Money Matters Start

Overview

This 45-minute lesson introduces Year 3–4 students to the concept of money as a tool used to meet our needs and wants. It is first in a 15-lesson unit titled "Understanding Money Matters." The activities connect explicitly to the New Zealand Curriculum Refresh, particularly focusing on Financial Mathematics in the Mathematics and Statistics learning area, integrating key competencies such as participating and contributing, using language, symbols and texts, and managing self.

Curriculum Alignment

• Curriculum Level: Year 3–4 (Level 2; NZC Refresh)

• Learning Area: Mathematics and Statistics (Financial Mathematics focus)

• Key Competencies:

  • Participating and contributing
  • Using language, symbols, and texts
  • Managing self

• Learning Objectives:

  • Recognise and order New Zealand denominations up to $20 by value
  • Understand money as a tool to meet needs and wants
  • Communicate ideas about money and its importance in everyday life
  • Use play money to represent practical financial situations

Learning Intentions

• We are learning what money is and why we use it.
• We will explore the difference between needs and wants.
• We will practise recognising and ordering coins and notes.
• We will discuss why money is important in our daily lives.

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Lesson Outline

1. Engage & Activate Prior Knowledge (10 minutes)

Activity: Whole-class discussion & think-pair-share

• Begin by asking, "What is money?" and "What do we use money for?"
• Show various NZ coins and notes (real or play money).
• Ask students to identify as many as they can.
• Introduce the concepts of needs (things we must have to live) and wants (things we would like to have but are not essential).
• Ask pairs to share examples from their own lives of needs and wants.

Purpose: To connect new language and concepts and engage their thinking about money as a tool in everyday life.

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2. Explore Money and Needs/Wants (15 minutes)

Activity: Sorting & Grouping

• Provide each student or group with a set of play money and picture cards showing various items (e.g., food, toys, clothes, electronics).
• Ask students to sort the cards into needs and wants, then decide which items might be bought with money.
• Discuss the role of money to buy things that meet needs first, then wants.

Teacher Notes:

• Reinforce correct use and recognition of NZ notes and coins during the activity.
• Highlight how money helps us choose what to buy.

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3. Practical Money Recognition (10 minutes)

Activity: Making Amounts with Play Money

• Students use play coins and notes to make certain amounts related to the needs/wants cards. For example, "Make $10 to buy a sandwich," or "Make $5 to buy a book."
• This supports the NZC goal of recognising money values and simple calculations.

Teacher Support:

• Encourage main denominations usage ($1, $2, $5, $10, $20).
• Use counting, skip counting, and simple addition strategies.

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4. Reflect & Share (5 minutes)

Activity: Class share

• Invite students to explain what they learned about money's role and its importance.
• Reinforce the idea that money is a tool to meet needs and to help us make choices.

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5. Wrap-up & Home Connection (5 minutes)

Activity: Exit card or drawing

• Students draw one need and one want and write or dictate a sentence about why money is important.
• Suggest students talk with their whānau about where they see money used at home or in shops.

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Assessment

• Formative Assessment during discussions and activities:

  • Can students identify NZ money correctly?
  • Can they distinguish between needs and wants?
  • Do they understand money as a tool for meeting needs/wants?
  • Are they able to make simple amounts using play money?

• Evidence Collection:

  • Notes from class discussions
  • Exit card/drawing reflections

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Resources

• NZ play money sets (coins and notes)
• Picture cards of needs and wants items
• Whiteboard/flip chart for key words and ideas
• Worksheets for exit cards / drawing paper

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Teacher Reflection & Next Steps

After this lesson, adapt the following lessons in the unit to build on skills such as making change, simple budgeting, and understanding saving and spending choices. Ensure activities remain age-appropriate and linked to the curriculum’s financial mathematics strand.

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By centring the lesson on practical, relateable tasks and rich discussion, this plan aligns with the New Zealand Curriculum Refresh's emphases on authentic learning and using real-world contexts to develop financial understanding and key competencies .