Grades 1–3
Party on a Budget
Plan a party with $20: add up cake, balloons and juice, find what is left, and learn why a budget means choosing.
Social studies worksheet · Needs and wants
Bartering: Trading Without Money
Learn how people traded before money (bartering), answer 4 questions about trades and plan 3 swaps with friends.
- Grade level
- Grades 1–2
- Time
- About 20 minutes
- Topic
- Needs and wants
- Answer key
- Yes, page 2 of the PDF
- Kids practice
- Needs and wants, Money and choices, Goods and services, Basic economics
What kids do
“Read about bartering, then answer the questions and plan some trades of your own.”
Printed on the sheet:
- What is bartering?
- Long ago, before money, people traded things they had for things they needed. This is called bartering.
- A farmer with extra eggs might trade them for a basket from a basket maker.
- Money made trading easier, because not everyone wants the thing you have to trade.
- 2. You have extra apples. Your friend has extra pencils. You need a pencil. What could you trade?
- 3. Why is money easier than bartering?
- 4. What is something you could trade with a friend?
- Trades I could make
Teacher tip
Hold a pretend barter with pencils and erasers.
How to use it
- Bring in a few real items and sort them as a class first.
- Use play money for the money sheets.
- Keep a classroom globe, a world map and a U.S. map in reach while kids work.
Watch for
Money can be a sensitive topic. Keep examples pretend and never ask about family income.
Talk about it
- Is this a need or a want? How do you know?
- What did you learn that surprised you?
Take it further
Run a classroom store for a week.
US Letter, prints well in black and white. Free for home and classroom use: print as many copies as you need.
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