Cost of Living

Overview

This 40-minute lesson is designed for Year 7 students studying PSHE, specifically focusing on understanding the cost of living and identifying and ranking lifestyle expenses. The lesson is fully aligned with the National Curriculum for England (PSHE education, Personal Finance and Economic Wellbeing strands) and differentiated to meet the needs of SEMH students.

---

National Curriculum Links

• PSHE Association Programme of Study - Economic Wellbeing
  Pupils should be taught to:
  • Understand the concept of money, the importance of budgeting and how costs affect lifestyle choices.
  • Recognise the difference between essential and non-essential expenditure.
  • Understand how income and outgoings affect personal wellbeing.

---

Learning Objectives

By the end of the lesson students will:

1. Identify at least five common lifestyle expenses (linked to cost of living).
2. Understand the relative cost of these expenses and their impact on personal budgeting.
3. Rank five given lifestyle expenses in order of cost from most to least expensive.
4. Reflect on how budgeting choices can impact wellbeing and lifestyle.

---

Resources

• Individualised expense cards (pictorial and text) representing 5 types of expenses
• Large ranking chart (laminated) on the wall
• Whiteboard & markers
• Visual money/budgeting aid (coins/paper money or digital equivalent)
• Differentiated worksheets:
  • Simplified, scaffolded for SEMH students
  • More challenging with open questions for deeper thinking
• Calm sensory corner available for breaks (SEMH focused)
• Timer for activity pacing

---

Lesson Structure

1. Engagement & Starter (5 minutes)

• Activity: “What costs money?”
• Use whiteboard to brainstorm common daily expenses with the class, prompting with questions like:
  • What do you spend money on every day?
  • What do adults need to pay for to live?
• Record ideas visually and display as a mind map.
• Use this to introduce the "cost of living" concept – money needed to cover these expenses regularly.

Differentiation: Use pictures and words to help SEMH learners contribute (e.g., show images of food, travel, bills). Use encouraging praise and clear, simple language.

---

2. Main Activity - Ranking Expenses (20 minutes)

• Introduce 5 key lifestyle expenses (e.g., rent/mortgage, food, transport, utilities, leisure/entertainment). Provide cards with pictures + simple text for each expense.
• In pairs or individually depending on confidence, students predict and rank these expenses from most costly to least costly using the large ranking chart on the wall.
• Students handle “money” tokens linked to average monthly costs to help visualise the value each expense holds.
• Discuss as a class results to compare different rankings and clarify misconceptions about costs.

Differentiation:

• SEMH students receive cards with clear visual cues and exact average cost figures to simplify ranking.
• More advanced learners given an extra 2 expenses to consider or asked to explain their reasoning in more detail on their worksheets.

---

3. Guided Reflection (10 minutes)

• Use questions to prompt reflection on choices and impact on wellbeing:
  • How might needing to pay for these things regularly affect a family’s money?
  • What might happen if you spend too much money on one expense and not enough on another?
  • How can budgeting help us make better lifestyle choices?
• Students complete differentiated reflection worksheets aligned with their needs:
  • SEMH: Simple sentence starters (e.g., “I think food is important because...”)
  • Higher ability: Short paragraphs explaining budgeting decisions.

---

4. Plenary & Assessment (5 minutes)

• Quick quiz: Teacher verbally reads out the 5 expenses and asks students to shout or hold up number cards to indicate their rank order.
• Use this to assess understanding and recall.
• Praise effort and highlight learning points.
• Optional: note down attendance and engagement for SEMH behavioural monitoring.

---

Assessment

• Formative assessment through class discussion, worksheet completion, and ranking activity accuracy.
• Informal questioning to probe understanding of cost priority and budgeting concepts.
• Use plenary quiz for quick evidence of knowledge retention.

---

Behaviour & SEMH Considerations

• Frequent positive reinforcement to build confidence.
• Clear and structured activities with visual support reduce anxiety.
• Sensory corner available for calming breaks if needed.
• Collaborative activities encourage social skills in a small group of 6.
• Allow processing time after questions and instructions.

---

Extension/Homework Suggestion

• Create a simple personal budget plan for one week using real or imaginary money, noting at least 5 expenses and prioritising spending.
• Encourage students to discuss at home what costs their family prioritise and collect one example of how budgeting helps them.

---

This lesson offers a highly visual, accessible, and scaffolded approach tailored to SEMH students in Year 7, ensuring a meaningful understanding of cost of living in line with the National Curriculum requirements for PSHE and personal financial education.