S1: Introduction

One of the most valuable life skills is learning how to manage money, but it is important to start at the beginning. Why we use money in the first place and how to get the best value with our money should be explained. We should also explore our relationship with money.

Taking the time to understand the influence that money has in our lives can help to contribute to a healthy relationship with money. Students will learn through lessons and activities how money works and how they can make the most of it, thus ensuring they have better control of their money in the long run.

In this section, ‘Money Talks – what does it say about you?’, students will imagine a world without money, and will show why the concept of money evolved. They will complete barter activities and consider the fairness of the barter system.

In later lessons, they will look at how money influences many things they do. Students will then examine their own and other peoples’ attitude towards money.

This section is the first of four sections which all build on each other to help students gain/develop the skills and knowledge to make informed decisions about their personal finances for the stage when they begin earning and managing their own money.

Learning Outcomes

Students should be able to:

1. Perform a barter task to demonstrate what it would be like to live in a world without money

2. Debate the relative merits of using both barter and money as ways of trading goods and services

3. Explain why the three features of money are important when buying and selling goods

4. Design a bank note to symbolise what money means to young people

5. Explain their role and responsibilities in relation to household spending

6. Graphically represent the range of influences on attitudes to money

7. Demonstrate ways to be smarter with money

8. Present survey results using a range of methodologies, including reports, graphs, story-boards and posters

9. Evaluate the techniques and methods used in advertising that influence consumers

10. Reflect on learning in this section