Rationale
Developmentally, the concept of consumerism, I find, is understandable for my second grade students. Typically they struggle with the concepts of time and money, among others, because at their young age of seven or eight, the adults in their lives control both their money and their time. But, because they see items or food being purchased and brought into their homes from a young age, they have an idea of consumerism as an important part of their lives.
I look at the consumerism, schematically as a strong tree. The consumer is the trunk and the branches are all the different types and groups of consumers. The number of leaves that hang from the identifiable branches depict particular groups of consumers An ethnographer who researches and looks at the different facets of consumption ( the psychological, social, sociological, cultural, and economic factors that influence customer behavior) would diagram a tree with branches laden with leaves. A person fighting for consumer rights would also show a numerous numbers of leaves based on their understanding and pursuit to protect and educate the consumer. A branch showing the purchasing power of a child would be sparse depending on the age and economic status of the child and their family.
This unit will explore the concept of second graders learning that they possess and control purchasing power from both a marketing and parental level. My focus is to instill in my students the skills they need to become responsible consumers even if their buying power is restricted based on their age or family income. Keeping the analogy of the consumer tree that I describe above, the ultimate goal is to increase their number of "leaves" which will result in an increase in their consumer literacy.
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