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No Funny Money, Honey....I Want the Real Thing!
Have you ever thought what life would be like without money? How would you buy things? What makes a $10 bill worth 10 dollars? The paper/fabric that is used to make money is not worth $10 - so who says it can buy 10 dollars worth of goods and services? We all do! Everyone agrees that a $10 bill can buy $10 worth of stuff, and a $20 bill can buy $20 worth of stuff, etc. Find out how we make sure our dollar bills are kept safe.
With your teacher, visit the "Money Central Station" and study how to spot 'funny money.' After you learn about how we keep our money safe, test you knowledge by taking a true/false quiz and assembling a $10 bill.
A long time ago people used to barter to get what they wanted. The baker traded bread for a haircut from the barber. That worked, except what if the barber wanted bread but the baker didn't need a haircut? Farmers could trade a cow for a horse, but what if they wanted bread? How many loaves of bread would a cow be worth? There were many problems with bartering.
Then people started making money. Money was good because it was easy to carry (not like a cow!). Money was good because it could be divided into smaller amounts (oh no, poor cow!). Money was good because it lasted a long time (even if a cow steps on it!). Money was good because it was accepted by people and everyone wanted it (what would you do with a cow?). Visit "The U.S. Mint
" with your class to find out where money is made in the United States.
There is a scarcity of money. Scarcity means not being able to have everything you want.
Because everyone wants money, some people try to make it themselves and that is against the law! If everyone could make money, then money would not be worth much. We call money that people make many different names. Sometimes it is called 'funny money,' fake money, or counterfeit money. No matter what you call it, it is against the law and our government makes our money in a special way so that people cannot easily make it themselves. To find out more about our currency visit the treasure dome or explore the park to find out more information about currency.
Do you know what a $10 bill should look like? Try piecing together a bill and find out! To find out more about what our government does to make sure people don't copy money, visit "The Money Factory ". After visiting, take a true/false quiz to find out how much money knowledge you have.
Now that you know that portable means easy to carry, divisible means easy to divide, durable means it will last a long time, and that money is generally accepted (money is money because everyone says it is and wants it), now it is the time to do a drop and drag activity that shows you know about money.
You will show that you know about money by doing the drop and drag activity, piecing together the bill, and taking the true/false quiz.
Go to www.bep.treas.gov/newmoney/main.cfm/learning/counterfeit and click on links under Departures and Arrivals to find more about money.
