|
Lis Turner Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond Richmond, Virginia 
Lis Turner is an economic education specialist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. For three years, she has recruited for and participated in Junior Achievement programs in Richmond area schools. |
|||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||
Students will participate in a barter activity.Overview
The Money Museum at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond houses a 575-specimen collection representative of the monies of our own land, the monies of past civilizations, and the monies of primitive societies. Now available online as a virtual tour, the Money Museum offers teachers and students the advantages of a field trip without leaving the classroom. The learning possibilities are endless.
This lesson’s “B is for Barter” activity will give students insight into the concept of barter, including why barter was practical in Colonial America. Students also will learn the advantages and disadvantages of barter. The “C is for Colonial Coin and Currency” activity will give students a feel for the items used as currency in Colonial America. The “D is for Design” activity will acquaint students with how money is made today. The “A is for All about Gold and Silver Bars” and the “E is for Explore” activities can be used with students in upper grades or as extra credit projects to incorporate math activities and a more comprehensive tour of the museum. When you are ready to start the tour, go to www.rich.frb.org/econed/museum. Bon Voyage!
Teaching Activity
Day 1 — B is for Barter
Discuss with students the fact that money as they know it (coins and cash) has not always existed. Before there was money, people had to trade what they had for what they needed — food, clothing, and shelter. Among the people found in Colonial America were trappers, farmers, and Native Americans. These people exchanged or traded products they grew or produced for products they needed. This form of trading was called barter. The word “barter” comes from barater, a French word meaning, “to trade.” Explain to the students that they are going to experience barter in the “B is for Barter” activity. The classroom has now become Barter City, U.S.A.
Round 1
Divide the students into two groups, equal in size. Trappers will have pelts to trade and Native Americans will have corn to trade. (If the number of students in your class is odd, allow the extra student to distribute the trading cards.) Distribute Handout 1, Corn, to the Native American group and Handout 2, Pelts, to the trapper group. Give students a card representing their product for trading purposes. Read the Round 1 scenarios and ask each student to make a trade with another student. After students have made their trades, explain that this is the simplest form of barter. It works because everyone has something someone else needs and can barter for what he or she needs from another trader. Ask the students if they can think of something similar that happens in the lunchroom. For example, “I’ll trade you my cheese sandwich for your peanut butter and jelly.”
Round 2
Divide the students into two groups, uneven in number: Trappers who have pelts to trade and Native Americans who have corn to trade. Be sure there are a few extra students in one group. Read the appropriate Round 2 scenarios to each group. Give each student a card representing their product for trading purposes. Ask each student to try to make a trade with another student. There will be some students who cannot make a trade. After they have made their trades, discuss the problem it reveals. For example, if you cannot find someone to trade with, barter will not work. You may have students industrious enough to pool their resources and trade two-for-one to get what they want. If so, you can discuss how the decreased supply of one product can increase the number of items a trader must offer to barter in order to get what he or she wants.
Round 3
Divide students into three groups of equal size: Trappers who have pelts to trade, Farmers who have tobacco to trade, and Native Americans who have corn to trade. Read the Round 3 scenarios. Explain that in this round, students will not only be trading their product to get what they need; they also will trade to provide products that others want. They may have to barter more than once to get what they want. (See Diagram A.) Ask groups to make their trades. Discuss with the students that barter works best when you can trade what you have directly for what you need. Ask the students what happened when they could not find someone who wanted what they had to trade. For example, they had to make two-tier trades. Discuss how a barter system often necessitates multiple trades in order for traders to get what they want or need. Ask the students to discuss how much more time and energy was used in this round of bartering than in Round 1.
After the students have engaged in the “B is for Barter” activity, you may want to discuss the evolution of trading posts. Explain how trading-post merchants acted as middlemen to minimize the number of trades needed. Have the students explore other items in Section 1C of the Money Museum online, and discuss items such as nails and musket balls that were used as “commodity money” in this country before coins and currency came into widespread use. This will lead into the discussion on the next activity, “C is for Colonial Coin and Currency.”
Day 2 — C is for Colonial Coin and Currency
Discuss with the students the fact that England did not supply the Colonies with enough coins and would not let them make their own. This created a problem for the Colonists. The coins they brought from Europe were soon sent back as they purchased supplies. The Colonists were forced to barter for goods or to use items such as wampum, nails, and tobacco as replacements for coins (these replacement goods are sometimes referred to as commodity money). They also used foreign coins, but the value of foreign coins varied from colony to colony. Ask students to imagine themselves living in the Colonial era: where would they most likely spend their foreign coins? They probably would use them in places where their value was highest — where they would have the most purchasing power. That is what happened in the Colonies.
In 1652, Massachusetts began minting Pine Tree shillings. They were produced for many years, but they were always marked with a date of 1652. Ask students if they can figure out why the mint did this. (If England ever found out about this illegal coin, Massachusetts could claim it had not minted any coins since 1652.) Although some individual Colonies had issued paper money before this, the Continental Congress decided in May 1775 to issue paper money to finance the Revolutionary War. Much of this money was paper redeemable in coin. More and more “continentals” flowed into circulation as the war progressed. People realized that Congress could not possibly redeem them in Spanish dollars, gold, or silver. This loss of confidence brought rapid declines in the purchasing power of Continental currency. “Not worth a continental” became a commonplace saying. Have students visit Section 1C, Barter in Colonial America, and Section 3A, Colonial Coin and Currency, to read more about these and other coins and currency of that period. When they finish reading, they should answer the questions on Handout 4, C is for Colonial Coin and Currency.
Day 3 — D is for Design
In the “C is for Colonial Coin and Currency” activity, students learned about early American coin and currency. Next, send students to Section 10, The Making of Currency and Coin, to explore how it is done today. A visit to Section 8B, 20th Century Coinage, will acquaint them with some interesting facts about coins. Discuss what types of images used to be on coins (various forms of liberty and eagles). In the 20th century, the United States began using images of actual people on coins. Ask students if they know who is on various coins and currency and why these people have been so honored. You may also want to use the Web sites listed in the references section to supplement this activity. The Web site for the Bureau of Engraving and Printing discusses anti-counterfeiting measures. The Web sites for the Treasury and U.S. Mint have activities sections for students. The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston site offers a baseball-card type of activity for personalities on currency. Handout 5, D is for Design, offers a quiz for the students to use during their visit to Sections 8B and 10 in the museum online.
|
Day 4 — A is for All About the Gold and Silver Bars
In using the virtual tour with students in the upper elementary grades, the teacher may wish to include a math lesson. Go to Section 20, the Gold Bar, in the museum online. Explain to the students that at one time our country used the gold standard. Our currency was backed by gold such as the bar on display. Gold, silver, and precious stones are weighted in troy ounces. The origin of troy weights is explained on Handout 6, All about Gold and Silver Bars. In this activity, students calculate the value of the gold bar by finding the price of gold and multiplying it by the weight of the bar. |
 |
The silver bar is on display in the virtual museum under Section 21, Precious Metals. Students can also calculate the value of it. Go to www.finders.com.au/Goldprice.htm to find current prices of gold and silver. Use Handout 6 as a worksheet. At the end of the calculations, discuss with the students some items that could change in price if the price of gold or silver changed significantly. Examples include jewelry, silverware, etc.
Day 5 — E is for Explore
The Money Museum contains many interesting items. The scavenger hunt offers students the opportunity to explore and learn more about the areas included in the A, B, C, and D activities, as well as the entire museum. It can be done in class, as an extra credit project at home, or just for fun. Distribute the scavenger hunt, Handout 7, and let the students begin their adventure. The teacher can obtain an answer sheet from the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond to help with the discussion in class.
Conclusion
On display in the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond’s Money Museum are exhibits that tell the story of money in Colonial America and the United States. Taking the virtual tour gives teachers and students an opportunity to view and discuss money-related artifacts and exhibits devoted to primitive monies, medieval and ancient coins, and other special-interest items.
|
Barter To exchange goods or services without the exchange of money. Coin Metal money Commodity Money As used by the American Colonists, a colony's principal commodity would circulate as a medium of exchange. Northern colonies used corn and beaver skins. Southern colonies used tobacco and rice. Animal skins and corn were generally accepted throughout most of the Colonies. Currency Paper money Wampum Small beads made from polished shells; used as currency and as jewelry in Colonial America. |
Tobacco farmers want pelts. Corn growers want tobacco. Pelt trappers want corn. Tobacco card trades for corn, and then trades for pelts. Corn card trades for pelts, and then trades for tobacco. Pelts card trades for tobacco, and then trades for corn. |
|
Money in Colonial Times Available from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia at www.phil.frb.org/colonial.html. Describes some of the coins and currency used in Colonial America, with photographs from the Bank’s collection. History of Colonial Money Available from the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston at www.bos.frb.org/education/pdf/historyo.pdf. (Requires a PDF reader.) Outlines the evolution of money during the American Colonial Period. Describes wampum, “country pay,” foreign and domestic coins, bills of credit, and Continental Currency. Includes a short glossary. The Story of American Currency Available from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. (Not available online.) This exhibit traces our currency from Colonial and Continental notes to the paper money issued during the Civil War and to Allied Military Currency used during World War II. The Story of Money Available through the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Public Information catalogue at http://app.ny.frb.org/publications/frame1.cfm?cmdBrowseType=Publications. Explains the purposes of money in a modern economy, the characteristics of items used as money, how the banking system creates money, and the reasons for authorizing the Federal Reserve to influence the money supply. Once Upon a Dime Available through the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Public Information catalogue at http://app.ny.frb.org/publications/frame1.cfm?cmdBrowseType=Publications. Presents a fable about the island kingdom of Mazuma and the growth of its economy from a barter system to a sophisticated modern system with its own central bank. The fable illustrates basic concepts of barter, money, banking, and inflation. The Key to the Gold Vault Available from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York at www.newyorkfed.org/education/addpub/goldvaul.pdf. (Requires a PDF reader.) Unlocks the mysteries of gold, highlights its legendary past, and reveals the work-a-day operations of the New York Fed’s gold vault. www.ustreas.gov Web site for the U.S. Treasury. Click on “About the Treasury” for a wealth of information. www.usmint.gov/kids Web site for the U.S. Mint. The kids’ section is “h.i.p. pocket change”; it offers a reusable, cross-curricular classroom resource with lesson plans and classroom activities. www.bep.treas.gov Web site for the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Among the many features is a special kids’ section; it explains the anti-counterfeiting features that are present in the new 1996 and 1999 Series Federal Reserve Notes. www.bos.frb.org/education/html/fedcard.htm Available on the Web site of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. Here students will find a quiz testing their knowledge about the portraits on U.S. currency. www.sln.org/pieces/knox/barter.htm This Science Learning Network site provides a good basis for discussions of barter and objects used as money; it also includes a lesson plan and suggested activities. |