The Difference Between Goods and Services
This lesson printed from:
Posted May 17, 2006
Author: Nancy Sedivy
Posted: May 17, 2006
Updated: March 2, 2007
Students will be able to distinguish between people who produce goods and people who provide services to a community.
- Distinguish between people who produce goods and people who provide services.
- Be able to identify and describe different jobs that people do in their roles as producers in the economy.
- Identify the jobs people do in a community.
Have the students identify goods and services by identifying what each job or person provides in this interactive activity they will then decide, in a later interactive, what or who provides a good or service.
Drag-n-Drop: This interactive quizzes students understanding of the connections between goods and services and those who provide them.
- Drag-n-Drop Number 2: This interactive allows students to identify if certain occupations provide goods or services.
Interactive Quiz: This EconEdLink quiz tests students understanding of the Goods and Services lesson.
Drag-n-Drop Number 3: This EconEdLink drag-n-drop helps students to better understand the goods and services lesson.
Possible assessment activity found at the following Goods and Services Web site:
A Day in the Life of a Dairy Farm: This page provides a summary of work to be done on dairy farms.
Virtual Farm: This site provides virtual farm trips to help students better understand agriculture.
The Story of Milk: This site provides information related to the production of milk and what it is used for.
From the public or school library, provide picture books available for kids to look at. During a shared reading session, they should then discuss the goods and services produced by different people/jobs to make a community work.
- Contact city hall and get a list of speakers that could come in and talk about their jobs. Include some who provide a service and some who work to provide goods.
Have the students click and drag the people who provide the services and those who provide the goods. Have the students click here for this interactive activity.
Following this activity have the students draw a picture of a job they would like to have when they grow up. Have them display the picture and explain what they think the job would be like.
Put the children into small groups. Have each group decide on two or three jobs they could pantomime for the class. Groups can take turns pantomiming their jobs while the other children guess the jobs they are acting out.
Have the children play the "I Have a Job" riddle game. Using small index cards use the jobs listed plus any others that pertain to the area that you live in and have them select a job card from the pile of cards. Then have students take turns reciting job riddles for their classmates to solve. Example "I have a job. I help to put out fires in burning buildings. I drive a big red truck. I wear a helmet and heavy coat to protect me from getting burned. I use a hose and water in my job. What job do I have?"
Following are a few examples.
Construction Worker: I have a job., I drive huge trucks full of dirt and rocks, and you see me out along the highway working on the roads. I wear a bright orange-and-lime colored vest so no one will accidentally hit me. Sometimes I drive big machines, too.
Doctor: I help to take care of people who are sick. They will come to me in my office and sometimes I will come to see them in the hospital if they need special hospital care.
The students can do a fun matching activity by clicking here Have the students drag the picture of the service each one provides to the good that is made or grown. They should also write one sentence telling about each picture.
The students can visit a Goods and Services Web site and take the quiz found on that site.
Survey: Students will then need to choose the kind of work that they might like to do when they grow up. Enter their responses into a form or graph that would calculate their response as well as the rest of the students in the class. If possible, use a bar graph or pictograph indicating what the response to this survey are.
Invite community helpers into the classroom. Ask them to use visuals including any special clothing, tools, or equipment that they would use in their jobs.
- Helpers that children enjoy learning about include:
vets, police officers, fire fighters, bankers, doctors, nurses, teachers, ambulance drivers, and pilots.
- Also invite people in that provide a good. Your choice of speakers will depend upon your community. If it isn't feasible to have producers of goods visit your classroom, you may be able to use a virtual substitute by having your students watch a video or vist a Web site.
- Example: Farmer: bring in samples of seeds and then the plant right before it is harvested or fully mature. Students are interested in seeing a kernel of corn that comes from a full ear of corn.
You could also have the students visit the following Web sites:
If you live in an area where there is a factory. Invite a representative from the factory to visit your classroom. Ask the representative in advance whether the factory can supply a video of its products, illustrating the production process from start to finish.
Have a Career Day in your school. Have each teacher contact one person, inviting him or her to come in and discuss his or her career with the students. Divide the students in groups and have them rotate and listen to several speakers. Then they should come back together and report on what they learned about the speakers and what they provide for the community.