styles of
learning call for different methods of teaching (Snowman et.al., 2009, pp 132). Taking into consideration the stereotypical views of
gender specific goods, a range were selected for each of the lessons. The designers of education policy should make a greater
effort to cater for the gender-specific needs in their curricula (Gray & McLellan, 2006). By referring to everyday examples, such as
Woolworths; students will be capable of understanding unknown concepts by relating them to prior experiences. In lesson eight,
students are encouraged to design their own shop/business. The benefit of this approach is that students are given the chance to
create a service that suits their specific interests.
Divergent Learning Considerations:
The range of activities which appear in this lesson sequence cater for students of diverse learning styles. Many of the activities
simultaneously embrace kinaesthetic, written, visual and aural skills. The visuals and resources are of specific use to students
from English as a Second Language backgrounds. An interactive game has been employed during the first lesson as a way to
assess students’ prior knowledge as well as engage the audience. YouTube clips appear in the lesson sequence, which are a
beneficial resource as they are age specific and spark discussion amongst the target audience. On the opposite end of the
spectrum the lesson sequence also includes early finishers’ activities for students who excelled in the activities. The activities aim
to challenge the students and encourage them to apply the HSIE concepts to their everyday lives.
Cultural Considerations:
In lesson four, grandparents from varying cultural backgrounds (China, Lebanon, Greece etc.) are invited to share his/her
knowledge and skills with the students. Through interviews students gain an understanding of the differences of shopping across
countries as well as being informed of changes they have witnessed within Australia since their arrival. This strategy also provides
opportunities for students to discuss their culture with their peers. The responses to the moral dilemma posed to students in
lesson three, will vary dramatically depending upon the culture of each student (e.g. students from European families are more
likely to purchase pasta for food, whereas students from Asian backgrounds are more likely to purchase rice).
Environmental Considerations:
By tracing back the life of products from the beginning of production students develop an understanding that particular ‘goods’ are
made from natural resources from the environment, such as milk comes from cows. Through this tracking exercise students gain
an understanding of the complex stages involved in the production and distribution of resources, hence they learn to appreciate
the values of products. Students then are encouraged to research and make a judgement on how ‘green’ products are. As
mentioned in the rationale students also explore the concept of ecological sustainability in the final lesson of the program.
KLA Integration:
English- The structure and language features of the text types students create and interpret.
Mathematics- Notions of profits and loss, prices, change, measurement units, used to sell goods, wholesale and retail prices,
specials, shopping lists, using calculators, estimating, money, 3D models. During lesson three, students compile a class tally
using their results from their prior homework interview task (the 3 items most often bought when visiting the local shops).
Science and Technology- Content from the Product and Services strand.
Personal Development, Health and Physical Education- Positive relationships between consumers and producers.
(BOS Units of Work, 1998, p. 109)
LEARNING
SEQUENCE
LEARNING ACTIVITIES
RESOURCES
 Complete Needs and Wants game as a class on the interactive Smartboard.
http://www.unicef.org.uk/tz/games/index.asp# (I)
 Define the terms needs and wants to distinguish between a need and a
want. Students are to copy the definitions into their HSIE book. (G)
 Students will brainstorm their basic needs and wants, for food, clothing,
housing etc. They will construct and complete a retrieval chart that distinguishes
between food, clothing, housing etc. needs and wants. (G)
Needs
Wants
examples
Food
Clothing
Housing
Transport
Emotional
 Students will discuss the possible sources of satisfying needs and wants (e.g.
shops, farms, factories, community organisations, government organisations).
Pose questions to students to initiate discussion: Who makes it possible for us
to receive free health care? How do we keep cool in summer and how is this
made possible? (A)
* Interactive
Smartboard
* Internet
* White board
* White board marker
* HSIE books
* Pencils
Lesson 2
 Brainstorm a list of shops in the local community. (G)
 Design a concept map to categorise the list (e.g. services, food, recreation,
clothing etc). (S)
 Define the terms goods and services.(G)
 Have student looks through a range of magazines. Cut and paste pictures
and classify them as a good or service on a piece of A3 paper.(A)
 As a class jointly formulate questions for the HOMEWORK task.(APP)
* White board
* White board marker
* Magazines
* Scissors
* Glue
* A3 paper
* Pencils
The Need to Shop
Lesson 1
HOMEWORK
 For homework students will conduct an interview with their
parent/grandparents about how important shopping is in their lives.
As a class jointly formulate questions such as: How often do you visit a local
shop? What 3 things do you buy the most often? How far would you go to buy
something you need? (R)
* Interview questions
* Clip board
* Paper
* Pencils
Lesson 3
 Discuss the children’s answers to their interviews. (I)
 Compile a class tally of the 3 items most often bought – discuss in terms of
needs and wants. (G)
 Pose a moral dilemma to the class:
‘You have been given $50 to spend on goods and services for you and your
brother for the weekend while your parents are away. This is all the money you
have. What will you spend it on?’
Find items in catalogues that you will purchase. (APP)
* Interview responses
* A3 paper
* Textas
* Worksheet: moral
dilemma
* Catalogues
* Calculators
* Pencils
Lesson 4
 Discuss what makes a good interview (refer to HSIE Syllabus p. 182).(I)
 Students brainstorm a list of questions to ask guest speakers (grandparents
of children from different cultures: China, Lebanon, Greece etc.) about shopping
when they were a child and the changes they have witnessed.
They will need to formulate questions such as: Did you have shopping centres?
How big were they? How has shopping changed over the years (e.g. internet
shopping)? What do you miss about shopping in the country in which you were
born? (G)
 Using the information gathered from the interviews, list advantages and
disadvantages. (A)
* HSIE Syllabus
* White board
* White board marker
* HISE books
* Pencils
* Guest speakers
Lesson 5
 Discuss and view video clips and/or pictures of different shopping
communities from around the world.
London: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTLtVFevt5w
Iran: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ba-1ZVYKXXI
Bali: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzAhWlp5nC4 (I)
 Write a comparison of fruit and vegetable shopping in Fairfield and traditional
shopping in Thailand.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B47GGM8oHxE (A)
* Interactive
Smartboard
* Internet
* Books and facts
sheets on Thailand
shopping
* HSIE books
* Pencils
Doing Business- Shops and Services
Lesson 6
 Open discussion by asking students to finish the jingle: “We’re Woolworths
the.....” (Children will reply “Fresh food people”). Ask students how they know
the jingle and where have they heard it before? Ask students to finish off
various other tunes and to give some examples of their own. Begin a
discussion on the advantages of advertising in helping services improve
business.
View various media advertisements for the local Woolworths supermarket.
Discuss ads in terms of appealing to buyers.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bum00xgWaDY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlVPAq2y2EM&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXErawZjAgM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFt63wXj26k&NR=1 (I, A)
 Students will look at brochures and television commercials of local shops and
discuss what techniques they use to make people want to use their service.
Use the online catalogue to interactively flick through a catalogue with students
and observe the various advertising techniques used (e.g. descriptive, inviting
language, language of persuasion, bold print, bright colours).
http://woolworths.smedia.com.au/activemagazine/onlinecatalogue/nsw/ (APP)
* Interactive
Smartboard
* Internet
* Brochures
* Catalogues
* Online catalogues
Lesson 7
 In pairs students are to use their information gained from the discussion in
the previous lesson to design an advertisement for a business. Students’
advertisement can be in the form of a poster, jingle, radio announcement,
television commercial or newspaper inset. (APP)
* White board
* Magazines
* Textas
* Worksheet: My
Business Ad
[Appendix 1]
* A3 paper
* Coloured paper
* Laptops with
Windows Media Player
and Audacity
* PC headset with
microphone
* Digital camera
* Scissors
* Glue
* HSIE books
* Pencils (lead and
coloured)
HOMEWORK
 For homework students will investigate and write a description of a
local shop that their parents choose to shop at. Students need to
research what types of items are sold at the location. Why their family
chooses to shop there. What payment methods are available (e.g.
EFTPOS, cheque, cash etc). In what ways are items organised on shelves
and why (e.g. frozen food, dry food, perishables etc). (G, A)
Where do the goods come from?
Lesson 8
 View pictures/photos and encourage students to recall the location of
selected shops in the local Fairfield area. Discuss with students the most
popular shops (e.g. foods, clothing or bakeries etc). Ask students why they think
this is? Are these shops providing for the needs of the local community? (I)
 Students will discuss, then independently design and make a ‘shop/business’
that offers a service to the local community. Students will need to decide how to
attract customers, store, display and package the stock; decide on the allowable
methods of purchase. (APP)
* Pictures and photos
of shops in the local
Fairfield area
* HSIE books
* Coloured A4 paper
* Textas
* Pencils
Lesson 9
 Discuss with students where food comes from. Use ‘milk’ as an example. As
a class discuss ideas of how milk gets from the farm to our fridge. Watch the
video: Where does our food come from? MILK
http://www.landlearnnsw.org.au/production-chains/video-case-studies/milk (I, S)
 Using jigsaw groups of 4 give each student a product to research:
Student 1: Bega Cheese
http://www.begacheese.com.au/
Student 2: Chocolate
http://www.nestle.com.au/Fun/SchoolLower/JuniorPrimary.htm
Student 3: Plastic cups
http://manufacturing.stanford.edu/
Student 4: Denim
http://manufacturing.stanford.edu/
They will need to formulate and answer questions such as: Where does their
good come from (e.g. dairy, orchard, factory, home garden, market garden)? Is
it natural or processed? How is it prepared for distribution (e.g. refrigeration,
cleaning, packaging)? Where is it processed? Where is it stored before it goes
to the shop (e.g. a warehouse)? How is it delivered? How ‘green’ is the good
(e.g. reducing waste)? (S, A)
 Have students present their information in a flow chart and then share their
information with their jigsaw group. (R)
* Interactive
Smartboard
* Internet
* Packaged goods:
Bega cheese,
chocolate, plastic cups
and denim
* Fact sheets
* Classroom
computers
* HSIE books
* Pencils
Responsibilities of Consumers and Producers
Lesson 10
 Explain to students that large shopping centres use a lot of energy to keep
them cool, well lit, clean and inviting.(I)
 As a class design alternative plans of action in situations where there is
obvious misuse of energy. Ideas include water restrictions, using solar energy,
open centres with natural air. Use Rouse Hill Town Centre as an example of
new ways to improve our environment and energy use. Refer to the information
below. (APP)
Information on this new centre:
Incorporated into the design, construction and operation of the Centre are a
range of elements:
* Sun shading technologies to create a ‘natural’ yet comfortable space
* The collection and use of rainwater in the building
* Use of native vegetation that requires limited water
* Recycled construction materials (such as concrete and steel)
The use of these design elements and the operation of the Centre will ensure
the Rouse Hill Town Centre uses less water and energy than a normal shopping
centre, and targets have already been set for operational efficiency which
include:
- Ecological footprint 25% less than a typical NSW regional shopping centre
- Targeting an energy profile that is 40% better than an average regional
shopping centre
- Retailer engagement with the Eco footprint Calculator assisting them to
improve their ecological footprint
- Waterless woks for food court retailers
- Recycling cooling tower and rain water
- 130,000 plants
* Pictures of Rouse Hill
Town Centre
http://www.rhtc.com.au
* Information on the
new centre:
http://www.rhtc.com.au
/content.aspx?urlkey=f
uture_generations
http://www.gpt.com.au/
contentimages/pdf/Rou
se_Hill_Town_Centre_
dev-factsheet.pdf
http://www.rhtc.com.au
/RHTC/contentimages/
flash/Rouse.mov
* White board
* White board marker
* HSIE books
* Pencils
REFERENCES
Board of Studies NSW (1998). Human Society and Its Environment K-6 Syllabus, Sydney.
Board of Studies NSW (1998). Human Society and Its Environment K-6 Units of Work, Sydney.
Gray, J. & McLellan, R. (2006). A matter of attitude? Developing a typology of boys’ and girls’ responses to primary
schooling. Gender and Education, 18(7), (pp. 781-819).
Snowman, J., Dobozy, E., Scevak, J., Bryer, F., Bartlett, B. & Biehler, R. (2009). Understanding student differences.
In J. Snowman, E. Dobozy, J. Scevak, F. Bryer, B. Bartlett & R. Biehler, Psychology applied to teaching (1st Australian
ed., pp. 124-134). Milton, Qld: John Wiley & Sons Australia.
WEBSITES
(in order of lesson sequence appearance):
UNICEF (2009). Unicef’s Wants and Needs game, Retrieved 29th September, 2009 from
http://www.unicef.org.uk/tz/games/index.asp
YouTube (2009). Westfields Shopping Centre- London, Retrieved 7th October, 2009 from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTLtVFevt5w
YouTube (2009). Tandis Shopping Center in Tajrish, Tehran, Retrieved 7th October, 2009 from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ba-1ZVYKXXI
YouTube (2009). Road to Bali - Jimbaran market, Retrieved 7th October, 2009 from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzAhWlp5nC4
YouTube (2009). Surabaya Fruit Market - East Java, Retrieved 7th October, 2009 from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B47GGM8oHxE
YouTube (2009). Fresh Food People - Woolworths, Retrieved 29th September, 2009 from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bum00xgWaDY
YouTube (2009). Woolworths Fresh Food People 2008 Advertisement, Retrieved 29th September, 2009 from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlVPAq2y2EM&feature=related
YouTube (2009). Woolworths Fresh Food People, Retrieved 29th September, 2009 from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXErawZjAgM
YouTube (2009). Woolworths Commercial, Retrieved 29th September, 2009 from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFt63wXj26k&NR=1
Woolworths The Fresh Food People (2009).Weekly Specials, Retrieved 29th September, 2009 from
http://woolworths.smedia.com.au/activemagazine/onlinecatalogue/nsw/
Land Learn NSW: Supporting Environmental Education (2009). Where does our food come from? MILK (video),
Retrieved 29th September, 2009 from http://www.landlearnnsw.org.au/production-chains/video-case-studies/milk
Indigo Edge (2001-2009). BEGA The Greatest Australian Cheese Company, Retrieved 29th September, 2009 from
http://www.begacheese.com.au/
Nestle: Good Food, Good Life (2001-2009). Junior Primary School Projects, Retrieved 29th September, 2009 from
http://www.nestle.com.au/Fun/SchoolLower/JuniorPrimary.htm
Design 4X (2001-2009). Stanford University: How everyday things are made, Retrieved 23rd September, 2009 from
http://manufacturing.stanford.edu/
The GPT Group (2008). Rouse Hill Town Centre: Where Life Unfolds, Retrieved 12th October, 2009 from
http://www.rhtc.com.au
The GPT Group (2008). Future Generations, Retrieved 12th October, 2009 from
http://www.rhtc.com.au/content.aspx?urlkey=future_generations
The GPT Group (2009). Project Overview, Retrieved 12th October, 2009 from
http://www.gpt.com.au/contentimages/pdf/Rouse_Hill_Town_Centre_dev-factsheet.pdf
The GPT Group (2009). Sustainability Video, Retrieved 12th October, 2009 from
http://www.rhtc.com.au/RHTC/contentimages/flash/Rouse.mov