Week 1.1. Lesson Plan
Week 1.1. Lesson Plan
Week 1.1. Lesson Plan
TOPIC:
THE ECONOMY
HISTORY OF MONEY
LINKS WITH PREVIOUS LESSON: LINKS WITH NEXT LESSON(S):
None Coins and Paper money
CONTENT: KEY TERMS (VOCABULARY):
Traditional societies; Bartering; Promissory Notes Traditional societies, self-sufficient, trade, raw materials
TEACHER ACTIVITIES
Explain to the learners the following:
Traditional societies are societies who did not use money
In traditional societies people were largely self-sufficient – they provided for all their own needs such as food, shelter and clothing.
People lived much simpler lives then.
Usually men hunted and women collected wild fruits and nuts.
Shelters were built from mud, reeds or other natural materials from the area.
Clothes were made from animal skins or woven from local plant fibres.
There are still some small traditional societies in remote areas in the world today
For example, the San people of southern Africa, who are sometimes referred to as hunter-gatherers (because they hunted animals and
gathered plants), have lived in traditional societies without money for thousands of years.
Initially, they had no need for money, but gradually, like most other traditional societies, they began to trade.
At first they traded by exchanging things among themselves. This form of trading is called batering.
Later they traded with other societies who had raw materials and goods that they did not have, such as iron.
They needed iron to make knives and steel tips for their spears, which are called harpoons.
They traded seal skins for the iron that they needed.
Today there are very few Inuit who live traditionally and although they still hunt, they sell seal skins for money to buy things that they need.
Advantages of bartering
It is flexible as different goods and services can be exchanged, for example a person can pay for repairs to a vehicle with food.
Goods are only produced to meet the needs of people so there is not excess or waste.
The economic power is not in the hands of a few rich people as everyone has to exchange their goods and services to meet their needs.
Natural resources are only used to meet the needs of people, therefore there is less waste.
Disadvantages of bartering
It is difficult to value the various items that are being exchanged and some may be under or overpriced, resulting in someone losing out or
being exploited.
Everyone is not honest and the products will not have a warranty or guarantee.
It is difficult to find another person who has the product or service you need and wants the product or service you are offering.
The difference in the value of the product or service creates a problem, for example how many eggs for a pair of shoes?
Large items cannot be cut up to exchange for a smaller item of lower value, for example a lawnmower for a pair of shoes.
PROMISSORY NOTES
1. When Traditional people realised that they had some challenges with the system of bartering, they started using precious stones or metals
for trading.
2. The challenge with some precious stones like gold, silver and copper was that it was too heavy to carry around and so traders gave their
gold to people who were known as Goldsmiths for safekeeping.
3. The Goldsmith would give the person who deposited their gold with them for safekeeping a receipt promising to give back the gold to its
owner whenever the owner wanted it.
4. But the owners would often give his receipt from the goldsmith to someone else in exchange for the goods he needed from those people.
These receipts were later called Promissory notes.
5. A promissory note is a note in which the payer promises in writing to pay a sum of money to the payee. It can either be at a specified time
in the future or on demand of the payee.
6. Payer: The person who pays the money to someone else.
7. Payee: The person to whom the money is paid or due. This person will receive the money in the end.
8. Give an example of a means of payment used today which is similar to a promissory note. A cheque
9. Promissory notes were also known as IOUs (I owe you)
The specific details that must appear on a promissory note.
1.1. The words “Promissory note” must appear on the promissory note document
1.2. A promise to pay an agreed sum of money or the amount the note is worth
1.3. The name of the payer (the person who makes the promise to pay)
1.4. The name of the payee (the person to whom the money is to be paid)
1.5. The interest that will be added on the payment
1.6. The date of payment
1.7. The place where the payment is to be made.
1.8. The date and the place where the promissory note is issued
1.9. The signature of the person who issues the promissory note
PROMISSORY NOTE
I, Paul Simon Mofokeng (payer), promise to pay Monica Mollo (payee)
The amount to be paid is R15 000.
The date of payment is 30 June 2017
An interest of 5% will be paid on the total amount owed.
The place where the payment will be made is 61 Jacob Street in Bethlehem