In the News: Goods and Services

Introduction

The crazy town of Foxville is all mixed up! For some reason, whenever someone takes a letter to the post office, it never leaves the post office. The people of the town are not getting their bills, so their electricity and phone lines are being shut off. People are having parties, but nobody ever shows up to the parties. And friends are getting sad because they never hear from each other. The town is not running smoothly, because it is lacking a good or a service . What could the town be missing that would cause all of these problems? Is the town lacking a good, a service, or both?

You are a news reporter and your job is to investigate what is going on in Foxville. Use the clues in this quest to figure out why this town is so mixed up!

During this investigation you will need to...

• Find out what the words goods and services mean.
• Answer the questions about goods and services.
• Put the words of goods and services into the correct categories.
• Write a newspaper article and create a news broadcast about what goods or services Foxville is missing. Also in the your article, you need to decide how the town's problems could be solved.
  

1. First you'll be assigned to a partner.

2. Then the two of you will need to figure out what a good is and what a service is. Here are some places you could go to find the meanings of these words. Just click on any of the books to find dictionaries and information about goods and services. The words are in ABC order. You will need to scroll down to the word good and the word service. Then click the back arrow to get back to this page.

3. a. Now that you know what goods and services are, you and your partner need to read the information in the link below. Then answer the questions about goods and services. If you are unsure, go back to the above links to help you find the answers. After you are finished with the questions, you will need to hit the back arrow a few times until you get back to this page.

b. Go to this link of a neighborhood. Decide what services people do at each building. Click on the buildings to help you. Write your answers on a separate sheet of paper.

1. post office ___________________

2. school _________________

3. hospital ____________________

4. library __________________

5. fire station __________________

6. police station ________________

4. Click on this link to print the chart for the next activity. Decide if each of the words below is a good, a service, or both. Put the words where they belong on the chart. Each partner should have a chart.

• A ball
• A Doctor
• A pizza
• A teacher
• A pilot
• A shoe
• A letter
• A car
• A horse
• A toothbrush
• A barber
• A reporter
  

5. Now that you have learned so much about goods and services, you are ready to solve the mystery of Foxville. What is the town missing...a good, a service, or both? You and your partner need to put your reporter skills to work! Write up an interesting article to tell what is happening in Foxville. Don't forget to include how the town is going to solve the problem ! You first need to write up your article as it would appear in the newspaper. Then the two of you need to work out your news broadcast. Think about all of those reporters you see on T.V. Have fun!

Excellent work reporters! You solved the mystery of Foxville! Now you are experts on goods and services. Remember a good is anything you want and can feel. A service is something that is done for someone else. And a good can also be a service! Look around the room and find some goods that can also be services!