
Winter: Bartering: Lesson 2
Barter in practice
Barter in practice

Warm-up and Introduction: 20 mins
- Watch with students the movie “The Story of Stuff” - Remind children of what a barter is. Ask them to recall any instance when they have seen other people exchange goods or services.
Development: 30 mins
- Invite children to sit in a large circle with the two items they are planning to barter.
- Choose a student to start and they can ask either the person to their left or right to trade objects.
1. If the other person wants to trade, they exchange objects and the turn is over.
2. If the other person does not want to trade the student keeps her object and her turn is over.
- The person to the first student’s left goes next and the bartering continues in that direction until everyone has had a turn.
- Start from the beginning again and each student can ask any other student to trade.
Conclusion: 10 mins
- Encourage students to take turns sharing why they decided to trade or not. Write these answers on the classroom board.
- Ask students to vote by show of hands who ended up with the most valuable object(s). Why is this the most valuable and how did they get it? Write these answers on the board.
- Ask students to vote on who made the best trade. Why was this the best trade? Write these answers on the board.
- Open a discussion on what bartering is, who it can help, and why it might or might not be a good thing for the world.
- Watch with students the movie “The Story of Stuff” - Remind children of what a barter is. Ask them to recall any instance when they have seen other people exchange goods or services.
Development: 30 mins
- Invite children to sit in a large circle with the two items they are planning to barter.
- Choose a student to start and they can ask either the person to their left or right to trade objects.
1. If the other person wants to trade, they exchange objects and the turn is over.
2. If the other person does not want to trade the student keeps her object and her turn is over.
- The person to the first student’s left goes next and the bartering continues in that direction until everyone has had a turn.
- Start from the beginning again and each student can ask any other student to trade.
Conclusion: 10 mins
- Encourage students to take turns sharing why they decided to trade or not. Write these answers on the classroom board.
- Ask students to vote by show of hands who ended up with the most valuable object(s). Why is this the most valuable and how did they get it? Write these answers on the board.
- Ask students to vote on who made the best trade. Why was this the best trade? Write these answers on the board.
- Open a discussion on what bartering is, who it can help, and why it might or might not be a good thing for the world.