Learning Activity – English Language Arts
Cycle 2
The Negotiator
Guide
Background Information
Title
The Negotiator
Guiding Question
How can we develop an exchange network in our school?
Cycle
Elementary Cycle 2
Suggested Duration
2 hours
Pedagogical Intention
To help students explore the concept of financial literacy
Competency
English Language Arts – To read and listen to literary, popular and information-based texts
Essential Knowledge
Response Process
 Uses a variety of reading strategies to make meaning of different text types
 Uses details and evidence in the text to infer meaning(s)
 Constructs a personal response to the text
Evaluation


Correction Key
Marking Grid (Appendix D)
Resources


Teacher’s Guide
Student Booklet
Illustrations


Ekomini
Clipart (http://www.clipart.com)
Page 1
Summary Chart
The following chart represents four learning activities for Cycle 2. The learning activities are not
in sequential order.
Title, Description and
Concept Developed
The Piggy Bank
Using recycled materials,
students continue to explore
the concept of saving while
making a functional 3D piggy
bank.
Discipline and
Competency
Targeted
Progression of Learning
Visual Arts
Applications of Knowledge
C1: To Produce
individual works in
the visual arts.
• To use personal ideas inspired by the
stimulus for creation.
• To use transforming gestures and
elements of visual arts language.
• To share his/her creative experience.
Concept developed:
Saving
Knowledge
• Visual Arts
The Negotiator
Students explore the concept
of barter
Concept developed:
Exchange
I Equip My Team
Students explore more deeply
the concept of budgeting as
they plan the purchase of
sports equipment for a hockey
team while respecting
budgetary constraints.
English Language
Arts
To read and listen
to literary, popular
and informationbased texts
• Uses a variety of reading strategies to
make meaning of different text types.
• Uses details and evidence in the text to
infer meaning(s)
• Constructs a personal response to the
text.
Mathematics
Concepts and Processes
C1: To solve a
situational problem
related to
mathematics.
• To translate a situation using a series of
operations in accordance with the order of
operations: addition.
• To develop processes for written
computation (addition and subtraction).
• To use his/her own processes as well as
objects and drawings to determine the
sum or difference of two natural numbers
less than 1000.
• To determine the operation(s) to perform
in a given situation.
C2: To reason using
mathematical
concepts and
processes.
• To develop processes for written
computation (addition and subtraction).
• To use his/her own processes as well as
objects and drawings to determine the
sum or difference of two natural numbers
less than 1000.
• To compare natural numbers.
• Vocabulary: is equal to, is greater than, is
less than…
Mathematics
Concepts and Processus
C2: To reason using
mathematical
concepts and
processes.
• To approximate the result
• To develop processes for written
computation (addition and subtraction)
• To develop processes for written
computation (multiplication and division)
Concept developed:
Expenses
Koni Spends Too Much
Students are invited to create a
repayment plan.
Concept developed:
Expenses
Response Process
Source: Québec, ministère de l’Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport
Page 2
Overview of the Task
After playing a bartering game, students are asked to read a text about the history of bartering.
They then answer questions to demonstrate understanding of the text. Finally, in teams, they
must describe an exchange network they would like to develop for their school.
Guiding Question
How can we develop an exchange network in our school?
Preparation Phase
30 minutes
Required Material
 Card Game (Appendix A): Print one copy of the appendix for each team of four students.
 Phoney Money (Appendix B): Print one copy of the appendix for each team of four students.
Procedure
 Lead a class discussion on the concept of bartering by asking students about their personal
experiences.
o Who has already traded things with a friend?
o What type of things did you trade?
o Why do you like to trade or exchange things?
 Introduce the bartering game.
Bartering Game: A Native American’s Survival Kit
 Divide the class into teams of four students.
 Each player receives $5 in Phoney Money and a set of six game cards. (Distribute the cards
according to the icon found in the corner of the cards.)
 The goal of the game is to get all the articles in the Native American Survival Kit as quickly
as possible by exchanging cards and money with the other players. The game ends when at
least two players out of four have a complete survival kit. The best negotiator is the one who
is able to keep the most money.
Optional: The game can be played several times; this way students have the chance to try out
new trading strategies. A game just involving the winners may also be played at the end.
Description and value of the articles in the Survival Kit –Appendix A
 $3: Necklace
 $2: Sash
 $1: Moccasins
 $1: Dreamcatcher
 $2: Tomahawk
 $3: Protective Arrowhead
Page 3
Implementation Phase
90 minutes
Required Material
 Information-Based Text (Appendix C)
 Student Booklet
Procedure
 Hand out the Student Booklet.
 Ask the students to answer the questions about their personal reading strategies in their
Student Booklet, Part 1.
 Ask the students to read the text “Bartering, the Past and the Present”. The story is found in
Part 2 of the Student Booklet.
 To ensure understanding of the story, ask the students questions.
 As a class, ask the students to identify new words they encountered in the story. Write the
words on the board.
 Ask the students to answer the questions on pages 4 and 5 of the Student Booklet.
 Ask the students to form teams and complete Part 4 of the Student Booklet. As a team they
will develop an idea for an exchange network at their school.
Integration Phase
50 minutes
 Present the story about the red paperclip found in the news article
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13804920/ns/technology_and_sciencetech_and_gadgets/t/bloggers-quest-ends-keys-house/
 Refocus on the guiding question, “How can we develop an exchange network in our
school?”
 Have each team present their ideas for an exchange network.
 As a class, determine the most appropriate exchange network for the school.
 Collect the Student Booklets and correct Parts 3 and 4.
Enrichment Activities

As a class project, implement an exchange network at your school.
Page 4
Correction Key
Question 1: In your own words, what is bartering?
Suggested answers (1 mark)
 People trade their personal property or their services against other goods or services.
 Bartering is trading one object for another.
Question 2: Why do you think that certain countries started “stamping coins” instead of
using objects like cows, salt or shells for trading?
Suggested answers (2 marks)
 It is easier to carry a pocket full of coins than it is to carry around a cow or a bag of salt.
 People could not agree on the value of a certain object compared to another object.
Question 3: Do you think it is better to trade goods using money or by bartering?
Explain.
Suggested answers (2 marks)
 It is easier to trade with barter because everyone has something that they can exchange for
what they want or need.
 Bartering is easier because it doesn't matter if you are rich or poor.
 It is easier to trade with money because we can compare the price of various goods easily.
Question 4: Since the early 2000s people have started bartering through websites. Why
do you think bartering is still used today?
Suggested answers (2 marks)
 Barter allows people to exchange things to get what they need without using money.
 During economic crises people are very poor. Bartering can help families get the things they
need even if they don't have money.
 People from all over the world can easily exchange goods and services through websites.
Question 5: How can bartering help preserve the environment?
Suggested answers (1 mark)
 Bartering allows us to reuse and recycle things.
 Less things get thrown away and this is good for the environment.
Question 6: Describe a personal experience you have had with bartering or trading.
Accept all answer related to a student’s personal experience. (2 marks)
Page 5
Appendix A – Game Cards
Player 1
Player 1
Player 2
Player 2
$3
Necklace
J1
$1
Sash
J1
$2
Moccasins
J2
$2
Moccasins
J2
$3
Necklace
J1
$1
Sash
J1
$2
Moccasins
J2
$2
Moccasins
J2
$3
Necklace
J1
$1
Sash
J1
$3
Necklace
J2
$1
Sash
J2
Page 6
Player 3
Player 3
Player 4
Player 4
$2
Tomahawk
J3
$2
Tomahawk
J3
$3
Protective
Arrowhead
J4
$1
Dreamcatcher J4
$2
Tomahawk
J3
$2
Tomahawk
J3
$3
Protective
Arrowhead
J4
$1
Dreamcatcher J4
$3
Protective
Arrowhead
J3
$1
Dreamcatcher J3
$3
Protective
Arrowhead
J4
$1
Dreamcatcher J4
Page 7
Page 8
JOUEUR 1
JOUEUR 3
JOUEUR 4
Appendix B – Phoney Money
JOUEUR 2
Appendix C
Bartering, the Past and the Present
Did you know that humans used to live without money?
Centuries ago, when money did not exist, people bartered. People would trade their
property or their services against other goods or services. Examples of bartering are; “If
you give me some bread, I will give you some wood” or “If you help me to collect wood, I
will give you a bowl of soup.”
Later on, people began to exchange goods or services for objects that had value. Salt,
tea and cattle were once used like money. Strings of beads made from shells, called
wampum, were used by North American Indians as money. However, it was not always
easy to carry these objects and sometimes people argued about the value of these
objects. How many bags of tea could you trade for a cow?
In other parts of the world people started to use precious metals like silver and gold in
exchange for goods and services. A specific amount of the metal would be weighed out
and placed between two stencils. Then a man would use a large hammer to flatten out
the metal. The stencils left images on both sides
of the coin to show how much it was worth. This
was the beginning of “stamping coins”.
During the time of the Romans, a bronze coin
was called an “as” and a silver coin was called a
“denarius”. Ten bronze coins had the same value
as one silver coin, like our dime and penny.
Workers received one “denarius” for a day’s
wage. Therefore, a man had to work ten hours to
receive his “denarius”, or in other words, he
made one “as” per hour.
Page 9
Today, money is the common medium of exchange in most societies on Earth. We use
money to pay for our food, clothing, housing, transportation and everything else we
need to live. We receive money for the work we do and we use it to pay for all the
services that we need.
Despite all the advantages of currency, bartering has never really disappeared. During
the Great Depression, people were very poor and bartering enabled them to obtain
goods or products that they needed for everyday life. Even today, bartering is used,
especially during economic crises.
Since the beginning of the 2000s, new trading networks have been created using
websites. Today, these “social networks” bring people together from all over the world
and allow them to easily exchange goods and services.
So what will the future bring? We can certainly see that bartering will always be present
in our societies. Indeed, it may become even more important, especially with the need
to recycle and to preserve our environment.
Page 10
Appendix D
Marking Grid
Retained Evaluation Criteria
Information Clarifying the Criteria
• Interpretation and explanation to support
ideas when responding to texts
• Integration of new information to construct
meaning
Construct Meaning
• Establishment of text-to-text, text-to-self and
text-to-world connections.
Making Connections
Source: QUÉBEC, MINISTÈRE DE L’ÉDUCATION, DU LOISIR ET DU SPORT, Frameworks for the Evaluation of Learning English
Language Arts, Québec, 2011.
Distribution of Marks for the Reading Tasks
Evaluation Criteria
Reading Tasks
Number of
Marks
Percentage of
Total Mark
Construct Meaning
Question 1  1 mark
Question 2  2 marks
Question 3  2 marks
Question 4  2 marks
Question 5  2 marks
9 marks
69 %
Making Connections
Question 6  2 marks
PART 4
Description of Exchange
Network  2 marks
4 marks
31 %
TOTAL
13 points
100 %
Page 11