The Homeschool Resource

• Economic studies in early elementary grades helps students to better understand and visualize how and why money moves around in the economy.

• Teaching kids about producers and consumers in a variety of ways, such as books, videos, visual information, and reinforcement activities, ensures that your child will better understand and grasp the concept.

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What are Producers and Consumers?

Producers are people who produce goods or provide a service. Consumers are people who buy those goods and services. Most people are both producers and consumers. For example, a seamstress buys cloth and thread as a consumer, but when they make clothes and sell them, they are a producer. Producers and consumers are the basis of the economy. The concept is taught as a social studies lesson to primary and elementary aged students, giving way to progress into a more focused economics unit in later years.

Teaching About Producers and Consumers

Basic economics lessons begin in early elementary social studies courses. In as early as the second grade, students begin learning basic concepts such as producers, consumers, goods, and services. These concepts are built upon for the next several years.

The process of exchanging goods and services for currency is an important concept to cover as it helps students to better understand the basis of the economy and introduces financial literacy. It also introduces the relationship between the producers of goods and the consumers that buy those goods.

Keep in mind when teaching about producers and consumers:

• Explain that people can be both producers and consumers. Make sure to give examples such as a baker makes sweets and sells them (producer) but must buy ingredients (consumer) to do so.
• Go over the process from producer to consumer. You can give the example of farmer-to-buyer at a Farmer’s Market. This will provide an easy way for your child to visualize this concept.
• Provide simple, real-live examples of both producers and consumers. This can be coupled with short outings to give your child a hands-on experience. Visiting a farmers’ market, a seamstress, or a bakery are good places to talk about producers and consumers.
• Set up role-playing games such as a “store” where your child can either be a producer (a farmer or grocery item delivery person who brings their items to the store to sell) or a consumer (the customer).
• Have class discussions or a group activity to help reinforce the relationship between producers and consumers.
• Also, take the time to explain the difference between producers offering a good versus those offering a service. For example, a doctor offers a service while a chef offers a good.

Additional Teaching Resources

Producers and consumers can be taught in a variety of ways such as age-appropriate books and videos, informative passages, and supportive worksheets. Below are some additional resources that you can use to help teach your children

Age-appropriate videos:

• Producers and Consumers for Kids by Homeschool Pop
• Economics for Kids: Producers and Consumers by Teaching Without Frills
• Producers and Consumers from Kids Academy
• What are Producers and Consumers? from Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
• Producers and Consumers for Kids | Facts for Kids by Hey! Guess What

Educational videos such as these are a great way to get your child engaged and excited about learning. They are fun as well as informative and are well suited for elementary-aged children. Offering a variety of ways of learning a concept, such as books, videos, visual information, and reinforcement activities, ensures that your child will better understand and grasp the material.

My Producers and Consumers Packet

Learning about producers and consumers is a requirement for all students. Lessons going over these simple economic concepts should not only be educational but will be better received if they are also fun. That’s why I created a producers and consumers worksheet pages packet to keep your children engaged in the lesson and ready to learn more.

The packet contains 7 colorful pages of educational and engaging worksheets. One of these pages is a cut-and-paste producers and consumers worksheet. Your student will cut out the pictures on the dotted lines and then decide whether the picture shows an example of a producer or a consumer. They will then glue down the pictures into the correct columns.

Another page asks your child to decide whether a picture is showing a producer or consumer. They will then write their decision on the line next to the picture.

I have also included a reading passage. This reading passage is a fun and educational story introducing producers and consumers in a real-live scenario. It has a corresponding fill-in-the-blank comprehension questions worksheet, in which they can use the reading passage to answer. This is to help incorporate ELA into the social studies lesson for a more well-rounded learning experience. *Answer keys are included.

The packet also contains a producers and consumers introduction page, a circle the producer page, a write-in producers or consumers page, and a writing activity. You can find the link to this packet below.

Have you found a fun and captivating way to teach your child basic economic concepts? If so, share your tips and tricks with the community in the comments below.