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LET'S PRACTICE
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Barterpalooza! Advise students: The barter system has been used for many millenium. Long before money was invented, people directly exchanged goods and services. Barter was also used in the trading posts of the Old West, and when people simply didn’t have money. You’ll recall that in Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, the Joads often exchanged labor for a meal or a loaf of bread. Recently, barter has made a comeback in a few places. There are several online barter sites, and barter was used in Greece during a recent financial crisis. Today you will play a barter game with your classmates. The goal is to find a double coincidence of wants and make a successful trade. Your teacher will give you two index cards. Provide each student with 2 index cards and the following directions: 1. On one index card write down something you have in excess supply . (Recall the definition of supply .) Excess charm and good looks are not barterable. It must be something real and legit – such as a service like one hour of math tutoring or a pair of Nikes, size 9. This is your supply card . Write your name next to the item. 2. On the other index card write down something you need or want, like a used copy of a novel assigned in your literature class, a ticket to a concert, or help with a community service project. This is your demand card . (Recall the definition of demand .) Place the demand card face down on your desk. 3. One at a time, students come to the board, announce what they have to barter and post their supply card on the barter board with the item and name facing out. 4. Direct students to write down (or remember) the name of any student whose supply item matches the item on their demand card. 5. After all supply cards are posted, the students who identified a match for their demand ask the student with the supply item to turn over their demand card to reveal whether there is a double coincidence of wants . 6. If there are no double coincidence of wants revealed, allow students 5 minutes to circulate and experiment with negotiating a multiparty trade. 7. At the conclusion of the exercise, the class may determine the rate of success of barter. (ie. out of 25 students x barters were made = __% rate of success.) Example: Arnie has a used graphing calculator to trade. He writes “Used XX Brand Graphing Calculator – batteries included” and his name on his supply card. He needs a new bike lock, so he writes “Heavy duty bike lock - key or combo” on his demand card and turns it face down on his desk. When it’s his turn, he announces his supply item (the calculator) and posts his card on the barter board. Beverly needs (“has a demand for”) a graphing calculator, so she writes down (or remembers) Arnie’s name. When all of the supply cards are posted on the barter board, Beverly announces that Arnie’s supply matches her demand. Beverly then asks Arnie to turn over his demand card. If his demand matches her supply card, there is a double coincidence of wants . If not, the barter fails. PRODUCT PREVIEW
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THE 21st CENTURY STUDENT’S GUIDE TO FINANCIAL LITERACY
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