Indiana Social Studies 4.E.4

Social Studies4th GradeEconomics

The Standard

List the functions of money, and compare and contrast things that have been used as money in the past in Indiana, the United States, and the world.

2026 Indiana Academic Standards: K-12 Social Studies

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students name three jobs money does: paying for goods, showing prices, and holding value for later. They compare Indiana bank notes from the 1800s, U.S. coins, and cowrie shells used in parts of Africa.
What Mastery Looks Like: A student can explain why a shopkeeper can price two items in dollars and accept dollars for either one. They can compare a paper bank note with a shell, using details such as size, durability, and where people accepted it.
Common Misconceptions: Students may think money has always been paper bills and coins. They may call anything traded once money, even if other people would not accept it.
How to Assess It: On an exit ticket, show pictures of an old Indiana bank note, a U.S. coin, and a cowrie shell. Ask students to name two jobs money does and one difference between the objects.

Lesson moves

Give pairs picture cards of an old Indiana bank note, a U.S. coin, and a cowrie shell to sort by portability and durability.
Ask: Why might people accept shells as payment in one place but not another? Have students write two sentences.
Set prices for classroom supplies in paper dollars, then repeat with shell tokens and discuss which payment is easier to count.
Show a grocery receipt and ask students how the dollar prices help shoppers compare two boxes of cereal.

Free download

A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to 4.E.4, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.

PDF, US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white.

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