🐟 Phase 2 - Encounter 🎥 Audio/Visual ⏱ 10 minutes

Task 2 - The Big Trade Problem

First contact with the core concept - through a story that makes trade concrete and funny, not a textbook definition.

Follow Mira's story - tap any underlined word

Slide 1 / 3 🔊

🎣→🐟→🍞

Mira catches fish every day. She loves bread but has no way to make it. So she walks to the baker to trade a fish for a loaf. This kind of direct swap - one thing for another, no money involved - is called barteringBartering: swapping one thing for another, directly - no money involved..

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But today, the baker says: "Sorry Mira, I don't want fish - I already have three! I want new shoes instead." Mira doesn't make shoes. Now she needs to find a shoemaker who wants fish, trade for shoes, then find the baker again… This tricky puzzle is called the "double coincidence of wantsWant: something nice to have but not essential - like a new toy." - both people must want exactly what the other has, at exactly the same time.

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Long ago, people solved this puzzle by agreeing on one thing that almost everyone would accept in tradeTrade: exchanging goods or services between people. - shells, salt, or eventually coins and notes. That agreed "stand-in" is moneyMoney: how much something is worth to people - a fresh loaf of bread has more value when you're hungry than when you're full.. Mira can now sell her fish for coins to anyone, then use those same coins to buy bread, shoes, or anything else - no more searching for the perfect swap.

Quick check - not scored, just for fun

Tap the picture that shows the problem with bartering:

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"A Happy Swap": Mira hands a fish to the baker, who smiles and hands over a loaf of bread. "Both people want what the other has."

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"Mira's Problem": Mira holds out a fish, the baker shakes his head and holds up shoes. "I want shoes, not fish!"

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"Paying With Coins": a customer hands coins to a market seller, who hands over vegetables. "Someone buys something using money."

Bridge to Phase 3 - Investigation

Now it's your turn to be a trader - and find out just how tricky bartering really is.

← Task 1 Continue to Task 3 →

What happens in Task 2

A 10-minute Phase 2 - Encounter activity. Students follow a 3-slide illustrated story about Mira the fisherwoman trying to trade a fish for bread, tap key terms (barter, trade, money, value, wants) to see plain-language definitions, then complete a short, unscored tap-to-guess check.

🎯 Learning objectives

To understand what bartering means through a concrete story, to discover the specific problem bartering creates (needing to find someone who wants exactly what you have), and to understand, in simple terms, how money solved that problem.

♿ SEN Adaptations

Audio narration on all slides and on all three picture captions
Simplified content mode toggle available in accessibility settings
Key-term tooltips include audio pronunciation

🖨️ No-Tech Format

Teacher acts out or narrates Mira's story using printed illustrations or simple puppets
The tap-to-guess check becomes a show-of-hands vote between three printed pictures (A, B, C) held up by the teacher

Phase 2 · Encounter · Audio/Visual

Task 2 - The Big Trade Problem

3Slides

5Key terms

10mDuration

Progress0%

Read the 3-slide story

Complete the picture check

All Tasks - Lesson 11

Could You Survive Without Money?

The Big Trade Problem

The Barter Chain Challenge

What Have I Discovered About Money?

Design Your Own Currency