You want five pigs, but you only have four bails of hay. How will you manage to get what you want? A great simulation begins this instructional activity with why the use of money has replaced the process of bartering. Then, after...

Students explore the the benefits and problems associated with a barter system in the Colonies and trace its relationship to the development of interdependence that this system creates. An experience of bartering is created in this lesson.

Learners hear a folk tale and participate in a simulation that helps them recognize problems with barter and benefits of monetary exchange.

Students study the ancient African kingdoms of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai. They brainstorm what they know about ancient African kingdoms before investigating the trade and barter situations, and researching one of the kingdoms for an oral...

Learners discover the importance of exchanging money in a market. In this economics lesson, students discover natural resources and how one can barter with those resources. In addition, learners complete worksheets and discover the...

Learners explore bartering. In this bartering lesson, students study everyday life in the Jamestown colony. Learners discover how bartering was used as a way to acquire necessary supplies.

Fourth graders listen as the teacher lectures about bartering. They work in small groups to define and create a skit about one term related to bartering. Students create an Economic Terms booklet. They review that tobacco was a cash crop...

This PowerPoint features information about barter and money economies. Slides provide details that allow students to draw comparisons between barter and money economies. Students discover facts about wampum and explore problems with...

Fifth graders create items to barter. In this Native American bartering lesson plan, 5th graders read a book, design and make items, and barter with their peers. Students reflect on the experience through journal writing.

The story of "Once Upon a Dime" starts like any other fairy tale, but it quickly becomes a story about the value of money and the economic system commonly used before it. Presented as a cartoon, the resource consists of dialogue between...

4th graders view this PowerPoint to recognize the difference between the monetary and barter systems. The author of this resource defines or likens Barter to a swap and misleadingly states that money was invented because bartering took...

Second graders identify the economic principles and processes that are helpful to producers and consumers when making good decisions. Students will read, comprehend, interpret, analyze, and evaluate literary text as well as explain how...

Learners define bartering and barter to investigate supply and demand. In this bartering lesson, students read A New Coat for Anna and recall how they exchanged merchandise in the story.  Learners complete a sequential graphic...

Why do so many countries export cars? Economists examine this and other foreign economics principles through this introductory worksheet. A brief text explains international trade, then lists the top 11 leaders in global trade, along...

The Silk Road connected the European, Middle Eastern, and Asian worlds. It also helped create the modern trade world. An analysis activity makes the importance of this Chinese innovation clear by asking participants to evaluate trades...

There are so many ways to use a potato: bake it, fry it, or barter it. The lesson explains the concepts of bartering, money, and goods and services with a story that takes place during the Great Depression. Academics complete group...

Students explore the concept of trade. In this trade lesson, students simulate a trade store. Students are divided into two groups. Half the class runs the store, half the class are customers. Students try to trade goods and services in...

Fourth graders understand the process of bartering. In this barter day lesson, each student barters an item in their desk with another student. All items are returned at the end of the activity and it is important to tell the students...

Learners examine the role of money in the colonial economy by participating in a trading activity. In this colonial economy lesson, students complete an activity to learn about colonial trade and what happens when there is a lack of...

Young scholars study money and its place in the economy.  In this middle school Consumer Math lesson, students explore the barter system and the need for money.  Young scholars explore how money works in society and explore...

Learners summarize the historical development of money. In this economics lesson, students describe the process of bartering and explain how money facilitates trade and exchange. Learners also define and describe inflation and a modern...

Who knew that fairy tales and economics go hand-in-hand? Pupils complete a host of handouts, using everything from graphic organizers to short answer questions to reinforce concepts. They also complete a project that builds on everything...

Once Upon a Dime ... a group of middle schoolers wanted to learn about economics! Teach them complex economic concepts like supply and demand through a resource that effectively simplifies the explanations. Pupils work through various...