Stone Money and Paper Promises: teacher key

Money, grade 6 edition, written for 6th grade. People have paid with shells, stone discs and paper. Learn how money traveled, what stood behind it, and how people keep it safe from copycats.

Read the book. Print this page for the key.

Questions and answers

1. How did Yap stones reach the island of Yap?
   • They were printed at a mint
   • They were carried there on rafts from the island of Palau (answer)
   • They were traded for tobacco
2. What happened to a Yap stone when it was spent?
   • It was cut in half
   • It was sent to a bank
   • It did not move but changed owner (answer)
3. What is commodity money?
   • Money that gets its value from what it is made of (answer)
   • Money printed on cotton
   • Money a bank insures
4. What did flying money let merchants do?
   • Buy cowrie shells in Palau
   • Skip carrying heavy strings of coins (answer)
   • Print their own coins
5. Who prints U.S. paper money?
   • The Federal Reserve
   • The Secret Service
   • The Bureau of Engraving and Printing (answer)
6. Why is currency redesigned?
   • To stay ahead of counterfeiters (answer)
   • To make it lighter to carry
   • To honor Lydia

Words

• barter: trading things
• cowrie: small white shell
• electrum: gold-silver mix
• counterfeit: fake
• budget: money plan