Adding Up What Cannot Be Swapped
A 50-minute Grade 4 lesson on what money makes possible that direct exchange cannot, including adding things up.
Adding Up What Cannot Be Swapped is a free 50-minute Grade 3 to Grade 5 social studies lesson plan for Common Core standard D2.Eco.5.3-5 — explain what money does that swapping goods cannot. It is timed across 5 sections, gives the exact wording to use where the wording carries the mathematics, names 3 misconceptions with the teaching move that addresses each, and ends with an exit ticket and a printable worksheet with its answer key.
- Grade:
- Grade 3 to Grade 5
- Length:
- 50 minutes
- Standard:
- D2.Eco.5.3-5
Grade 3 to Grade 5 · Economics
D2.Eco.5.3-5
Explain the role of money in making exchange easier.
Objective
Students will be able to name the jobs money does that barter cannot, using the region's figures.
Students are successful when they can
- Explains why both sides need not want each other's goods.
- Explains how money lets unlike things be compared.
- Explains why money can be stored when goods cannot.
What you need
- The harbour return: tonnages and 4,180 pounds of dues
- The union circular: 12,000 pounds of profit, 340 in the fund
- The printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan
The lesson
Warm-up — add up the cargo
5 min- Ask the class to add timber, grain, coal and cotton into one meaningful figure.
- Let the tonnages resist being compared with each other in value.
Teach — three jobs, one return
17 min- Job one: money means the seller need not want what the buyer has.
- Job two: comparison. Dues of 4,180 pounds put every cargo into one measure.
- Ask what a swap economy could not do here: total four unlike cargoes.
- Job three: storing. The relief fund holds 340 pounds and keeps its value; grain would not.
- Show the wage cut: 'a shilling in the pound' works on every hand whatever they earn.
- Ask what money needs to work: enough people accepting it.
- Close with the comparison the union makes: 12,000 pounds of profit against a wage bill.
“Which of money's jobs is doing the work in this sentence?”
Guided practice — name the job
15 min- Pairs take eight statements from the sources and name the job of money in each.
- They find one statement doing two jobs at once.
- Groups write a swap that fails and show money rescuing it.
Independent practice
10 min- Students complete the 'Adding Up What Cannot Be Swapped' page.
- Check answers name a job rather than saying money is easier.
Close
3 min- Ask which job of money the harbour return depends on most.
What goes wrong, and why
Each of these is a reasoning error rather than carelessness. The fix addresses the reasoning.
Says money is better because it is portable.
Why: Carrying is the obvious advantage.
Fix: Portability helps, but the failed swap was about wanting and about totalling.
Thinks money has value in itself.
Why: Coins look valuable.
Fix: It works because enough people accept it. Ask what happens if they stop.
Thinks a total in pounds is the whole truth.
Why: Numbers look complete.
Fix: 4,180 pounds of dues says nothing about what any hand earned. Money measures, it does not describe.
If they are not there yet
- Four statements and two jobs.
- Act out a failed swap with cards.
If they finish early
- Say why the harbour return could not have been written for a swap economy.
- Find a case today where people still exchange without money.
- Explain which job the union's 12,000 pound figure relies on.
Exit ticket
The harbour landed four different cargoes and collected 4,180 pounds in dues. Which job of money is that, and why does it matter?
What to look for: Comparison: unlike cargoes put into one measure that can be totalled. Answers about coins being convenient miss the job.
Printable practice for D2.Eco.5.3-5
Free to print and copy, answer key included. Each sheet can generate a fresh set of problems for a retake.
- Adding Up What Cannot Be SwappedCircle the best answer.
Questions about Adding Up What Cannot Be Swapped
How long does the Adding Up What Cannot Be Swapped lesson take?
50 minutes, split across 5 timed sections: warm-up 5 min, teach 17 min, guided practice 15 min, independent practice 10 min, close 3 min. The minutes are stated per section and add up to the stated length, so the plan can be cut or extended at a section boundary rather than abandoned halfway.
Which standard does Adding Up What Cannot Be Swapped teach?
D2.Eco.5.3-5 — D2.Eco.5.3-5, Economics for Grade 3 to Grade 5: “Explain the role of money in making exchange easier.” In plain terms, explain what money does that swapping goods cannot.
What do I need to teach this lesson?
The harbour return: tonnages and 4,180 pounds of dues, the union circular: 12,000 pounds of profit, 340 in the fund and the printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan. Everything listed is either ordinary classroom equipment or a free printable from this site — there is nothing to buy and nothing to prepare beyond photocopying.
What mistakes should I expect in this lesson?
Three, each a reasoning error rather than carelessness: says money is better because it is portable; thinks money has value in itself and thinks a total in pounds is the whole truth. The plan gives the thinking behind each one and the teaching move that addresses the thinking rather than the symptom.
How do I know whether the lesson worked?
The exit ticket asks: “The harbour landed four different cargoes and collected 4,180 pounds in dues. Which job of money is that, and why does it matter?.” Comparison: unlike cargoes put into one measure that can be totalled. Answers about coins being convenient miss the job. That tells you whether the class needs a reteach or a thirty-second conversation before you plan tomorrow.
Is there a worksheet to go with Adding Up What Cannot Be Swapped?
Yes — 1 printable D2.Eco.5.3-5 worksheet, linked at the end of the plan and free like the rest of the site. Each one comes with an answer key and 25 versions, so the practice after the lesson can be a different paper on every desk.
Is Adding Up What Cannot Be Swapped free to use?
Yes. The plan, its printables and their answer keys are free to read, print and photocopy for your own class, with no account and no email capture. It was last reviewed on 7 September 2026. Please do not resell it or republish it as your own.
Last reviewed 2026-09-07. Aligned to D2.Eco.5.3-5 of the C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards.