Bartering
At the end of the year most schools have stalls to encourage groups of children to cook, make and/or sell things. The winner of the day is the stall that makes the most profit. What would happen if we were to change the rules and turn the stalls into bartering stalls? Every family always has books, sports gear, games they don’t need any more. What if children were to exchange these at the stalls?
We need our children to break out of the habit of thinking that they just need to have more stuff and appreciate what they already do have. By learning about bartering, kids can learn a tool for meeting their needs and getting items they want without spending a lot of money. They will also learn that items do not have to have a specific monetary value attached to them in order to be valuable.
Project aim:
to understand the value of things, whether monetary or other. To put an emphasis on the negotiation required to exchange products and services.
Duration:
2 lessons, 1 hour each
Suitability: 1st to 6th classes
Integration Opportunities:
Maths: this project can be used for children to practice operations including weigh measurements, prices, and other.
Materials:
Paper, pens, drawing materials (children’s choice.) Different objects to barter (children’s choice.)
Useful Links:
- http://www.thekidscoach.org.uk/parenting-2/5-ways-teach-kids-consumerism/
- https://www.cornell.edu/video/story-of-stuff-an-animated-film-by-alumna-annie-leonard
Tips:
- More games and books about bartering
- Scholastic’s lesson "Bartering: An Early Form of Interdependence” goes through bartering in colonial times and illustrates some of the problems colonists faced with the system.
- Potato: A Tale From The Great Depression Paperback
- Let’s Trade: A Book About Bartering (Money Matters) Library Binding. by Nancy Loewen
to understand the value of things, whether monetary or other. To put an emphasis on the negotiation required to exchange products and services.
Duration:
2 lessons, 1 hour each
Suitability: 1st to 6th classes
Integration Opportunities:
Maths: this project can be used for children to practice operations including weigh measurements, prices, and other.
Materials:
Paper, pens, drawing materials (children’s choice.) Different objects to barter (children’s choice.)
Useful Links:
- http://www.thekidscoach.org.uk/parenting-2/5-ways-teach-kids-consumerism/
- https://www.cornell.edu/video/story-of-stuff-an-animated-film-by-alumna-annie-leonard
Tips:
- More games and books about bartering
- Scholastic’s lesson "Bartering: An Early Form of Interdependence” goes through bartering in colonial times and illustrates some of the problems colonists faced with the system.
- Potato: A Tale From The Great Depression Paperback
- Let’s Trade: A Book About Bartering (Money Matters) Library Binding. by Nancy Loewen