You will learn
- Name businesses.
- Say how they earn money.
- Say how they help the community.
- Explain fair trading.
Version 0.2 · expanded edition · built from cited public sources Content is based on the official frameworks and sources listed under Sources and standards. No official endorsement is claimed. Written in the style of common primary school assessments. No exam result is promised.
Student lesson
- Businesses sell goods or services.
- They earn money and provide jobs.
- Customers and sellers need trust.
- Fair trading is honest.
Words to know
an organisation or person who sells goods or services
a person who buys goods or services
money left after costs are paid
truthful and fair
1. Discover: Mama Adama’s stall
Mama Adama sells vegetables at the market. Each morning she buys from farmers, sorts the vegetables and sets her prices. A customer asks, “Is this fresh?” She says honestly, “The tomatoes are fresh; the peppers are from yesterday, so they are cheaper.” The customer smiles. “I will come back,” she says.
Think: Why did honesty help Mama Adama?
2. Understand: Traders and businesses
Idea 1: What is a business?
A business sells goods or services. Market sellers, shopkeepers, tailors, bakers, mechanics, transport operators and hair salons are all businesses. Some are tiny and some are very large.
Idea 2: Earning and jobs
A business earns money from customers. After paying for goods, rent, tools and workers, what is left is profit. Businesses give people jobs and bring goods and services to the community.
Idea 3: Fair trading
Good trading is honest: fair prices, correct weights, truthful information and good quality. Honest businesses earn trust and loyal customers. Dishonest ones lose trust. Governments and markets have rules to protect customers.
3. Worked examples
Example 1 (I show you): Name a business
Name one.
- Think.
- Say.
- Say what they sell.
Answer: A tailor sells sewing services.
Example 2 (We do it together): Profit
What is profit?
- Think.
- Say.
- Explain.
Answer: Money left after costs.
Example 3 (You try): Be honest
What do you say?
Show the steps and answer
- Think.
- Say.
- Smile.
Answer: This one is from yesterday.
Did you know?
Many market traders in Sierra Leone are women, who run businesses that support their families and employ others.
Why this matters
Businesses make goods and services available and create jobs, so trust and fairness matter to everyone.
4. Explore: Play market
Set up a pretend market with prices, labels and play money. Take turns being sellers and customers. Practise honest talk and fair change.
- Set up.
- Price items.
- Role-play.
- Reflect.
Think about it: what did you notice?
What did you notice? Honesty made customers happy.
5. Practise
Say it in a sentence
Use these starters when you talk about the lesson. Say them out loud.
- A business ___.
- A customer ___.
- Profit is ___.
- To be honest means ___.
Guided practice
Question 1. What is a business?
Sells goods or services.
Question 2. Who is a customer?
A buyer.
Question 3. What is profit?
Money left after costs.
Independent practice
Level 1: Start
- What is a business?
- Who is a customer?
- What is profit?
- What does honest mean?
- Name a business.
Level 2: Grow
- Why be honest?
- Why do businesses give jobs?
- Why rules?
Level 3: Stretch
- Play market.
- Make price tags.
- Say an honest sentence.
Answers are in the answer key below. Try first, then check.
6. Apply: Social Studies in everyday life
Name three businesses near your home.
Show a sample answer
Answers vary.
Another one. Ask a family member about a business they know.
Show a sample answer
Share.
7. Common mistakes
Fix: It is what is left after costs.
Fix: It destroys trust.
8. Lesson summary and revision card
- I can name businesses.
- I can say how they earn money.
- I can say how they help the community.
- I can explain fair trading.
9. Check and master
Answer all 14 questions. You will see feedback after each one.
Your result appears here after you answer every question.
10. Key takeaways
- Businesses sell goods or services.
- They earn money and provide jobs.
- Customers and sellers need trust.
- Fair trading is honest.
11. Next lesson
Next lesson: Public safety services. Keep going with the next idea in this course.
Exam practice
These questions are written in the style of common school and international primary assessments. Try them on your own, without looking back. Then check your answers in the marking guide. The marks are shown in brackets.
- Name three businesses and what they sell. [3 marks]
- Say what profit is. [2 marks]
- Say why fair trading matters. [3 marks]
- Say how businesses help the community. [2 marks]
Total: 10 marks.
Marking guide and model answers
- Three [3]
- Meaning [1]; example [1]
- Trust [1]; customers [1]; fair [1]
- Jobs [1]; goods [1]
Score guide: 9 to 10 = secure. 6 to 8 = nearly there, revise the parts you missed. Under 6 = work through the lesson again with a grown-up.
Printable worksheet
- What is a business?
- Who is a customer?
- What is profit?
- What does honest mean?
- Name a business.
- Why be honest?
- Why do businesses give jobs?
- Why rules?
- Play market.
- Make price tags.
Homework
Visit or talk about a business with an adult and write two sentences.
Answer key and marking scheme
| Question | Expected response | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| 1. What is a business? | Sells goods or services. | 1 |
| 2. Who is a customer? | A buyer. | 1 |
| 3. What is profit? | Money left after costs. | 1 |
| 4. What does honest mean? | Truthful. | 1 |
| 5. Name a business. | Tailor. | 1 |
| 6. Why be honest? | Trust. | 1 |
| 7. Why do businesses give jobs? | Need workers. | 1 |
| 8. Why rules? | Protect customers. | 1 |
| 9. Play market. | Role-play. | 1 |
| 10. Make price tags. | Tags. | 1 |
| Total | 10 |
Independent practice answers. Level 1: 1 Sells goods or services.; 2 A buyer.; 3 Money left after costs.; 4 Truthful.; 5 Tailor.. Level 2: 1 Trust.; 2 Need workers.; 3 Protect customers.. Level 3: 1 Role-play.; 2 Tags.; 3 Sentence..
Quiz answers: 1 B, 2 C, 3 A, 4 B, 5 C, 6 A, 7 B, 8 C, 9 A, 10 B, 11 C, 12 A, Challenge 1 B, Challenge 2 C.
Mastery and remediation
| Objective | Bronze (Developing) | Silver (Proficient) | Gold (Advanced) |
|---|---|---|---|
| O1 Name businesses | Shows this with help from an adult or a picture | Does this independently and explains how they know | Explains it clearly and uses it in a new situation |
| O2 Say how they earn money | Shows this with help from an adult or a picture | Does this independently and explains how they know | Explains it clearly and uses it in a new situation |
| O3 Say how they help the community | Shows this with help from an adult or a picture | Does this independently and explains how they know | Explains it clearly and uses it in a new situation |
| O4 Explain fair trading | Shows this with help from an adult or a picture | Does this independently and explains how they know | Explains it clearly and uses it in a new situation |
Courseversity badge thresholds (overall quiz score): Gold = 90–100%; Silver = 80–89.9%; Bronze = 70–79.9%. A badge is never a full record of progress.
If a learner struggles
- Find the misconception: “Profit is all the money a seller gets.” It is what is left after costs.
- Explain another way: use real objects, pictures or actions first, then words.
- Show a simpler example: Draw a shop with prices.
- Guided practice: work through one example together and let the learner try the next one.
- Reassess: use the quiz again or the worksheet.
- Move on when the learner shows Silver-level evidence independently.
For parents and guardians
In this lesson your child learns about businesses. Please talk about honest trading. You do not need to be an expert to help.
- Visit a market.
- Model honesty.
- Count change together.
- Ask “how do you know?” after each answer, and listen.
- Praise effort, not only right answers. Mistakes are how we learn.
- Ten to fifteen minutes a day is better than one long session.
Teacher package
1–5. Objectives, prerequisites, materials, preparation, duration
Lesson objectives. Learners will: name businesses; say how they earn money; say how they help the community; explain fair trading.
Prerequisite knowledge. Grade 2 ideas: community organisation, leaders, schools, health and food providers.
Materials. Play money, price tags, goods. Low-resource options: use chalk or charcoal on a board or wall, drawings in the sand, and objects from the classroom instead of printed materials.
Preparation. Set up a classroom market.
Suggested duration. 45–60 minutes. It can be split into two shorter sessions.
6–9. Teaching procedure, explanation notes, guided and independent activities
Introduction (5 min). Tell Mama Adama’s story.
Explanation (10 min). Teach businesses.
Guided activity (10 min). Play market.
Independent activity (10 min). Discuss.
Assessment and reflection (5 min). Ask each learner to say one thing they learned and how they know it.
Key questions. What do businesses do? Why is honesty important?
Teacher explanation notes. Start with a picture, story, map or local example. Then talk about what was seen, then draw and write. Always ask “how do you know?” and invite more than one view. Treat every family, culture and community with respect, and never ask learners to share private information.
10–12. Differentiation, formative assessment, common misconceptions
Support. Use pictures, maps, real objects and short sentences, and let learners work with a partner. Let learners point, show, act or draw instead of writing. Extension. Ask learners to find a new example from their own community and explain how they know.
Formative assessment. Listen to learners read and explain, ask “how do you know?”, and check the independent work.
Misconceptions. “Profit is all the money a seller gets.” It is what is left after costs.
13–15. Assessment questions, answer keys, marking scheme
Use the quiz, the 10-mark exam practice and the worksheet on this page. All answers and marking guides are in the answer sections above. Re-check every answer before use.
16–19. Remediation, enrichment, homework, teacher reflection
Remediation. Draw a shop with prices. Enrichment. Find one new example near your home or school, draw or write about it and explain it to someone. Homework. See above.
Teacher reflection. After teaching, record: which ideas learners understood; which misconceptions occurred; which activities worked; which learners need more practice; and what to improve next time.
Sources and standards
This lesson is based on the sources below, and no official endorsement is claimed. Reference starting points: NCSS standards and C3 Framework, Cambridge Primary Humanities and the IB Primary Years Programme. Where a standard code is named, it points to the official framework.
Research used to shape this lesson. Courseversity Social Studies curriculum, Grade 2 Unit 3, topic 6; NCSS C3 Framework, civic and political institutions; Cambridge Primary Humanities, people and societies; IB Primary Years Programme, how we organise ourselves. These sources informed the lesson.