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Money · Ages 7+ · Set A
Paper money begins in China
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Remember: Paper money is light to carry. People trust it because it can be swapped for coins.

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Mei and the paper noteMei lived in a big city in China, about a thousand years ago. Her father was a merchant who sold silk and tea. People paid with copper coins, each with a square hole, tied together in long strings. Mei's father hung strings of coins on a pole and carried it on his shoulders. Clink, clank! The coins were heavy, and his back ached. "There must be a lighter way to carry money!" said Mei. So merchants left their coins with a shop they trusted. The shop gave back a paper note that said how many coins were left. In the next city, a friend of the shop swapped the note for coins. Later the government printed notes with carved wooden blocks. Each note had a picture and a seal.
1
Why was Mei's father's back sore?
🪙Strings of coins are heavy🧵He carried too much silk🏃He walked too fast
2
Look at the scale. What does it show?
📄The note is heavier⚖️They weigh the same🪙The coins are heavier
3
People trusted a paper note because they could it for coins.
paintburyswap
4
A paper note weighs almost nothing.
TrueFalse
5
Join each one to what it does.
  1. 1A seal
  2. 2A wooden block
  3. 3A copper coin
  • Aprints the picture on a note
  • Bshows who made the note
  • Chas a square hole for a string

Order, fix and think

6
Number how paper money began.
  • Merchants leave coins with a trusted shop
  • The shop gives a paper note
  • A friend of the shop swaps the note for coins
  • Coins on strings are heavy
7
Circle every reason paper notes won over heavy coins.
📄A note is light🖋️A seal makes it hard to copy🔁It can be swapped for coins🥇It is made of gold
8
Mei says: people trusted notes because they were pretty. What is the mistake?
🔁Trust came from swapping notes for coins🎨Notes were not pretty🪙People trusted heavy coins only
9
China was one of the first places to use paper money.
TrueFalse
10
About how long ago did this story happen?
⏳About a thousand years ago📅Last year🔟About ten years ago
11
How do you think a grown-up carries money today? Is it heavy?
12
Draw a pole with strings of coins on one end and one paper note on the other.
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Answer key · Set A
Paper money begins in China
1Strings of coins are heavy He hung strings of coins on a pole and carried it on his shoulders. The coins were heavy.
2The coins are heavier A pile of coins is heavy. A paper note weighs almost nothing.
3swap A note could be swapped for coins, so people trusted it.
4True Paper is light, so a merchant could carry just a note and no heavy strings.
51-B, 2-A, 3-C The seal shows who made the note, the carved block prints it, and the coin has a square hole so it can go on a string.
62, 3, 4, 1 The heavy coins came first, then the trusted shop, then the note, and last the swap in the next city.
7A note is light, A seal makes it hard to copy, It can be swapped for coins Notes were light, the seal showed who made them, and they could be swapped for coins. They were paper, not gold.
8Trust came from swapping notes for coins Pretty was nice, but people trusted a note because they could swap it for coins.
9True Paper money began in China about a thousand years ago.
10About a thousand years ago Mei lived in a big city in China about a thousand years ago.
11Your own words: a grown-up reads it.
Mark each answer, count the right ones and write the score on the sheet.