Session 2 · Money, Values & You

Needs vs. Wants 🛒

Learning to tell the difference — and why it matters for your money

6th Grade Financial Literacy · 90 minutes

🎯 Critical thinking 📺 Ad awareness 🎮 Sorting game ⚖️ Opportunity cost

Today's Plan

📋 Here's What We're Doing

🎯 Opening question — Need or Want? (5 min)
📖 What do you NEED? (15 min)
📺 How ads trick you (15 min)
🎮 Need or Want? Sorting Game (15 min)
📖 Opportunity cost (15 min)
✍️ Journal + share (10 min)
👋 Recap & preview (10 min)

Knowing the plan = no surprises 👍

Opening Question

🙋 Raise Your Hand...

...if you want a new phone.

Now keep it up if you'd DIE without one.

      So... is a phone a need or a want?

      Let's debate. Both sides might be right.

Lesson 1 · What Do You Need?

The Basics of Survival

🏠 Shelter

Protection from the elements

🍎 Food

Energy to live and grow

💧 Water

Essential for every body function

👕 Clothing

Protection + warmth

Everything else? We might WANT it — but we don't need it to survive.

Lesson 1 · Needs vs. Wants

🤔 But It Gets Complicated...

Shoes = NEED... but do you need 12 pairs? 👟
Internet = WANT in 1995... NEED for school in 2025? 💻
Medicine = NEED if prescribed 💊
Phone = gray area — safety vs. luxury?

      💡 Gray areas are the most interesting part of this topic.

      Being able to think through them = financial wisdom.

Lesson 2 · Power of Advertising

📺 Ads Are Designed to Trick You

They show happy, cool, popular people using the product
They create urgency: "Limited time!" "Everyone has one!"
They target YOU — they know your age and interests
Their goal: make a want feel like a need

The average person sees 6,000–10,000 ads every single day.

Lesson 2 · Ad Awareness

🔍 Next Time You See an Ad...

Who is it targeting? (hint: probably you)
What feeling does it want you to have?
Does it make a want feel like a need?
Would your life actually be worse without this?

You can't avoid ads — but you can think critically about them.

⚡ Brain Break

Stand Up! 🧠

Point to something in the room that is a NEED.

Now point to something that is a WANT.

Debate with the person next to you for 30 seconds. Go!

Movement = better memory. You've got this.

🎮 Activity Time

Need or Want? Sorting Game

📋 Your group gets a set of item cards
🗂️ Sort each card into two piles: NEED or WANT
⏱️ You have 8 minutes — GO!
🤔 If you disagree in your group — that's GOOD! Debate it.

Items include: phone, water, shoes, electricity, video game, house, internet, candy, school supplies, car, vacation, glasses, toothbrush, pet, Netflix

Activity Debrief

🔍 Let's Talk About It

Which items caused the most debate?
Were there any surprises?
What about: phone? internet? glasses? car?

      Key insight: Gray areas = financial wisdom.

      Recognizing the difference takes practice — and depends on context.

Lesson 3 · Opportunity Cost

Every Choice Costs Another Choice

      When you choose to spend $20 on a game...

      you're also choosing NOT to spend it on anything else.

That "anything else" is the Opportunity Cost.

Pizza tonight = no movie this weekend (same budget)
Save $10 = no new book this week
Buy now = can't buy something better next month

Lesson 3 · Opportunity Cost

🤔 Think About YOUR Choices

What's something you recently bought or chose?
What did you give up to get it?
Was it worth it?

      Opportunity cost doesn't mean you chose wrong.

      It means you chose intentionally.

Islamic Perspective

Israf & Qasad ⚖️

إسراف Israf

Wasteful excess. Spending beyond what you need when others have nothing.
Islam discourages this.

قصد Qasad

Moderation and intention. Spending with purpose — avoiding both excess and miserliness.

These aren't about being cheap. They're about being mindful.

✍️ Journal Time

Take 8 Minutes...

      "Describe something you want right now. Be honest — is it actually a need? Explain."
    

📝 Write honestly — this is YOUR journal
One sentence is fine
No wrong answers here

Session 2 · Wrap Up

What We Learned Today 🎉

✅ Needs = survival basics. Wants = everything else.

✅ Ads are designed to blur that line.

✅ Every choice has an opportunity cost.

✅ Israf (excess) and Qasad (balance) guide smart spending.

✅ Gray areas are the interesting part — think critically!

Next session: BUDGETING — your plan for every dollar 💰