Florida SS.6.E.3.1
The Standard
Identify examples of mediums of exchange (currencies) used for trade (barter) for each civilization, and explain why international trade requires a system for a medium of exchange between trading both inside and among various regions.
Florida Next Generation Sunshine State Standards for Social Studies
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students identify goods, commodity money, and coins used in ancient civilizations. They explain how agreed values and currency conversion make trade between regions possible.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Students can match several civilizations with accurate examples, such as Mesopotamian silver, Egyptian grain, Greek coins, and Chinese cowrie shells. They can explain why traders need accepted values or exchange rates.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may treat barter and currency as the same thing. They may think all ancient societies used coins or that international trade requires one worldwide currency.
How to Assess It
- Ask students to explain how a Greek merchant using coins could trade with an Egyptian merchant using grain. Require one problem and one workable solution.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs cards showing ancient goods and currencies, then have them negotiate trades and record which exchanges succeed or fail.
Ask students to write: Why would a trader accept silver but refuse another item of equal value?
Run a market game where groups use different tokens and must apply posted exchange rates to complete three trades.
Use a current exchange-rate table to calculate the cost of one item in dollars, euros, yen, and pesos.
Free download
Printable SS.6.E.3.1 Worksheet
A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to SS.6.E.3.1, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.
PDF, US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white.
Download the worksheetKeep exploring
Related Standards
- SS.6.E.3.4
Describe the relationship among civilizations that engage in trade, including the benefits and drawbacks of voluntary trade.
- SS.3.E.1.3
Recognize that buyers and sellers interact to exchange goods and services through the use of trade or money.
- SS.6.E.3.2
Categorize products that were traded among civilizations, and give examples of barriers to trade of those products.
- SS.7.E.3.1
Explain how international trade requires a system for exchanging currency between and among nations.
Turn this exact standard into a lesson
Grade, subject, topic, and the complete standard are prefilled. Create one free, no account needed.
Also for this standard:Make a WorksheetMake a QuizMake a Sub Lesson