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Students participate in a trading simulation to learn about barter and the benefits of using money. Working in pairs, students receive information cards on different forms of money used during U.S. history and identify specific problems with each.

To experience problems with barter, students participate in a simulation in which they barter to obtain ingredients to make cookies. Repeating the simulation using money, they learn about the advantages of using money.

Students listen to a story about a family in Central America that barters to get the ingredients for chicken sancocho. The students record the various trades, and they also participate in trading activities that illustrate money’s advantages over barter.

In this lesson, students learn about Benjamin Franklin's role in shaping and understanding of the role of money in the economy. By participating in a trading activity, students learn about bartering, characteristics and functions of money, and inflation.