COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL
This week, the citizens of Classtopia gathered to discuss the crisis. They agreed that the barter system limits their ability to meet their needs and grow as a society. They voted to discontinue it. They agreed that in place of barter, they would identify an item – a commodity – that all Classtopians will use as a medium of exchange for buying and selling goods and services. They decided to use paper clips. The Classtopians set values for the paper clips. Red clips have a fixed value, green are worth twice the value of red. Yellows are worth five reds. The government of Classtopia issues a limited supply of the paper clips which they call Classybucks. They are marked with the Classtopia insignia, which cannot be easily copied – not even by the best classroom artist. Classtopians have begun paying for goods and services with Classybucks. The math-challenged student was able to buy the tutoring he needed with two red Classybucks. The binder paper-deficient student paid one green Classybuck for 100 sheets of paper and now has an A in homework. Much to the relief of his classmates, stinky-feet calculator boy helped a student repair their laptop for six yellow Classybucks, which was enough to pay for a calculator. We are happy to report that order has been restored to Classtopia. Communicating Objectives At the conclusion of this lesson, you will be able to explain the advantages of money over barter, state the functions and characteristics of money, and analyze whether Classybucks are money. You will also be able to tell about careers in the important field of cybersecurity. Presentation of Content In the last lesson, students learned that barter is a direct trade of goods and services without the use of money . Barter is as old as humanity. It began with simple direct trade and evolved into to sophisticated multiparty trades, with a wide range of goods. As you’ll recall, barter has serious limitations. Engage students in a discussion: Can anyone recall the limitations of barter? Answer: It requires finding a trading partner with a mutual need (double coincidence of wants), and equal value of goods or services traded. Barter limits economic growth because it does not allow for saving of value to accumulate purchasing power. Overall, barter is limited and inefficient. The Functions of Money No one is sure of the exact date money was first used. Some experts believe it was about 3000 BC, others earlier. Gradually, however, it became apparent to civilization that trade would be a heck of a lot easier if there were a standardized way to state the price of something , as well as a designated commodity that would be accepted by everyone as payment for goods. The answer was money . SLIDE 3G PRODUCT PREVIEW
39
THE 21st CENTURY STUDENT’S GUIDE TO FINANCIAL LITERACY
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker