Goods and Services
This video from the Explore Economics series helps kids understand that people buy and use both goods and services. Kids learn that goods are objects that satisfy people’s wants and services are things people do for us that satisfy our wants. Kids are encouraged to draw a picture of a good or service that starts with the first letter of their first or last name and to write a sentence that describes the good or service they drew. They learn a song about goods and services.
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Below is a full transcript of this video. It has not been edited or reviewed for accuracy or readability.
Let’s Explore a Little Economics.
Today we are going to learn about goods and services. You will want a piece of paper and some crayons or markers for this lesson.
The items you see here are goods. Goods are things that satisfy people's wants. Goods are things people use.
If you were hungry, which good would satisfy your want? You’d probably want the sandwich. (A chair or a coat don’t taste as good.)
If you want to sit down, which good would satisfy your want? You’d want the chair.
If you were cold, which good would satisfy your want? You’d definitely want the coat if you were cold.
Can you name some goods that you use? Pencils, scissors, paper, toys, candy, a bed, a hat, and a bike are all examples of goods.
Services are things that people do for us that can satisfy our wants. What service is the hair stylist providing for the child? The hair stylist is cutting hair.
What service is the waiter providing? The waiter is bringing people food.
What service is the teacher providing? The teacher is teaching his students.
People use goods and services. Let’s have a little quiz. I’ll show you a picture and you tell me whether it is a good or a service.
A book is a good.
The man here is reading the book to a group of children. That’s a service.
A brush is a good.
A child is grooming the dog—that’s a service.
Now use your marker or crayon to write the first letter of your first name on the paper. The first letter of my first name is M. Next, draw a picture of a good or service that starts with the same letter you just wrote.
I drew a picture of markers because markers start with the letter ‘M.” Markers are a good. Finally, write a sentence about your picture. My sentence is: Markers are goods, and they come in many vibrant colors.
I could have drawn this picture, too. This is a picture of a girl mowing the lawn. My sentences for this picture are: Mowing the lawn is a service. People want their lawns to look nice.
Let’s learn a song about goods and services. We’ll show you the words so you can sing along. Just follow the bouncing ball.
We use goods and services, services, services.
We use goods and services each and every day.
Goods are things that we can touch, we can touch, we can touch.
Goods are things that we can touch when we work and play.
People provide services, services, services.
People provide services to help us through our day
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