What is Money?

EPISODE #102

LESSON LEVEL NATIONAL STANDARDS CORRELATIONS

Grades 4-6 Aligned to National Financial Literacy Standards from the Jump$tart
Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy.

KEY TOPICS Financial Responsibility and Decision Making

Currency and money Standard 1: Take responsibility for personal financial decisions.
Systems of exchange or Planning and Money Management
trade Standard 3: Describe how to use different payment methods.
Value of goods and services
Aligned to Voluntary National Content Standards in Economics from the
Council for Economic Education.
LEARNING Standard 3: Allocation
OBJECTIVES Standard 5: Trade
Standard 14: Entrepreneurship
1. Learn about different forms
of money. Aligned to Common Core State Standards Initiative’s standards for
2. Give examples of goods Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science and Technical Subjects.

and/or services that could be Standard 1: Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and
bartered or traded. to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writ-
3. Understand why systems of ing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.

money were developed beyond Standard 4: Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text,
the trade and barter system. including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and
4. Learn financial terms. analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone.

Standard 7: Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse formats

and media, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words.
EPISODE SYNOPSIS
The Biz Kid$ say: “Show
me the Money!” Join us
and you’ll take a grand tour
through the history of money
from the days of bartering,
CONTENTS
National Standards
through the first coins and Correlations
currency, all the way to the Lesson Prep & Screening
electronic transfers of today. Family Activity Sheet
Watch as the Biz Kid$ put on Biz Term$ Worksheet
cowboy boots and get a crash Curriculum Connections
Activity Worksheets
course in the art of negotiation
Biz Term$ Definitions
and exchange at a high-energy
Acknowledgements
cattle auction in Colorado.
 What is Money? • Episode #102

LESSON PREP & SCREENING

Getting Started About the Episode
Familiarize yourself with the The Biz Kid$ say: “Show me the Money!” Join us and you’ll take a
episode ahead of time. It will grand tour through the history of money from the days of bartering,
serve as a springboard for student through the first coins and currency, all the way to the electronic trans-
learning, discussions, vocabulary fers of today. Watch as the Biz Kid$ put on cowboy boots and get a
exploration, and hands-on activi- crash course in the art of negotiation and exchange at a high-energy
ties. Determine what equipment cattle auction in Colorado.
is required to show the episode in
your classroom and request it if Episode Preview Questions
needed. Choose an activity (each Before you show this Biz Kid$ episode, lead your students in a brief
one takes between 45-60 minutes), discussion of the following questions:
and gather supplies. Students will Have you ever bartered or traded for something?
need a pen or pencil and copies of
What types of things did you or could you trade?
the activity worksheets. Have fun!
Did you and the person you traded with feel the trade was a fair

Screening exchange or of equal value?

Introduce the series and the epi-
sode. Explain that Biz Kid$ is a Next Steps
public television series that teaches Show this episode. After the episode, read the Summary and Conclusion
kids about money and business. to the class.
Mention that the bizkids.com web-
site has lots of video clips, games, Summary and Conclusion
a blog, and other resources to help Most countries currently use paper money and coins as the accepted
kids start businesses and learn standard of value. Today, checks, debit cards, and credit cards are also
about money. Prior to playing the accepted as alternate forms of currency in many locations. These types
episode, lead your students in a of money look different, but they serve the same basic purpose. Money,
discussion with the preview ques- no matter what its form, is something that is accepted as payment for
tions on this page. goods and services.

Family Connection
www.bizkids.com

Distribute a copy of the Family Activity Sheet to each student to

share what they’ve learned with their families.

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 What is Money? • Episode #102

FAMILY ACTIVITY SHEET

Episode Synopsis Activity Suggestions
The Biz Kid$ say: “Show me the Look at a world map or a globe with your child. Ask your child to select
Money!” Join us and you’ll take a a country that interests him or her. Together, use library or Internet re-
grand tour through the history of sources to research the type of money used by that country. Look at the
money from the days of bartering, designs on that currency and determine what those designs say about the
through the first coins and cur- country’s culture or history.
rency, all the way to the electronic
transfers of today. Watch as the Talk with your child about the different forms of payment you use as a
Biz Kid$ put on cowboy boots and family. You may wish to discuss the uses of:
get a crash course in the art of ne-
gotiation and exchange at a high- Cash - Paper money or coins.
energy cattle auction in Colorado. Personal checks - Written orders directing a bank to pay money to a
specific individual or organization. Personal checks may take longer to
come out of your checking account than other forms of payment.
Cashier checks - A check printed by your bank that takes the money
out of your account immediately and is payable to the person or business
that you name on the check.
Debit cards - Plastic cards that electronically deduct a purchase
amount directly from the user’s checking account. They function simi-
larly to checks.
Credit cards - Plastic cards that allow users to make purchases using
borrowed money. If the loans are not paid back in full within a specified
time frame, additional charges (interest) are added to the original amount
of money borrowed.
Money orders - Orders for the payment of a specific amount of money,
usually issued and payable at a bank or retail store that offers money
orders.
Electronic or Wire transfers - Money that is electronically removed
from your bank account immediately and sent to another person or busi-
ness, and they receive it right away.
www.bizkids.com

Your child may be interested in reading The Story of Money by Betty

Maestro, which covers many of the same topics from this episode.

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 What is Money? • Episode #102

Activity #1:

BIZ TERM$
WORKSHEET FOR STUDENTS

Biz Term$ Directions

Barter With students, read aloud the Biz Term$ and each question. Call on
Cashier’s check volunteers for answers, and have them explain why they chose the term
they believe to be correct.
Check
Credit card
Biz Term$ Episode Review
Currency
1. Something used as a medium of exchange or money is called
Debit card __________ .
Exchange
Goods 2. To exchange one good or service for another is to __________ .
Money order
3. The card that electronically deducts a purchase amount directly from
Services
the user’s checking account is a __________.
Value
4. A bank check made out to a specific person or business that must be
paid for before it is issued is a __________ .

5. Another term for the worth of something is its __________ .

6. __________ are merchandise or moveable property.

7. You would use a __________ to make purchases using borrowed

money.

8. An example of __________ is to trade a cheese sandwich for a turkey

sandwich.
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 What is Money? • Episode #102

CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS
Language Arts Optional
Have students construct sentences, write a paragraph, or create a Vocabulary
story, skit, or dialog using Biz Term$. Extensions
Have students create a class Dictionary of Financial Terms using Biz
Term$. Make Art!
Have students start their own Journal of Personal Financial Education Ask students to create
and continue to add to it. personal illustrated
glossaries using sketches
or cartoons to visually
History/Social Studies represent the meaning
Choose a country and research what they use for money or a medium of each Biz Term.
of exchange. Write a brief report that includes the name of the coun-
try, the continent on which it is located, and an illustration of their Make It Personal!
paper or coin money. Provide students with
dictionaries and ask
students to re-write
Mathematics
formal definitions for
Using a library or the internet, discover the exchange rate for today each Biz Term in their
between the United States and China. If your allowance is $10 per own words to demonstrate
week, how much is that in Chinese yuan? comprehension.

Economics
How does a country’s system of money or medium of exchange af-
fect their ability to participate in the global economy? Give exam-
ples.
www.bizkids.com

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 What is Money? • Episode #102

Activity #2:

WHAT MONEY IS WHERE?

WORKSHEET FOR STUDENTS

Directions
You are going to explore different currencies and the locations where they are used. Using the internet or
your library resources, choose three different countries and name the currency used in each country:

Country Currency
Example:

United States The US dollar

What is one similarity and one difference that you have noticed between these currencies?
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________

Imagine you are in charge of your own country. Design a paper bill yourself. Draw it here in the space
below:
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If time permits, allow students to share their answers with the class.

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 What is Money? • Episode #102

Activity #3:

BARTER OR MONEY?
WORKSHEET FOR STUDENTS

Directions
Money can be anything, as long as it is accepted in trade or exchange for goods or services. In the area below,
list five goods or services you think you could barter or trade. Then, list five things you believe would require
actual currency.

BARTER CURRENCY
Example:

Give a loaf of bread to get a

quart of milk. Pay the rent with currency.

Come together as a class and discuss your answers. Do you believe that all of the ‘trades’ offered for barter by
your classmates were fair? Why or why not?
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
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Which do you prefer, barter or currency, and why?

____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________

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 What is Money? • Episode #102

BIZ TERMS
DEFINITIONS
Barter: The exchange of one good or service for another good or service.

Cashier’s check: A bank check made out to a designated institution or person that must be paid for before it is
issued.

Check: A written order directing a bank to pay money to a specific individual or organization.

Credit card: Plastic cards that allow users to make purchases using borrowed money.

Currency: Something that is used as a medium of exchange.

Debit card: A plastic card that electronically deducts a purchase amount directly from the user’s checking ac-
count.

Exchange: To give up one thing in return for something else.

Goods: Moveable property, such as merchandise.

Money order: A document that is issued by a bank or retail store for the payment of a specific amount of
money to the person or business named on the order.

Services: Helpful acts performed by one person for another person or business.
www.bizkids.com

Values: The worth of something in terms of exchange.

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fun financial literacy on public tv and at www.bizkids.com

Produced by: Biz Kid$ LLP

Funded by:

Co-Produced by:

Distributed by: