Why people specialize and trade, and how coins replaced barter
Grade 6 Social Studies Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.
Milo reads surplus in the first box. What is a surplus?
- Exactly what people need
- Less than people need
- A tax paid on goods
- More than people need
Noah reads specialize in the third box. What does specialize mean?
Use the picture in question 1.
- Focus on one kind of job
- Trade with relatives alone
- Do each job alone
- Stop working for a while
Pia reads divide the tasks in the pin chain. What does dividing the tasks mean?
Cause and effect chain "Making pins, as Adam Smith saw it": [1] making one pin takes about 18 separate tasks; [2] working alone, an untrained worker could not make even 20 pins a day; [3] 10 workers who split the tasks make 48,000 pins in a day; [4] dividing the tasks lets workers make far more. Arrows: 1 → 2, 1 → 3, 3 → 4. Cause and effect chain "Making pins, as Adam Smith saw it": [1] making one pin takes about 18 separate tasks; [2] working alone, an untrained worker could not make even 20 pins a day; [3] 10 workers who split the tasks make 48,000 pins in a day; [4] dividing the tasks lets workers make far more. Arrows: 1 → 2, 1 → 3, 3 → 4. Making pins, as Adam Smith saw it [1] making one pin takes about 18 separate tasks [2] working alone, an untrained worker could not make even 20 pins a day [3] 10 workers who split the tasks make 48,000 pins in a day [4] dividing the tasks lets workers make far more - Each worker does a small part
- Workers swap jobs each hour
- One worker does the whole job
- Workers share one tool
Cause and effect chain "Grain Hill (an example)": [1] Grain Hill's farmers grow more grain than they eat: a surplus; [2] the extra grain feeds a few people who do not farm; [3] those people specialize: some make baskets, some make tools; [4] they trade their baskets and tools for grain. Arrows: 1 → 2, 2 → 3, 3 → 4. Example, made up for practice: Grain Hill is an imaginary village. Cause and effect chain "Grain Hill (an example)": [1] Grain Hill's farmers grow more grain than they eat: a surplus; [2] the extra grain feeds a few people who do not farm; [3] those people specialize: some make baskets, some make tools; [4] they trade their baskets and tools for grain. Arrows: 1 → 2, 2 → 3, 3 → 4. Example, made up for practice: Grain Hill is an imaginary village. Grain Hill (an example) [1] Grain Hill's farmers grow more grain than they eat: a surplus [2] the extra grain feeds a few people who do not farm [3] those people specialize: some make baskets, some make tools [4] they trade their baskets and tools for grain Example, made up for practice: Grain Hill is an imaginary village. Is Grain Hill a real village, by Ren's first chain?
- No, it is imaginary
- The chain does not say
- Yes, it was the first village to farm
- Yes, it is a farming village from the sources
What do the specialists trade for grain, by Tala's first chain?
Use the picture in question 4.
- Grain and salt
- Baskets and tools
- Baskets and salt
- Tools and boats
About how many separate tasks does making one pin take, by Zee's pin chain?
Cause and effect chain "Making pins, as Adam Smith saw it": [1] making one pin takes about 18 separate tasks; [2] working alone, an untrained worker could not make even 20 pins a day; [3] 10 workers who split the tasks make 48,000 pins in a day; [4] dividing the tasks lets workers make far more. Arrows: 1 → 2, 1 → 3, 3 → 4. Cause and effect chain "Making pins, as Adam Smith saw it": [1] making one pin takes about 18 separate tasks; [2] working alone, an untrained worker could not make even 20 pins a day; [3] 10 workers who split the tasks make 48,000 pins in a day; [4] dividing the tasks lets workers make far more. Arrows: 1 → 2, 1 → 3, 3 → 4. Making pins, as Adam Smith saw it [1] making one pin takes about 18 separate tasks [2] working alone, an untrained worker could not make even 20 pins a day [3] 10 workers who split the tasks make 48,000 pins in a day [4] dividing the tasks lets workers make far more - About 18 tasks
- About 20 tasks
- About 48,000 tasks
- About 180 tasks
Bo's first chain has a blank: what do those people do?
Cause and effect chain "Grain Hill (an example)": [1] Grain Hill's farmers grow more grain than they eat: a surplus; [2] the extra grain feeds a few people who do not farm; [3] ?; [4] they trade their baskets and tools for grain. Arrows: 1 → 2, 2 → 3, 3 → 4. The box marked ? is blank. Example, made up for practice: Grain Hill is an imaginary village. Cause and effect chain "Grain Hill (an example)": [1] Grain Hill's farmers grow more grain than they eat: a surplus; [2] the extra grain feeds a few people who do not farm; [3] ?; [4] they trade their baskets and tools for grain. Arrows: 1 → 2, 2 → 3, 3 → 4. The box marked ? is blank. Example, made up for practice: Grain Hill is an imaginary village. Grain Hill (an example) [1] Grain Hill's farmers grow more grain than they eat: a surplus [2] the extra grain feeds a few people who do not farm [3] ? [4] they trade their baskets and tools for grain Example, made up for practice: Grain Hill is an imaginary village. - They specialize in baskets and tools
- They give their food away
- They wait for a new surplus
- They farm more grain
Esme's pin chain has a blank: what does dividing the tasks let workers do?
Cause and effect chain "Making pins, as Adam Smith saw it": [1] making one pin takes about 18 separate tasks; [2] working alone, an untrained worker could not make even 20 pins a day; [3] 10 workers who split the tasks make 48,000 pins in a day; [4] ?. Arrows: 1 → 2, 1 → 3, 3 → 4. The box marked ? is blank. Cause and effect chain "Making pins, as Adam Smith saw it": [1] making one pin takes about 18 separate tasks; [2] working alone, an untrained worker could not make even 20 pins a day; [3] 10 workers who split the tasks make 48,000 pins in a day; [4] ?. Arrows: 1 → 2, 1 → 3, 3 → 4. The box marked ? is blank. Making pins, as Adam Smith saw it [1] making one pin takes about 18 separate tasks [2] working alone, an untrained worker could not make even 20 pins a day [3] 10 workers who split the tasks make 48,000 pins in a day [4] ? - Make far fewer pins
- Make far more
- Make pins with no tools
- Make the same number
Cause and effect chain "Grain Hill (an example)": [1] Grain Hill's farmers grow more grain than they eat: a surplus; [2] the extra grain feeds a few people who do not farm; [3] those people specialize: some make baskets, some make tools; [4] they trade their baskets and tools for grain. Arrows: 1 → 2, 2 → 3, 3 → 4. Example, made up for practice: Grain Hill is an imaginary village. Cause and effect chain "Grain Hill (an example)": [1] Grain Hill's farmers grow more grain than they eat: a surplus; [2] the extra grain feeds a few people who do not farm; [3] those people specialize: some make baskets, some make tools; [4] they trade their baskets and tools for grain. Arrows: 1 → 2, 2 → 3, 3 → 4. Example, made up for practice: Grain Hill is an imaginary village. Grain Hill (an example) [1] Grain Hill's farmers grow more grain than they eat: a surplus [2] the extra grain feeds a few people who do not farm [3] those people specialize: some make baskets, some make tools [4] they trade their baskets and tools for grain Example, made up for practice: Grain Hill is an imaginary village. One Grain Hill neighbor now makes baskets every day and no longer farms. Which box of Jun's first chain does this match?
- They trade their baskets and tools for grain
- Those people specialize: some make baskets, some make tools
- Grain Hill's farmers grow more grain than they eat: a surplus
- The extra grain feeds a few people who do not farm
Grain Hill has a good year and ends up with grain left over. Which box of Luz's first chain does this match?
Use the picture in question 9.
- Grain Hill's farmers grow more grain than they eat: a surplus
- They trade their baskets and tools for grain
- Those people specialize: some make baskets, some make tools
- The extra grain feeds a few people who do not farm