Exchange, Value & Price

Activity type

• Simulation - Roleplay - Game

Duration

• 60 minutes

Grouping

• Whole class

Description

In this 60 minute whole class simulation, students roleplay as shipwrecked survivors who must secure essential resources to “survive” a week on a desert island. Using playing cards to represent tools and supplies, learners begin with pure barter, practicing negotiation while encountering common trade barriers such as surplus, scarcity, and the coincidence of wants. A timed “Shell Hunt” then introduces commodity money, as students collect tokens that can be used to simplify exchange. With shells in circulation, the class enters a guided marketplace where students set prices, respond to supply and demand, and experience price discovery. The activity culminates in budgeting and a structured auction or trade round for “treasure” wishlist items, bridging to why money exists.

Learning Outcomes

• Students experience barter, the “coincidence of wants,” scarcity, supply/demand, price discovery, budgeting, and auctions.
• Bridge to money: commodity money (shells) and why money helps trade.

Materials

• Playing cards
• “Shells” (physical tokens: paper circles, buttons, craft shells)
• Treasure chest (Small box/enveloppe)
• Gift card (expired or fake $100 gift card)
• Blank flash cards (or slips of paper)
• Nice-to-have: Visual aids (See Appendix A & B), Treasure map, Reward stickers

Equipment

• Timer/phone stopwatch
• Whiteboard or screen
• Marker pen
• Nice-to-have: Whiteboard/markers, projector, bell/signal for time, music (optional for treasure hunt)

PROCEDURE

OPENING

3 minutes

• Hide the commodity money (shells) around the classroom before students enter the room
• Review vocabulary as a warm-up: Trade, money, price… etc
• Review call-back signals and time rules.

Objective In Student’s Words

• Trade objects to survive a week on the desert island.

PRE-ACTIVITY

5 minutes

1. Narrate a back-story explaining how students are shipwrecked. Use visual aids if necessary. (See Appendix A)

For example…

“You live in a small coastal town and work as a fisherman. One day, you head out to sea with your crew in search of the day’s catch. All is calm and the boat gently chugs along a glassy ocean with gulls flying overhead. As you lose sight of the shore and the boat heads into deeper and deeper water, there on the horizon, a storm is brewing. You see dark clouds gathering and heading towards the boat. The captain decides to head to shore and makes a u-turn towards port, but it’s too late. The storm is closing in fast and it’s chasing the crew faster than the boat can carry them - there’s no escape.

Within minutes the ocean’s swell is breaking over the bow of the ship. The wind is whirling, there’s spray whipping through the air and the boat starts to rock violently from side-to-side. As you look over your shoulder, you see a giant wall of dark clouds heading from the ocean up to the heavens - the storm is coming for you and the crew…”

1. Ask students to name objects they would need on the desert island to survive. Elicit the four objects chosen for the activity (i.e. a machete, a fishing rod, a tent and matches) and show them to the class using visual aids.
2. Explain that the playing cards will represent the object they need to survive.
3. Rephrase the objective and purpose in the student's words.

DAY 1 - BARTER

10 minutes

Setup

1. Distribute several cards to each student several cards of the same suit.

• Student A = Diamonds, Student B = Hearts etc.

1. Explain that the suit of the card represents the objects they have found

• Diamond = Machetes, Hearts = Fishing rods, Clubs - Tents, Spades - matches

1. Ask each student what they would do with that object. When they explain how they would use their object, take a card from the student and place it on a ‘used’ pile in the middle of the group.
2. Once each student has used one of their objects, ask what they will do with the surplus objects - elicit that they will have to trade what they HAVE for what they NEED (See Appendix B)

Model

• Teacher demos a simple trade with a student (offer ↔ counteroffer ↔ deal). Write sentence frames on board, if required:“I have ____. I need ____.” / “I can trade ____ for ____.”

Trade

• Explain the trade grid (See Appendix B)
• Students have 5 minutes to barter what they HAVE for what they NEED.
• When the time is up, use call-back to end.

Checkpoint & Debrief

• Thumbsup : met all needs / almost / not yet
• Discuss: What was easy/hard? Who had too much? Too little? Introduce scarcity and supply & demand.

Reflection

• Prompt students: “One thing that helped me trade was ______.”

DAY 2 - BARTER… again

10 minutes

Setup

1. Review the suits of the cards and the objects they represent

• Diamond = Machetes, Hearts = Fishing rods, Clubs - Tents, Spades - matches

1. Once again, ask each student what they would do with their newly acquired object. When they explain how they would use their object, take a card from the student and place it on a ‘used’ pile in the middle of the group.
2. Once each student has used one of their objects, ask what they will do with the surplus objects - elicit that they will have to trade once again what they HAVE for what they NEED.

Model

• Teacher demos a simple trade with a student (offer ↔ counteroffer ↔ deal). Write sentence frames on board, if required:“I have ____. I need ____.” / “I can trade ____ for ____.”

Trade

• Explain the trade grid (Appendix B)
• Students have 5 minutes to barter what they HAVE for what they NEED.
• When the time is up, use call-back to end.

Checkpoint & Debrief

• Thumbsup : met all needs / almost / not yet
• Discuss: What was easy/hard? Who had too much? Too little?

Mini-Lesson

• Day 2 should be harder than Day 1 of trading.
• Students quickly discover it’s hard unless two people want what the other has (coincidence of wants).
• Name the problem: “I want A, you have B… trading is stuck.”
• Bridge: “People invented money to fix this problem.”

DAY 3 - SCARCITY & EFFORT: “Shell Hunt”

10 minutes

Setup

• If the tokens (shells) haven’t already been hidden around the classroom, take some time to complete this now.
• Explain: “Shells are special on this island. They can be used as money. Collect as many as you can.”
• Establish rules of respect and safety - no stealing, no pushing etc.

Treasure Hunt

• 5-minute shell hunt (hide 2–3 times class size around room/hall; vary difficulty).
• Remember to count how many shells you hide around the room.

Count & Record

• Teams/pairs count shells. Quick bar graph on board (who has many/few).
• Discuss scarcity and effort.

Mini-Lesson

• Define commodity money (a thing people use as money).
• Use visual aides to illustrate examples of money in the past.
• Ask: “Could shells be money here?”

Reflection

• “If shells become money, what might the price of items be? Why?”

DAY 4 - COMMODITY MONEY & PRICES: “Shell Market”

10 minutes

Setup

1. Review the suits of the cards and the objects they represent

• Diamond = Machetes, Hearts = Fishing rods, Clubs = Tents, Spades = matches

1. Ask each student what they would do with their newly acquired object. Listen to their usage and discard a card to the ‘used’ pile.
2. Elicit that they will have to trade once again what they HAVE for what they NEED but this time they can also use the commodity money - shells.

Model

• Teacher demos a simple transaction with a student (offer ↔ counteroffer ↔ deal). Write sentence frames on board, if required:
  “I have ____. I need ____.” / “I can trade ____ for ____.”
• Emphasise that the students can decide on the price of the items

Trade

• Explain the trade grid (Appendix B)
• Students have 5 minutes to trade what they HAVE for what they NEED.
• When the time is up, use call-back to end.

Checkpoint & Debrief

• Thumbsup : met all needs / almost / not yet
• Discuss: What was easier/harder with money? What prices did you pay? Did you end up with more or less shells? Was this fair?

DAY 5 - BUDGETS & AUCTIONS: Treasure Chest

15 minutes

Prep

• Hide a treasure chest somewhere in the classroom when students are completing the Day 4 trade.

Story Hook

• The stranded crew look around and find some treasure
• Include a $100 Amazon/Walmart etc. gift card (fake)

Treasure hunt

• Student search the desert island (classroom) for the treasure chest
• Once it has been found, explain the bounty and how it will be used.

Wishlist

• Students can use the giftcard to place one luxury item each on to the wish list.
• Take a pen and paper and list each item requested by the students and write their name next to the item.
• The order is placed and the next day, the items arrive.

DAY 6 - WISHLIST

For this penultimate activity there are two options to carry out:

OPTION 1 – Random distribution and Trade (SIMPLE)

The wishlist items can be randomly distributed to the students. This can be explained through a creative story. For example, there is no landing strip on the island, so the items were airdropped by parachute and strewn across the island. From this point, students can trade the luxury item that they HAVE for the item they WANT. They can use their remaining shells to find what they want.

Trade Prep

• Explain to students, that as when trading the playing cards, they can decide on price and trade what they HAVE for when they NEED.

Trade

• Students have 5 minutes to trade what they HAVE for what they NEED.
• The objective is to secure the luxury item they requested.
• Shells and other items (playing cards) can be included in trades.
• When the time is up, use call-back to end.

OPTION 2 – Auction (ADVANCED)

• The person who found the gift card shipped the items to their shelter on the island. They now own all the items and can sell them off to the highest bidder.
• The teacher now sells items back via auction. Students use their shells to compete in the auction and try and win their luxury item.

Auction Prep (5 min)

• Explain an English auction (prices go up; last hand wins). Practice paddle up/down.
• Budget rule: never bid more shells than you have; plan ahead.

Auctions (10 min)

• Auction items one by one to students.
• Students bid on the items using their shells.

Auction Debrief (5 min)

• What is a budget? How did prices show demand? Was it fair? How could rules change outcomes?

FOLLOW-UP (2 min)

• What items were expensive? Why? Where did supply feel low? What strategies worked?
• “Money made trading easier because ______.”
• Barter was hard → shells helped (commodity money) → money solves coincidence of wants.
• Bridge to Bitcoin – discuss that Bitcoin is a money that helps people exchange goods and services.
• Discuss some of the differences between Bitcoin and the shells they were using.

DAY 7 - FREEDOM

• Using all of the objects they have, see if they can create a way off the island.
• Ask students to THINK-PAIR-SHARE to find the key ideas.
• As a class, formulate a plan to escape the island and find their way back to safety.

FOLLOW-UP

• Quick write or drawing: “One thing I learned about trade or money.”
• Gallery walk of price tags & auction results; discuss fairness and markets.
• Optional challenge (older kids): Design a new island money (rules, supply cap, how to prevent cheating).

CLOSE

• Gather all materials
• Verify all playing cards have been returned to ensure equal distribution between all suites for another activity.

NOTES

Classroom management

• Set “Marketplace” boundaries; use a call-back (eg. “Bit, block… BOOM!”).
• Trading rules posted: 1) Be kind, 2) Offer/Counteroffer, 3) No grabbing, 4) Finalize by handshake/high-five, 5) Return to places on call-back.
• If required, assign roles (Banker/Pirate helpers, Market Monitors) to channel energy and support younger learners.

Extensions & Sponge Activities

• Draw your island store and price three items in shells.
• Mental math: If you have 12 shells and win an auction for 9 shells, what’s left?
• Make a venn diagram to show what kids value at home and on the island - are there objects which fall into both?
• Top 10 Wishlist - ask students to write a list of the top 10 items they would pack if they were going to a desert island.

Differentiation

• Younger students trade fewer categories (just Food/Water); older students handle more complex needs and dynamic pricing.
• ELL/Accessibility: Provide picture cards; sentence frames for offers; assign peer buddies.
• Safety: Movement is walking only; clear boundaries; timed rounds.

Activity type Role-play • Auction

Duration 45 minutes

Grouping Whole Class

Description

In this activity, students take part in a classroom auction using “shells” (or tokens) as a simple form of money. The class runs a live auction where everyday objects are sold one at a time to the highest bidder. As prices emerge in real time, students observe how scarcity (limited items and limited money) and demand (how many people want the same item) shape what something “costs.” A guided reflection links their auction outcomes to core ideas in value, exchange, and price formation, emphasizing that prices are not fixed and that different people value the same object differently.

Learning Outcomes

• Students experience scarcity and price formation by participating in a live auction. 
• They learn that objects gain value depending on how many people want them, and how limited they are.
• Students understand that:
  • Scarcity makes items more valuable.
  • Prices are not fixed; they depend on demand.
  • People value different things differently.

Materials

• 10 small classroom objects (fun or useful: stickers, pencils, snacks, erasers, funny hats, toys, etc.)
• Shells (or paper tokens/coins if no shells available) — at least 3–5 per student

Equipment

• Pen & paper for recording bids
• Nice-to-have: Whiteboard and markers, Auction bell or clap/signal

PROCEDURE

OPENING 

2 minutes

• Predetermine how many tokens each student is to receive.
• Arrange 10 items on a table at the front (the “auction house”)

Objective In Student’s Words

• Use shells to bid in an auction and see how prices change when lots of people want the same thing and there aren’t many of them.

PRE-ACTIVITY

5 minutes

1. Review the items on the table with students. Discuss names and functions of the items, if required.
2. Announce: “These shells are your money. You’ll use them to buy things in today’s game. 
3. Distribute the shells and get students to count how many they possess.

ACTIVITY

30 minutes

Setup

1. Explain that the items on the table will be sold one by one.
2. Students will bid using shells — whoever bids the most wins the item.

Model

1. Pick one student as the “bidder.” Hold up an item, name it clearly, and start the opening bid at 1 shell.
2. Model bidding: ask the student to raise their hand, say their bid out loud, and place the shells where everyone can see them. Repeat once by “outbidding” them yourself (or with a second student) to show how bids increase.
3. Close the sale: do a clear countdown (“Going once, going twice, sold”), ring/clap, announce the final price, hand over the item, and record the price visibly.

Live Auction

1. The teacher holds up an item.
2. Start at 1 shell, let students bid higher.
3. Record the final price on a sticky note and stick it to the item (visible to all).
4. Repeat for each of the 10 items.

Checkpoints

• Throughout the auction, remind students to be aware of their remaining shells.
• Explain that once they have no more shells, they can not bid on any further items.
• Students need to ‘budget’ for their items. 

FOLLOW-UP

1. Lay all items with their final prices on a board/wall.
2. Ask:
   1. Which items were most expensive? Why?
   2. Were some things not worth much? Why?
   3. Did everyone want the same things?
   4. Did anyone run out of shells too quickly?
3. Highlight: Price comes from value and scarcity.
4. Define these terms and write them on the board.

CLOSE

• Distribute the items to the winning bidders and congratulate them 

NOTES

Classroom management

• Some students may find this concept unfair. They may have been outbid on items they wanted. Be aware that this could be a negative learning experience. Offer the possibility of further trade and barter (see Differentiation below)

Differentiation

• Modulating the distribution of tokens can change the outcome of the activity. The simplest, and fairest method is to distribute the tokens equally. However, this is not the most realistic situation. Unequal distribution may be suitable with more advanced students to discuss financial mobility and inequality.
• Younger students: If bidding is not easy for students, it is possible to ask around the group in turn.
• ELL/Accessibility: Children can indicate their bid by placing shells at the centre of the table, poker-style.

Extensions & Sponge Activities

• If no actual giveaway: instead of giving the items away, students write on post-its what they think each item should cost. Compare their “predictions” with the actual auction results.
• This makes the activity more theoretical and allows for repeating without needing prizes.
• Time permitting, a trade market can be opened up with students who are not satisfied with the auction. Students can be encouraged to barter and use any remaining shells to trade with each other. This can either be structured and led via the teacher, or decentralized and sporadic, allowing students to take the initiative.

Activity type Sorting • Visual classification • Guided discussion

Duration 45 minutes

Grouping Whole class with individual turns

Description

Students explore the meaning of price by cutting out everyday items and placing them along a shared price line from cheap to expensive. Through comparison, discussion, and teacher guidance, learners develop a concrete understanding that price is the amount of money something costs and that prices can vary widely between items.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this activity, learners will:

• Understand that price means how much something costs in money
• Recognize the difference between cheap and expensive items
• Compare prices across different types of goods
• Participate in group discussion and justification

Materials

• Old catalogues, magazines, or printed product sheets
• Glue sticks or tape
• Markers
• Nice-to-have: Sticky notes or voting stickers

Equipment

• Child-safe scissors
• Nice-to-have: Projector, Visual Aides (See Appendix A)

PROCEDURE

OPENING 

10 minutes

1. Optional: Pre-select and cut out items for modelling the activity
2. Ensure all contents of the catalog are age appropriate.
3. If possible, attempt to hide the retail price of the items using a marker pen.

PRE-ACTIVITY

5 minutes

1. Ask students: “Who knows what the word price means?”
2. Write clearly on the board:
   1. Price = how much money something costs
3. Show two contrasting examples (e.g., apple vs bicycle) and ask which costs more. 

Objective In Student’s Words

•  “Learn how much things cost and tell the difference between cheap and expensive.”

ACTIVITY

25 minutes

Setup

1. Create a long horizontal line on the wall or board using tape or a dry-wipe pen. (See Appendix B)
2. Label:
   1. Left: “Low Price”
   2. Right: “High Price” 

Model

1. If not already done, select and cut out and item from the materials
2. Place one item yourself on the horizontal line and explain your thinking aloud:
   1. “This goes here because it has a low price - it usually costs less money.”
3. Ask students if they agree or disagree.

Carry Out

1. Students take turns coming to the front and placing their items on the price line.
2. Teacher prompts:
   1. “Is this price lower or higher than the last one?” ir “Does it cost more money to buy?”
   2. “Should it go more to the left or right?”
3. Encourage movement and adjustment as opinions change.

Reflection

• Walk along the price line as a group.
• Ask:
  • “Do you think this item should move?”
  • “Which item surprised you?”
• Reveal or estimate real prices for a few items and compare them to student guesses.
• Highlight:
  • Small items can be expensive
  • Big items can sometimes be cheap

FOLLOW-UP

2 minutes

Summarize:

• Price helps us compare items
• Prices are different for different things
• We can disagree, but money helps us decide 

CLOSE

1. Congratulate students for their participation.
2. Take a moment for gratitude for the objects in their life.
3. Ask students to return all materials and equipment.
4. The project can be displayed or stored and can be added to later by the students.

NOTES

Classroom management

• Call students up one at a time
• Encourage respectful disagreement

Extensions & Sponge Activities

• Add price categories (Under $10, $10–$50, Over $100, Over $1000)
• Redo the line using food, experiences, or services
• Compare guessed prices vs real prices
• Higher or Lower game
• Introduce scarcity by asking why some items cost so much

Differentiation

• Younger students: pre-cut items
• ELL/Accessibility: allow pointing instead of speaking
• Safety: supervise scissor use

Activity type Discussion • Collaborative art project

Duration 45 minutes

Grouping Whole class with individual contributions

Description

Students explore the concept of value by identifying everyday items from their own lives and positioning them on a shared visual chart. Through guided discussion and a collaborative wall-based activity, learners compare personal value with price and reflect on how value can change depending on perspective. The activity builds foundational understanding of value, price, and scarcity through discussion, movement, and visual thinking.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this activity, learners will:

• Understand that value is based on personal and social needs.
• Recognize the relationship between price and value.
• See that value is not fixed but changes depending on perspective.
• Practice collaboration through shared discussion and group art.

Materials

• Sticky notes or index cards
• Markers, pens or pencils
• Tape or sticky putty
• Low-tack tape (masking tape, washi tape, painters tape etc)
• Nice-to-have: A selection objects from home

Equipment

• Nice-to-have: Whiteboard & markers

PROCEDURE

OPENING 

10 minutes

1. Find a location in the classroom suitable for a large art display. Ideally a flat, smooth surface. 
2. Clear the wall of any objects and clean the wall to ensure sticky notes can adhere to the wall.
3. Place any objects from your home on the table at the front of the class before students enter.

Note: Using a whiteboard at the front of the class can be suitable for the activity. However, for maximum impact, it is best to carry out this activity in a separate location in the classroom so the art project can be displayed for a longer period of time. 

PRE-ACTIVITY

5 minutes

1. Allow students to identify objects you have placed in front of them.
2. Discuss their price and value.
3. Introduce the two ideas:
   1. Price: how much something costs
   2. Value: how useful or important something is
4. Ask students to give their opinion on the object and if they agree or disagree.

Objective In Student’s Words

• “Find out what decides the price of things.”
• “Learn what things are valuable to us and why not everyone agrees.”
• “Talk about why expensive things aren’t always valuable, and cheap things can still matter.”

ACTIVITY

30-40 minutes

Setup

1. Ask students to list as many items as they can think of from their bedrooms or houses (toys, clothes, gadgets, books, etc.).
2.  Each student writes one item per sticky note.
   1. Prompt questions:
      1. “Which things are important to you?”
      2. “Which things don’t really matter?”
3. If possible, each student can have their own respective color of sticky note to easily distinguish items later in the activity.
4. Tape a long horizontal line across the board (See Appendix B).Label this axis:
   1. Left = “Low Price”
   2. Right = “High Price”
5. Then add a vertical line crossing the center. Label this axis:
   1. Bottom: “Low value”
   2. Top: “High value”

Model

1. Take one of the items from home and write the name of the item on a sticky note.
2. Demonstrate where to place it within the four quadrants.

Carry out

1. Students place their sticky notes along the axis where they think their item belongs.
2. Support students by encouraging them to add as many items as possible. If students have added all of their sticky notes, prompt them for new items. 

Reflection

• Guiding questions:
  • “Is this cheap or expensive?”
  • “Would most people agree on the price?”
  • “How useful is this?”
  • “Would everyone value this the same way?”
• Prompt discussion:
  • “Which items surprised you?”
  • “Why do some cheap things have high value?”
  • “Why do some expensive things feel useless?”
  • Optional perspective shift:
• Optional perspective shift:
  • Have students review another student’s items and discuss differences.
• Key takeaway:
  • Price is a number 
  • Value is a judgment

FOLLOW-UP

• Review:
  • Price and value are not the same
  • People disagree on value
  • Prices help people trade even when they disagree
• Bridge to money:
  • Money and prices help us trade when value is subjective

CLOSE

1. Identify any trends or patterns.
2. Congratulate students for their participation.
3. Take a moment for gratitude for the people, times and objects in their life.
4. Ask students to return all materials and equipment.
5. The project can be displayed or stored and can be added to later by the students.

NOTES

Classroom management

• Encourage respectful disagreement
• Reinforce that there are no wrong answers
• It can be more engaging to tape out and label the axes during the activity. This could also distract focus and lose concentration if the process is complicated.

Extensions & Sponge Activities

• Show and Tell
• Add a third layer: “Who decides the price?”
• Re-introduce auctions or trading games

Differentiation

• Younger students: pre-printed item cards
• ELL/Accessibility: drawing instead of writing
• Safety: supervise movement near walls