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?
- A tax paid on goods
- Exactly what people need
- Less than people need
- More than people need
Noah reads specialize in the third box. What does specialize mean?
Use the picture in question 1.
- Trade with relatives alone
- Do each job alone
- Stop working for a while
- Focus on one kind of job
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 - Workers share one tool
- One worker does the whole job
- Each worker does a small part
- Workers swap jobs each hour
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?
- The chain does not say
- Yes, it is a farming village from the sources
- No, it is imaginary
- Yes, it was the first village to farm
What do the specialists trade for grain, by Tala's first chain?
Use the picture in question 4.
- Baskets and salt
- Tools and boats
- Grain and salt
- Baskets and tools
Ari's first chain has a blank: what does the extra grain do?
Cause and effect chain "Grain Hill (an example)": [1] Grain Hill's farmers grow more grain than they eat: a surplus; [2] ?; [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. 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] ?; [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. 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] ? [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. - Feeds people who do not farm
- Spoils in the fields
- Makes farmers stop growing grain
- Is traded away at once
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 the same number
- Make pins with no tools
- Make far more
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?
- Grain Hill's farmers grow more grain than they eat: a surplus
- Those people specialize: some make baskets, some make tools
- They trade their baskets and tools for grain
- The extra grain feeds a few people who do not farm
A Grain Hill basket maker hands over three baskets and gets a sack of grain. Which box of Kira's first chain does this match?
Use the picture in question 8.
- The extra grain feeds a few people who do not farm
- Those people specialize: some make baskets, some make tools
- Grain Hill's farmers grow more grain than they eat: a surplus
- They trade their baskets and tools for grain
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 8.
- Those people specialize: some make baskets, some make tools
- Grain Hill's farmers grow more grain than they eat: a surplus
- They trade their baskets and tools for grain
- The extra grain feeds a few people who do not farm