Classroom activity Grade 3 Social Studies & Civics
Sandy Bluff Water Choice Sort: A Grade 3 Benefit and Cost Game
A grade 3 social studies activity where student pairs sort everyday water choices in Sandy Bluff into their benefits and their costs at three stations.
Objectives
- Students will name one benefit and one cost of an everyday water choice.
- Students will explain why a water choice can be worth its cost.
- Students will compare two water choices and tell which they think is better.
Vocabulary
Key words: benefit, cost
Teacher overview
This is a station activity for a class of about 20 to 30 students working in pairs. Sandy Bluff (a fictional town used for this activity) is a place where families are trying to use less water. At three stations, each pair reads a real water choice a Sandy Bluff family might make, then decides one benefit and one cost of that choice. Every choice has both a good side and a price, and naming both is the economics skill the activity teaches.
Activity Directions
Before class, set up three stations around the room. Put a station sign and two large water choice cards at each one. Place a mat with two labeled spaces, Benefit and Cost, next to the cards. The six choices are: fix a dripping faucet, take a shorter shower, turn off the tap while brushing teeth, water the garden in the cool morning, sweep the sidewalk with a broom instead of a hose, and run the dishwasher only when it is full.
Gather the class and explain the two key words. A benefit is a good thing you get from a choice. A cost is what the choice takes from you, such as time, effort, or money. Model one example together using a choice that is not at any station, like carrying a reusable bottle.
Split students into pairs and send about the same number of pairs to each station to start.
At each station, the pair reads the two choice cards. For each choice, they write one benefit on a slip and place it on the Benefit space, and one cost on a slip and place it on the Cost space.
After the pair finishes both cards at a station, they talk about which of the two choices they think is more worth its cost, and get ready to share that at the debrief.
Ring a bell or give a spoken signal about every five minutes so pairs rotate to the next station in order, until every pair has visited all three stations.
End the activity when all pairs have sorted all six choices. Bring the class back together at the front.
Debrief with two questions. First: name a water choice and give one benefit and one cost you sorted. Second: pick two choices and tell which one you think is more worth its cost, and why.
From Water for Schools (waterforschools.org). This material is in the public domain (CC0) and may be copied, edited, and shared freely.
Answer Key
Answer: Fix a dripping faucet. A benefit is saving water and money over time. A cost is the time or the small price of the part to fix it.
Answer: Take a shorter shower. A benefit is using less water each day. A cost is less time to relax in the warm water.
Answer: Turn off the tap while brushing teeth. A benefit is saving clean water that would run down the drain. A cost is remembering to do it every time.
Answer: Water the garden in the cool morning. A benefit is that less water dries up in the sun, so plants get more. A cost is getting up early to do it.
Answer: Sweep the sidewalk with a broom instead of a hose. A benefit is using no water to clean. A cost is that sweeping takes more effort than spraying.
Answer: Run the dishwasher only when it is full. A benefit is fewer wash loads and less water used. A cost is waiting until there are enough dishes to fill it.
Debrief answer: Accept any choice with a fair benefit and a fair cost, and any ranking a pair can defend. Look for students naming both sides of a choice and giving a clear reason for the one they picked.
Differentiation
Support
Give these pairs a small word bank of benefits (save water, save money, help plants) and costs (takes time, takes effort, costs a little) to choose from instead of writing their own. Pair a strong reader with a developing reader at each station.
Extension
Ask pairs to invent a seventh water choice a Sandy Bluff family could make, write it on a blank card, and add both a benefit and a cost, then explain whether they think the choice is worth it.
ELL supports
Use a picture on each choice card so the action is clear without reading. Pre-teach benefit and cost with a plus and minus sign, and let students place picture slips or say their answer aloud instead of writing full sentences.