Vocabulary
- Barter
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Trade
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Currency
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Money
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Savings
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Budget
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Earnings/Income
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Spending
Objectives
- Students will learn about various forms of currency not limited to money.
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Students will practice trading and bartering.
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Students will learn about the history of paper money.
Next Generation Science Standards
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PS1-6. Asking Questions; Planning and Carrying Out Investigations; Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information
Common Core Mathematical Standards
- OA. Operations and Algebraic Thinking
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NBT. Number and Operations in Base Ten
Required Project Materials
- Seashells(available at craft stores)
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Any money- related board games, such as several copies of The Allowance Game, or several games of various types
Multimedia Resources
Before the Lesson/Background Information
Homework from Previous Session:
The Lesson
Part 1: Reading Together (15 mins)
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Read One Cent, Two Cents, Old Cent, New Cent: All About Money with the students.
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Make it fun: read with energy and give the characters voices!
Part 2: Shelling out the Goods (15 mins)
- Tell the class to imagine an economy without money. They have to trade and barter using seashells.
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Have the sellers trade items with each other—their own, or items from the classroom. These can include books, desks, globes, maps, you name it! Everything is up for grabs! Allow the students to practice bartering with seashells.
Part 3: Money Games (30 mins)
- In teams, students will play board games to exercise their skills in counting, simple arithmetic, and important concepts like earning, saving, and budgeting.
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Save a few minutes at the end of class to review what each team learned.
Lesson 4: Classroom Sale
Grade Level: K-5 (Adaptable)
Suggested Time: 45-60 minutes
Overview
Students will practice having an old-fashioned garage sale—out of the classroom! Tasks include assessing the worth of items, deciding on a fair price, making change, and bargaining. Students will learn these skills, as well as why buying and selling used and repurposed items is important!
Vocabulary
- Garage Sale
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Fair Price
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Re-purposed Items
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Reuse and Recycle
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Bargain
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Price Gouging
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Heckling
Objectives
- Students will think about how to make prices fair for both buyers and sellers.
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Students will learn how to make change.
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Students will learn that used items are cheaper than new ones, but often still good or even like new!
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Students will learn how buying and selling used items prevent waste.
Next Generation Science Standards
- PS1-6. Asking Questions; Planning and Carrying Out Investigations; Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information
Common Core Mathematical Standards
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OA. Operations and Algebraic Thinking
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NBT. Number and Operations in Base Ten
Required Project Materials
Multimedia Resources
Optional Multimedia Resources
Before the Lesson/Background Information
Homework from Previous Session:
The Lesson
Part 1: Reading Together (20 mins)
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Read A Bargain for Frances with the students.
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Make it fun: read with energy and give the characters voices!
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Discuss lessons learned from the book. Why is it important to set a fair price, for both buyers and sellers?
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What is price gouging? What is heckling? What is a fair bargain?
Part 2: Classroom Sale (30 mins)
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Separate the class into two teams: buyers and sellers.
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Have the sellers set the prices of items in the classroom. These can include books, desks, globes, maps, you name it! Everything is up for grabs! Allow the sellers to discuss and argue prices among themselves.
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Armed with toy money, it is now time for buyers to buy things! They may bargain to try to get prices they think are fair.
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When someone buys something, the seller will need to make change.
Part 3: Discussion (10 mins)
- Bring the class back together and discuss what they learned. How easy or hard was it to find fair prices for everyone?
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Review the process of making change.
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Identify the reasons that people have garage sales. Why is it beneficial to buy and sell used items?Discuss how many usable objects end up in land fills. Buying and selling used items is a form of recycling: it’s called re-purposing items!
Lesson 5: Cartoon Money Math
Grade Level: K-6 (Adaptable)
Suggested Time: 45-60 minutes*