Crafty Consumers

Social Studies Online

TEACHER Rudi Oosthuyse and Jennifer Lundin

TEACHING AND LEARNING ACTIVITIES

Select and adapt these learning activities to best meet the needs of your students, and to fit the time available:

1. Goods and Services - Introductory Activity
   People spend money on goods and services. To help pupils understand the difference between goods and services, classify the "list words" under the two headings: Goods and Services. Explain that "goods" in the context of this unit refers to the things that we buy and that "services" refers to the things done by people for us.

2. Needs and Wants
   Pupils explain how they would spend $1000.00, if won in a competition. Draw up a wish list.

   Discussion points:
   

   • What factors played a part in your decision(s)?
   • Which of the things on your list do you regard as luxury items and which do you regard as essentials? (Place an L for luxury and an E for essentials). Our decisions are determined by our personal values.

   Pupils to discuss difference between "needs" and "wants". Can all of our needs be met? Why/Why not? Are some needs more important than others? Explain. List your needs.

   Brainstorm all the people (individuals, groups, organisations, etc) who help to meet your needs. For example, teacher meets educational needs, baker meets dietary needs, etc. Show on the Relative Concentric Circle graphic organizer, the needs of your family, your community, and your country.

3. Statements
   Pupils read through a variety of statements made by different consumers, discuss the different ways people view and use goods and services - and the consequence of these differences.

   Complete the last speech bubble by filling in his/her attitude towards spending. Find out about 3 other people's attitudes towards spending and present them in cartoon form.

4. Become a Smart consumer - 8 tips for getting a good deal
   A wise consumer is one who knows his/her consumer rights. Knowing your rights is vital if you are to safeguard them.

   Using these tips from a range of people on how to get a good, identify the main point and use these to create an acrostic with the word CONSUMER.

5. Survey - What type of consumer am I?
   People view and use goods and services differently. Complete this survey to develop an overall picture of consumer types. Discuss the consequences.

   Total up scores (see score sheet).

6. Crossword Puzzle - Words of the Trade
   Complete a crossword puzzle to help gain a better understanding of vocabulary associated with consumerism. Once pupils have completed the crossword, clues are removed and pupils write their own definitions for the words.

7. Getting real value for money
   Consumers can safeguard their rights by considering a range of factors before making a purchase. This includes aspects such as price, content (ingredients), weight, quality, and shelf life.

   Activity: Pupils examine and compare the packaging of two similar products that are manufactured by two different companies. They can choose 2 products which are alike, such as: a snack food, eg. muesli bars, chippies, or chocolate bars, or a food like yoghurt, cheese or soup, or cleaning products for example soap powder, dishwashing liquid or cleaning products.

   Pupils examine each product carefully, and complete the table. Explain which one of the two s/he would buy and why.

8. How People View and Use Money Differently
   Assessment Activity 1

9. Design a new package for a product on the market
   Discussion points: What you see isn't always what you get when it comes to packaging. When you buy something and discover that the contents are different to what is advertised on the package, take it back and ask for a refund.

   The Fair Trading Act makes it illegal to package a product in a way that is deceptive to the consumer. The Commerce Commission has laid down guidelines for manufacturers, importers and distributors describing what is deceptive packaging. All information on a package must be accurate.

   Activity: Design a new package for a product of your choice. In groups, pupils view different cereal boxes and discuss features that seem to be essential for the consumer. List the verbal and visual features (images, graphics, messages, layout, etc). Students collect other forms of packaging and look at their features (similarities and differences). Students design a cereal box for a new brand of cereal. Describe in the design brief what features should appear on the cereal box so that consumers will want to buy it. To help promote the new cereal, put together an advertisement in the form of a jingle.

10. Buying expensive items
    Discussion point: When buying expensive items, consumers who safeguard their rights will take the time to find out as much as possible about the item. A prospective consumer wishing to purchase an expensive item will find out about the price, guarantees/warranties that apply, what back-up service exists in case the item becomes faulty, the availability of spare parts, which shops offer the best possible deal and so on.

    Activity: Select an expensive item (stereo, television, bicycle, skateboard, scooter, in line skates, surfboard, snowboard, computer, etc). Contact two competitive retailers selling the same brand of item and complete the log of all the information you are able to collect about the product. You may also wish to use the newspapers, brochures, the Internet, fliers, and word of mouth to gather all the information. Make a decision based on your findings and explain which factors contributed to this.

    

11. Service Providers
    Brainstorm all of the services you and your family have made use of over the past few weeks or months.

    Discussion points:
    

    • Which service did you make use of most often?
    • Which service did you use only once?
    • Which service was the most important to you? Why?
    • Which service could you have done without? Why?
    • Which service was provided by private enterprise and which service was provided by public sector?

    Here is a brainstorm of all the services that Janet had made use of. Explain the kind of service that was provided by each of the people.

12. Know your services
    Activity 1: Using Information
    Use the yellow pages to find local suppliers of services that your family will need when moving house.

    Present your information in table form. (Former house - Teacher to nominate a specific suburb/area for each pupil and pupil is required to find applicable service providers in that surrounding. New House - teacher to nominate another suburb/area for each pupil and pupil is required to find applicable service providers in that new surrounding)

    Activity 2: Career Expo Presentation
    You have been invited by your local council to make a presentation at a career expo. Select a service that you would like to provide to consumers and prepare a presentation for the expo. Access the KiwiCareers site for information on a wide range of careers/services.

    Formative Assessment 1
    Students visit the displays/presentations and find out about 4 community services (resources) they are likely to use. Pupils explain why the service is used and how different consumers use that service differently.

    

13. Ripped off?
    Discussion points: Have you or someone you know ever been ripped off? Share this experience with the class.

    Pupils check out the Consumer Scams and Rip-offs site, and in particular the A-Z directory of scams, how to spot a scam, the common types of scams, and what to do if you've been scammed.

    Pupils present their findings to others. Include details on:

    • Name and type of scam.
    • How to avoid being ripped off.
    • What to do when ripped off.

14. My Rights as a Consumer
    Discussion point: When you buy something, both you and the trader or seller have an expectation about what will happen. You both have an idea about the "unwritten" rules of buying and selling - how you will both behave and what you will say and do?

    Decide what consumers and traders expect when buying and selling by filling in these charts.

    (Consumers expect to pay a fair price for an item, consumers expect that the item is durable, consumers expect that the item be of good quality, etc).

    Discussion points:

    • Why are there 'unwritten rules' for buying and selling?
    • What happens when these rules are broken?

15. The Consumer Guarantees Act
    Activity: The Consumer Guarantees Act protects all consumers in New Zealand. Pupils read the information and decide what their rights are in each of the listed circumstances with reference to the relevant sections of the act.

    Formative Assessment 2: Problems with services
    Consumers rights are protected under the Consumer Guarantees Act. Service Providers also seek to protect New Zealand consumers. Pupils refer to this (simplified) Act and explain how consumers can seek to safeguard their rights using the act in a range of situations.

16. Know Your Rights
    The Consumers Institute of New Zealand has produced guides to the laws, which seek to protect you as a consumer. Your task is to read ONE of the guides and prepare a presentation for the class (oral or written presentation - teacher decision). The teacher should ensure that every pupil in the class researches a different guide.

17. Looking after the Consumer
    Activity 1: Pupil reads a complaints case study and completes the Customer Complaint Record.

    Activity 2: Children visit a supplier of goods and services and find out what procedures are in place and followed, when a consumer makes a complaint.

18. Solving Consumer Complaints
    Research has shown that if someone has a consumer complaint they will tell at least 9 other people about their dissatisfaction. However, if the complaint is handled well by the trader, the consumer is likely to recommend that trader to an average of 15 other people. It is therefore in the best interest of a trader to try his/her best to solve consumer complaints.

    Activity: Work in pairs, select one of the Solving Consumers Complaints case studies and present answers to the following in chart form:

    • what the law says about the situation
    • the rights and point of view of the trader
    • the rights and point of view of the consumer
    • how a consumer can try and have the problem solved
    • the result that the consumer wants and
    • further steps the consumer can take if the dispute is not sorted out.

19. Safeguarding the Rights of the Consumer: Mini Inquiry
    Brainstorm as a class all the different individuals, groups and organisations that exist in New Zealand and elsewhere who seek to safeguard the rights of the consumer.

    Activity: Divide class into groups/pairs ensuring that at least one in that group has access to the Internet and can download the necessary information for use in the classroom. Each group to carry out a mini-inquiry into one of the individuals/groups/organisations that seek to safeguard the rights of the consumer. Focus the Inquiry on how and why individuals and groups seek to protect the rights of consumers.

    Pupils:

    • frame a minimum of two questions to focus their inquiry;
    • collect and record information from a range of sources ( magazines, individual organizations, internet, libraries,)
    • process the information using appropriate conventions;
    • prepare a chart to communicate their findings to others
    • make a valid generalization about the individual/group/organization supported by evidence.

    Model questions to consider when conducting the inquiry.

20. Assessment Activity 2
    Pupils gather information from the completed Inquiry assignments on display and complete assessment activity 2. See model answers.

21. Complaining in Writing: Letter Writing
    Pupils practise writing letters of complaints on a range of problems, which could possibly be experienced by consumers. Use the draft letters provided on the Consumer Online as a guide when putting a complaint in writing. (Pupils can download templates of the letters and fill in the details of their given complaint).
    

RESOURCES

Electronic

• Consumer Kids