ARCHIVED NDNAEU LESSON

Needs & Wants

Elementary (K–5) · PE & Health · NDNAEU 1, 2

This lesson is preserved from Teachings of Our Elders. Its original standards and instructional content are historical; review alignment, source availability, cultural protocols, and suitability for your learners before use.

[link unavailable; checked 2026-10-15] Inquiry Design Model (IDM) Blueprint™

Needs & Wants

NDNAEU 1 “Sacred Relatives”, NDNAEU 2 “Learning & Storytelling”

Compelling Question	What are the essential needs in our lives?
Standards and Practices	ND Health Standard 4 Demonstrate the ability to use interpersonal communication skills to enhance health and avoid or reduce health risks 4.2.1 Demonstrate healthy ways to express needs, wants, feelings, and emotions.
Staging the Question	If you were lost in a forest, what would be important to have with you?

Supporting Question 1	Supporting Question 2	Supporting Question 3
What is a want? What is a need?	What were the traditional wants and needs of the Indigenous People of North Dakota?	How have wants and needs changed throughout time?
Formative Performance Task	Formative Performance Task	Formative Performance Task
Given examples of wants and needs, students will sort items by correct category.	Compare your wants and needs with the traditional wants and needs of the Indigenous People of North Dakota.	Create a Past/Present T chart. Discuss differences between traditional and contemporary wants and needs.
Featured Sources	Featured Sources	Featured Sources
Arthur’s TV by Marc Brown: https://www.amazon.com/ArthursTrouble-Adventure-HardcoverSeptember/dp/B010EWDQSG/ref=sr_ 1_9?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1470336 805&sr=1- 9&keywords=arthur%27s+tv+books Chicken Sunday by Patricia Polacco: https://www.amazon.com/ChickenSunday-PatriciaPolacco/dp/0698116151/ref=sr_1_1? s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1470336859& sr=1- 1&keywords=chicken+sunday+books Max’s Dragon Shirt by Rosemary Wells: https://www.amazon.com/MaxsDragon-Shirt-RosemaryWells/dp/0140567275/ref=sr_1_1?s= books&ie=UTF8&qid=1470336902&sr =1- 1&keywords=Max%E2%80%99s+Drag on+Shirt++books Nothing by Jon Agee: https://www.amazon.com/NothingJonAgee/dp/0786836946/ref=sr_1_1?s=b ooks&ie=UTF8&qid=1470336951&sr= 1-1&keywords=nothing++Jon+Agee	Need and Wants sorting activity: https://www.teacherspayteachers.co m/Product/Wants-and-NeedsFreebie-1641427 Pebble Books on Amazon.com: https://www.amazon.com/NeedsWants-PebbleBooksGillia/dp/1429617071/ref=sr_1 _1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=14703262 08&sr=1- 1&keywords=needs+and+wants+pebble+books The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein: https://www.amazon.com/GivingTree-ShelSilverstein/dp/0060256656/ref=sr_1_ 1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=147033698 1&sr=1- 1&keywords=the+giving+tree+by+she l+silverstein	How People Learned to Fish Iktomi’s Blanket

SUMMATIVE PERFORMANCE TASK: Supported Claim (written/spoken) or Demonstration of Process (project-based)	During a class discussion, have students explain how one item can be both a need and a want.
SUMMATIVE PERFORMANCE TASK: Extension	After creating a list of wants and needs, justify your answers through discussion. Have the students who are confused talk though their process to see if they understand the needs vs. the wants.
Taking Informed Action / Real World Application	Class research or discuss how do we keep our essential needs accessible to us (land, air, food and water). How can they start helping these essential needs?

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