Grade Five Currency and Exchange Rates - Take …

1 Grade FiveCurrency andExchange RatesOverviewStudents share the book The Story of Money,by Betsy Maestro, to learn aboutexchange and barter, the functions of money, Currency , and spending complete a worksheet on currencies, determine the value of the dollar inthree different countries using current Exchange Rates , and shop with ObjectivesStudents will be able to:nExplain why people value money nDefine the term currencynDescribe how people can purchase items without cashPrerequisite SkillsStudents should be able to compute with decimal numbers up to the hundredthsplace. (If students have difficulty with this concept, allow them to use calculatorsduring the small-group activities.)

2 Materials : The Story of Money,by Betsy Maestro (Clarion Books, 1993)2. Chalkboard or chart paper3. Listing with the current foreign Currency Exchange Rates (enough for each stu-dent to have one copy)4. Store checks (enough for each student to have at least five ) : A Closer Look at Currenciesworksheet Check RegisterworksheetGrade five : Currency and Exchange Rates1 Content StandardsThe activities in this lessoncorrelate to national stan-dards in economics, socialstudies, mathematics, andlanguage arts. See the endof this lesson for contentstandards accountcheckscounterfeitcredit debit cardexchangemoneypersonal identificationnumber (PIN) Large-Group ActivityMaterialsnBook: The Story of MoneynChalkboard or chart papernBlank checks (enough for each student to have one)nHandout: A Closer Look at Currenciesworksheet1.

3 Gather students in the reading corner to share the book The Story of Money,byBetsy : What do people use money for?Allow students to respond. Students may say people save money or usemoney to purchase items they need or all around the world use money to buy the items they needor want. Have you ever wondered why people started using papermoney? I m going to read you a book called The Story of written by Betsy Maestro and was illustrated by Jane GiulioMaestro. This book describes how people started using paper moneyand explains how people use money the book aloud to students. Pause at the end of each two-page spreadand allow students to view the Discuss the book with the did people pay for goods before there was no money?

4 People bartered with each other. This means they traded items they had foritems they was it sometimes difficult for people to barter?Barter could work only when each trader wanted what the other had, andwhen both could agree on what made a fair did people do to make trading easier?People started using certain objects as money. mWhat did people use as money?Anything could be used as money if people agreed on its value andaccepted it in trade for goods. People used items such as salt, barley, shells,and tea invented the first metal coins?The Sumerians, nomads who settled in the region of the Tigris andEuphrates Rivers in the Middle East around 3500 BC, invented the firstmetal coins.

5 They melted silver and formed it into bars. Each was stampedwith its exact weight, so people knew how much silver they were getting orgiving in return for did many governments start using coins as official money?2 Personal Finance for Kids Coins were easy to use as money and easy to did the Chinese use as money?The Chinese used notes printed on paper as money. Each paper note wasguaranteed by the government to have a certain did many countries start using Spanish silver coins?The Spanish did a lot of trading with countries around the world, so manycountries adopted the Spanish did the early American colonists use for money?

6 The early colonists used European coins. Sometimes they also used otherobjects such as corn, tobacco, fish, and wheat. The Native Americanwampum was also are coins for the United States made today?The mints at Philadelphia and Denver make is paper money printed?Paper money is printed at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing inWashington, countries make their own money. Even though most countrieshave their own money, they all have something in common. Whatdo they have in common?All money is made to ensure that bills and coins of the same amount arealways exactly the same in size, weight, and some ways people today pay for goods and , people write checks, use debit cards, or buy items on this lesson s economic concepts: Exchange and barter, the functions ofmoney, Currency , and spending and BarterHave you ever traded an item with a friend in Exchange for some-thing else?

7 If so, what did you trade? Why did you make the trade?Allow students to share their experiences with money was invented, people bartered. This means theytraded things they had for things they needed. For example, a car-penter may have fixed a roof in Exchange for some food. Barteringusually worked well, but sometimes there were problems. Barteringworked only when people could agree on what made a fair trade. Itwas hard to work out an equal Exchange when the items to betraded were very different from each other. Suppose someonewanted to Exchange a loaf of bread for a cow. Do you think this is afair trade?Have students five : Currency and Exchange Rates3 mFunctions of MoneyThe Ancient Sumerians eventually melted silver and formed it intosmall bars.

8 Each bar was stamped with its exact weight. This showedpeople how much silver they were getting or giving in return forgoods. This was the first form of money. Why do you think this wasbetter than bartering?The silver bars made it easier to trade because everyone could agree on thevalue. People wanted the silver because silver was a precious metal that washard to find and people around the world eventually started trading moneyforgoods instead of bartering. Money is anything people accept as pay-ment for goods and services. Using money is easier than barteringbecause everyone accepts the value of were a popular form of money. Why do you think peopleused coins?People used coins because they were easy to use.

9 They were small enoughto carry, and the amount each coin was worth could easily be divided tomake long time ago, people could Exchange their paper money for goldor silver stored by the government. This is no longer true. Manygovernments still store large amounts of silver and gold, but thereisn t enough to Exchange for all the paper money in use today. Eventhough people cannot Exchange their paper money for gold or sil-ver, they still value their paper money. Why?Have students share their value money because they know that others will accept it inreturn for goods and services. Everyone agrees on how much moneyis that you are on vacation in Japan. Could you use your and coins to purchase something?

10 Allow students to respond. Most students will say countries have their own Currency . This means the govern-ments of different countries make their own money for their citizensto use. If you travel to another country, you should trade your and coins for that country s money. For example, if you weretraveling to Japan, you would Exchange your dollars forJapanese yen. Do you think that you could trade your dollarsfor the same number of yen?Give students the opportunity to you were to trade your dollars for Japanese yen, you wouldbe able to trade your dollars for the same value amount in though the actual number of yen might be greater than thenumber of dollars, they are equal in value.