SETON HILL UNIVERSITY

Lesson Plan Template

TOPIC
Name
Subject
Grade Level
Date/Duration
Big Ideas

Essential
Questions

PA/Common
Core/Standards

Objective

DETAILS
Lacey Weiner
Economics
3rd Grade
One class period: 45 minutes
The current monetary system the United States of
America is the most recent form of currency.
In history, paper money was not the only form of
payment used to trade.
In history, commodities were traded instead of coins or
paper money.
What system of currency do we use currently?
What were other forms of currency used throughout
history?
What does it mean to barter and trade?
What is a trade-off when making a choice?

6.1.3.D Identify reasons why people make a choice.

6.4.3.D. Describe how buyers make choices about their
wants and needs through purchases.

6.1.3.A. Define scarcity and identify examples of

resources, wants, and needs.

6.1.3.C. Explain what is given up when making a

choice.

Individually, students will follow the instructions on

their objective sheets to verbally barter and trade with
fellow classmates to fulfill all of the needs on their role
sheet 1 out of 1 times.

Formative Assessment:
At the conclusion of the lesson students will write a
note to themselves about one thing they learned and
one thing that they are still confused about (or a
question that they still have). The teacher will collect
these notes and then respond to the bottom part to
answer questions that students still need clarification
on.
Summative Assessment:
The principles of trade and bartering (including its
history) and the vocabulary words introduced in this
lesson will be assessed on a cumulative unit

Bloom's
Taxonomy
Webb's Depth of
Knowledge
(DOK)
Formative &
Summative
Assessment
Evidence

CK

assessment.
ISTE Standards
for Students

https://www.brainpop.com/socialstudies/economics/mon
ey/

Framework for
21st Century
Learning

This is a video that explains the past and present forms

of trade and commodities.

ISTE standard 1c. Use models and simulations to

explore complex systems

For students with social and emotional

disabilities:
Give these students a list of classmates who have the
goods/items that they need to fulfill their goals.
Encourage them to socialize and barter with these
specific students.
Before turning off the lights, warn the student that it is
time to stop and go back to his or her seat to avoid an
outburst from being, abruptly stopped during the
activity.

Accommodation
s, Modifications

SUPERVISING
TEACHERS
SIGNATURE

Seton Hill University Lesson Plan Template Step-by-Step

Procedures
RATIONALE for
the Learning
Plan
Introduction

Explicit
Instructions

CK
Activating Prior Knowledge
Boys and girls, the last time you went to the store, what
did the adult who was with you use to pay for all of the
items that they bought?
Expected answers: A credit card, cash, coins, etc.
Right, so let us think back in history, do you know what
our ancestors used in order to trade/pay for items? Did
you know that they used to pay with chickens or grain or
other necessities? Believe it or not, this was actually the
form of payment and trade people used in the past!
Hook/Lead-In/Anticipatory Set
https://www.brainpop.com/socialstudies/economics/mon
ey/
This is a video that explains the past and present forms
of trade and commodities.
YouTube Video Schoolhouse Rock Barter & Trade
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHY5cdExNa8
Big Idea Statement
The current monetary system is not the only money

Lesson
Procedure

system that the United States of America has used

throughout history.
Essential Questions Statement
Even though we use paper and coins now, in the past
our ancestors used commodities and metal coins.
Objective Statement
Students will put themselves into the past and recognize
how trade worked with commodities. Students will have
to barter, trade, and make choices through purchases.
Students will fulfill the needs and wants on their role
sheets.
Transition
When the time is up, the teacher will blink the lights on
and off, clap his or her hands three times and announce,
123, eyes on me! The teacher will then give explicit
instructions for students to find their seats.
Key Vocabulary
Barter To make an exchange without using money
Scarcity To have a short supply of an item
Commodity An agricultural product that can be bought
and sold
Trade-off A compromise (Ex. You need to sell a chicken
in order to buy corn, but you also need the chicken to
meet your goal.)
PreAssessment of Students
Today, we trade money for items that we need. Does
any one know what our ancestors traded in order to
pay for their food and items they needed?
Modeling of the Concept
To model the concept of the role sheets, the teacher
would do a Think Aloud so that my students can see
what exactly my thought process is while I am doing this
activity. For example, the teacher would say
To start the game I have three chickens, two bags of
grain, etc.
Then the teacher would think aloud By the end of the
game, I need to have one chicken, two bags of corn,
etc.
The teacher would then model, Ok, so I dont have any
corn, but I do have two extra chickens. I will start by
asking one or two of my peers if they have any extra
corn to trade. I will let them know I will trade them my
chicken for their corn.
Guiding the Practice
The teacher will facilitate the activity; but for the most
part students should be working on their own to find
people to barter and trade with. The teacher might help
a student who is struggling by suggesting, Hey, Bob. I
see that you need some chickens. I heard that Alicia has

extra, maybe you can try trading her for something!

Providing the Independent Practice
The entire activity is independent practice for the
students. While they complete this activity they are not
only learning how trading and bartering worked in the
past, but they are also making their own choices, trading
and bartering for themselves, and realizing that some
items are more scarce than others.
Transition
When the time is up, the teacher will blink the lights on
and off, clap his or her hands three times and announce,
123, eyes on me! The teacher will then give explicit
instructions for students to find their seats.
Reading
Computer to show BrainPOP video
Materials
1 role sheet per student
Technology
A pencil (to cross off what they traded)
Equipment
1 student-friendly checklist evaluation per student
Supplies
1 piece of paper for the formative assessment
Evaluation of
Formal Evaluation
the
As a formal assessment, students will fill-out a studentLearning/Master
friendly rubric to assess how well they participated in
y of the
the activity, and if they met all the learning standards.
Concept
This list will take form in a checklist and will include:
I traded at least 2 commodities with a classmate(s)
I had to choose what items I needed the most
I know what the word scarce means
I had to give up at least one of my commodities to get
another
I respected all of my classmates
I stopped when the teacher flickered the lights.
Informal Evaluation
When time is up and all students have returned to their
seats, the teacher will ask all of the students who met all
of their role sheet objectives to stand on one side of the
room, and ask the students who were unable to fulfill
their role sheets on the other side of the room.
THE TEAHER WILL EMPHASIZE THAT IF A STUDENT
DIDNT FUFILL ALL OF THE GOALS ON THE ROLE
SHEET THAT THEY WILL NOT BE PUNISHED. THIS
WAS A LEARNING EXPERIENCE AND THEY WILL
JUST HAVE TO SHARE WHY THEY HAD A DIFFICULT
TIME MEETING ALL OF THE GOALS!
For example, a student might share, I needed to have
three bags of coffee by the end, but everyone I ran into
had already either traded all of theirs or only had a bag
or two left! I made the conclusion that coffee was
scarce.
Closure
Summary & Review of the Learning
Students will reflect on the activity and review what they

Teacher
Self-reflection

have learned while filling out the formal evaluation

created by the teacher.
Students will also participate in a whole-group quiz that
is based upon the video watched on BrainPOP. The
teacher will facilitate the quiz and click on the answer
the majority of the class believes is correct.
Homework/Assignments
A question to think about: Could you imagine a world
where paper money did not exist? Do you believe that
paper money will be our final form of currency? Come
back prepared to discuss tomorrow!

To start the game you have:

To start the game you have:

3 Chickens

3 Bags of Corn

2 Bags of coffee
2 Bags of Grain
1 Chicken
1 Bag of Sugar

By the end of the game you should

have:

By the end of the game you should

have:

1 Chicken
1 chicken

2 Bags of Corn
2 Bags of Grain

3 Bags of Coffee

3 Bags of Sugar

These are examples of role sheets that students

would be given to complete this activity!