Read to the students This Is the Place for Me, by Joanna Cole. This book should be read as a read-aloud several times before activity 2B. Make sure students understand that Morty is looking for just the right house to meet his needs by asking, What is Morty looking for? Discuss student answers.

Follow discussion with an introduction to the activities. Paraphrase the following:

Step A.
Have available broken crayons and a box of new ones, some dull pencils and newly sharpened ones, and dull, tight or hard to open scissors and the best-cutting or new ones. Tell students that they will be doing an art project soon. They will need to cut, draw and color to complete their projects.

Which crayons would you want to use? Which pencils? Which scissors? Show the less preferred set. Would we be able to complete our art project with these?

Help children understand that the less appealing items will do the job by asking: Will these crayons color? Will this pencil write your name? Will these scissors cut out a shape?

State or help students conclude that: I need crayons to color. The broken ones will color, but I want the new ones because they are pretty. I need a pencil to write my name but I want the sharp one. I need scissors to cut my shape, but I want the new ones because they will cut better.

Step B.
Show children two cards, one with “need” written on it, one with “want” written on it. Have children sort objects used in Step A into the two categories. Ask children to define the words “need” and “want.”

If concepts of “wants” and “needs” are not understood, use another example, such as the following:

Again have the children tell which of the choices are “wants” and which are “needs.” Several examples may be necessary before the children can begin to work without teacher assistance.

Activity 2

Pre-select magazine, catalogue and newspaper advertisement pages picturing items the students may want or need. Be sure to include several pictures of foods, clothing and shelters.

Divide the students into small groups. Have students work in their groups to cut out pictures and sort them into the two categories, wants and needs. Provide two envelopes or baggies to each group. The words “wants” and “needs” should be prewritten on the containers, or available for children to copy. (These words may be added to a word bank.) Have students place the pictures into the appropriate container. Model the process of selecting pictures for the “need” group and the “want” group and be sure to emphasize the words on each envelope or baggie.

After completing this activity, collect the containers of pictures and mark them with student names or a group designation so students can use them in the following activity. Tell the students: Tomorrow we will be looking at the things you placed in your envelopes/baggies and writing about them.

Activity 3

Step A.
Tell students they will use the pictures they cut out in Activity 2. Have a student pick out a picture from the “need” container and identify it. (Depending on the maturity of the children, they may be able to discern categories of food, clothing and shelter.) Do the same for the “want” container.

Model the following sorting activity for the students so they know what to do in Step B. (For modeling, make copies of the sorting activity sheet or use a prewritten sentence strip on chart paper, found in the Student Booklet.) Place two pre-selected pictures in the appropriate categories and read the results with the class. Have a few students place their pictures in the appropriate places. Again, read the results with the class.

Step B.
Divide students into the same groups as for Activity 2, and give each group the labeled envelopes or baggies of pictures which were collected previously, along with a copy of the sheet provided, or use sentence strips. Have students work in their groups to make their own sentences by pasting pictures in the appropriate places. As an alternative, have the students write, copy or trace the sentence on a piece of paper, using a teacher-provided model. Assist students as needed.

Student work could be made into a class book or posted on a bulletin board.

Activity 4

Step A.
Reread This Is the Place for Me.

Discuss with the students the importance of a shelter. Ask: What was Morty looking for? (a shelter that would make a good place to live) What is the problem with each new shelter Morty tries? Ask questions to build the realization that a good shelter must be a place that provides safety and protection from the weather. Examples are:

• What was wrong with his first house? (cold, wet and not safe)
• What was wrong with each house Morty tried? (The same concern about protection from the weather and safety should be the main idea.)
• What is shelter for? (to keep us safe and protected from the weather)

Step B.
Paraphrase the following: Remember, we will be building a model of a new and different shelter for Morty. Shelter is another word for a place to live. We need to find out what is needed in a shelter, and what is wanted in a shelter.

With the children, use words and pictures to build a web on the board or chart paper identifying the different components and features of shelters. Use think-aloud questions as needed to help children complete the web. Sample questions are:

• How do you get in the shelter?
• What’s over your head?
• Why is it there? (To protect you from the weather and to keep you safe.)
• What keeps out the rain?
• Where do you cook?
• What lets in fresh air?
• Where do you play?

Be sure the web includes a roof and a way to get into a shelter. See the sample web below from the Student Booklet.

When this activity is completed, be sure to keep it on display until the entire task has been completed.


 

Step C.
Once the web is completed, have students tell whether the features they identified are wants or needs. As students do this, use a “W” to mark wants and an “N” to mark needs. (e.g.: wants = curtains, carpet, windows, closets; needs = roof, a way to get in) Have students recall the four parts of Morty’s house that he fixed, i.e., door, windows, table, chair. Have them tell whether each of these was a want or a need for Morty. (Note: a window is a want, but there was a need to fix the broken window. Students may become confused over this difference.)

Step A.
Show children pre-selected pictures of shelters from other cultures. Have children answer the same questions you used in developing the web about their homes in Activity 4B. (How do you get in the shelter? etc.)

Step B.
This step connects the features of shelters to the wants and needs of different cultures.

Return to the web created in Activity 4. Ask children to compare the features of the shelters from other cultures with those on the web. For example, choose a picture that shows people cooking outside their shelter. Ask: Where do these people cook? Is this different from our home? Why would they cook outside? (so they don’t burn down the shelter) Maybe it is not a need to cook inside our shelter. As another example, choose a picture that shows people playing outside a shelter. Ask: Where do these people play? Is there room for them to play inside? Contrast wants and needs. Depending on the pictures, you may contrast ways of heating a shelter, places to sleep, furniture, etc. If children cannot make the connection, ask them to remember the first activity about wanting versus needing crayons, pencils and scissors. Remind them that people need shelter so that they will be safe and protected from the weather. People meet this need in different ways. The important thing is that needs are met in some way.

Step A.
Paraphrase the following:

Distribute copies of the “Does my shelter have?” chart, found in the Student Booklet. Have the children read the symbols, making sure they understand that the smile means “yes” and the sad face means “no.” Tell them how to mark the faces that indicate their answers. (circling, x-ing, coloring-in, etc.)

Step B. Poll the students and ask each to tell you the answers they have entered on their charts. Record each student’s response on a tally chart similar shown here, drawn on chart paper or the board.

Discuss with students the results from the tally chart. Sample questions: What can an economist tell from the chart about the shelters we live in? Which of these things are “needs?” Which are “wants?” Were there any wants or needs that Morty had that are not in this chart? (table, chair) Reinforce the concept from Activities 4A and 5B that the purpose of our shelters is to keep us safe and protected from the weather.

Activity 7

Prepare a range of materials from the Materials Required list. Using your classroom management system as appropriate, set aside a time and place for each group to construct a shelter for Morty which will be ready by Parents’ Night. Use the same groups as for Activities 2 and 3. (Depending on the maturity of the students, this may need to be an individual project.)

Paraphrase the following:

Reread or review This Is the Place for Me. Ask students to think again about Morty’s wants and needs.

Establish for the students which materials may be used and explain how much time they will have to work. Give them sufficient time to complete their project and a place to keep it until Parents’ Night. Meet with each group to have them identify and explain the two wants and two needs they have included in their model. Using words, pictures or drawings, have each group complete the “Morty’s New Shelter” chart to display with their model on Parents’ Night.

Ideas

The following ideas are offered as ways to alter this task to meet the needs of individual students and groups.

• K-W-L charts may be used throughout this task to enhance learning.

• An architect may be invited as a guest speaker to discuss with the students how plans are developed to build a shelter and how wants and needs are met.

• The unit, “A House for a Hedgehog,” from Math Excursions K, by Burk, Snider and Symonds (Heinemann, Portsmouth, NH) could be used to extend the concept of shelter and needs.

• As a follow-up activity, photographs could be taken of the completed projects from Activity 7 to use in a writing activity to extend Morty’s story.