Grade by Grade
F. Financial Literacy · Money and Finances: Ways to Pay, Financial Goals, Interest Rates and Sharing Resources

Sharing Resources: Trading, Lending, Borrowing and Donating

F1.5 A1About 45 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can describe trading, lending, borrowing and donating as different ways to share money and other resources.
  • I can give examples of each between individuals and organizations.
  • I can compare the costs and benefits of borrowing, renting and buying.
  • I can explain how sharing resources can help people and communities.

Words to know

resource
Something useful that people can share: money, goods (things), time, skills or space.
trade
To give something and get something else in return. Trading goods without money is called barter.
lend
To let someone use something of yours for a while, expecting it back.
borrow
To use something that belongs to someone else for a while, and then give it back.
donate
To give money, goods or time to help others, without expecting anything back.
volunteer
To donate your time and skills, like helping at a food bank.
charity
An organization that helps people, animals or the environment, often using donations.

One winter Saturday

Amira's Saturday is full of sharing:

  • She trades two of her finished chapter books for a friend's book she hasn't read.
  • She borrows snowshoes from a neighbour for a family hike.
  • She lends her sled to her cousin for the weekend.
  • She donates her outgrown winter boots to a winter clothing drive, and she and her dad volunteer for two hours at the food bank.

Amira barely spent any money, but resources moved between people all day. In this lesson you'll look at four ways money and other resources are shared: trading, lending, borrowing and donating.

A pair of wooden snowshoes, a red wooden sled and a pair of winter boots on a snowy porch.
Snowshoes, a sled and winter boots: in Amira's Saturday, each of these is a resource that gets borrowed, lent or donated instead of bought. AI-generated image
Tradegive one, get anotherLendgive for a whileBorrowuse, then give backDonategive, expect nothing
Four ways to share resources.

What can be shared?

A resource is anything useful. It isn't only money!

  • Money: a loan, a donation, a payment.
  • Goods: books, tools, sports equipment, clothing, food.
  • Time: volunteering, helping a neighbour.
  • Skills: fixing bikes, tutoring, baking.
  • Space: a community hall lent for a meeting.

Resources move between individuals (people) and organizations (schools, libraries, charities, businesses, banks, governments).

WayExamples between individualsExamples with organizationsThings to think about
TradingSwapping hockey cards. Trading a skill: "I'll help with your math if you help me with French."A community clothing swap. A store giving credit for a used game you bring in.Is the trade fair to both people? Do both people agree?
LendingLending a friend your skates. Lending a sibling $10.A library lends books. A bank lends money and charges interest.Will it come back? In what condition? When?
BorrowingBorrowing a tent from an aunt.Borrowing books from the library. Some communities have tool libraries. A loan from a bank.Take good care of it and return it on time. Money loans usually cost interest.
DonatingGiving outgrown clothes to a cousin. Giving time to help a neighbour shovel.Giving to a food bank, a toy drive or a charity run. Volunteering at an animal shelter.Is the charity trustworthy? What does it really need: money, food or time?
Trading, lending, borrowing and donating can happen between people and with organizations.

Sharing has a long history here

Long before Europeans arrived, First Nations traded goods over long distances along rivers and lakes. For example, by the time the French arrived in the early 1600s, Wendat farmers had long been trading the corn they grew with Anishinaabe neighbours to the north, such as the Nipissing, for things like furs and fish. Each group shared what it had plenty of.

Sharing is still important in many First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities today. For example, in many Inuit communities, hunters share country food, like caribou and Arctic char, with family, Elders and others in the community. Some communities also have community freezers where shared food is kept for people to use.

Communities everywhere share resources: food banks, libraries, community gardens and neighbours helping neighbours after a snowstorm.

Worked example

Example 1: Is the trade fair?

Jamal wants to trade 3 used books for Aisha's used board game. Each book would sell for about $4 used. The game would sell for about $15 used. Is the trade fair?

  1. Value of the books: 3 × $4 = $12.
  2. Value of the game: $15.
  3. Difference: $15 − $12 = $3. In dollars, Aisha gives a bit more.
  4. But value isn't only dollars. If Aisha has outgrown the game and really wants the books, she might happily agree. They could also make it even: Jamal could add a $3 item.

In dollars it's $3 uneven, but a trade can be fair if both people understand it and agree. Never pressure someone into a trade.

Worked example

Example 2: Borrow, rent or buy?

The Tremblays need a drill for one weekend project (about 2 days). Choices (example prices):

  • Buy a drill: $89 plus HST.
  • Rent one from a hardware store: $25 a day plus HST.
  • Join a tool library for $50 a year and borrow tools for free.
  • Borrow one from a neighbour for free.
  1. Buy: HST is 89 × 0.13 = $11.57. Total: $100.57. They'd own it for future projects.
  2. Rent: 2 × $25 = $50. HST: $6.50. Total: $56.50.
  3. Tool library: $50, and they could borrow other tools all year.
  4. Neighbour: $0, but they must return it on time and in good shape, and maybe offer a favour back.

For one project, borrowing from the neighbour costs the least. If they'll need tools often, the tool library or buying could make more sense. The best choice depends on how often they'll use it.

Worked example

Example 3: Lending money

Kai lends his friend $20 for a school trip. His friend will pay him back $5 a week. How long until Kai has his money back? What should Kai think about first?

  1. $20 ÷ $5 = 4 weeks.
  2. Before lending, Kai should ask himself: Can I manage without this $20 for 4 weeks? Will it hurt my own goal? What if it isn't paid back?
  3. A good rule: only lend what you could manage without, and agree on the plan clearly, maybe in writing.

4 weeks. Lending can help a friend, but money between friends works best with a clear plan.

Worked example

Example 4: Donations that grow

A class raises $380 for a local food bank. A neighbourhood business offers to match every dollar the class raises, up to $500. How much does the food bank get? What if the class had raised $620?

  1. $380 raised: the match is $380 (less than $500). Total: $380 + $380 = $760.
  2. $620 raised: the match stops at $500. Total: $620 + $500 = $1120.

$760 with $380 raised. $1120 with $620 raised. Matching is one way businesses (organizations) donate.

A business matches the class, up to $500$0$200$400$600$800$1000$1200class $380match $380total $760class raises $380class $620match $500total $1120class raises $620match stopsat $500
When the class raises $380, the match is also $380, so the food bank gets $760. When the class raises $620, the match stops at $500, for a total of $1120.

Donating more than money

Many people donate time by volunteering. If 12 students each help for 2 hours at a food drive, that is 12 × 2 = 24 hours of help! Many Canadian schools hold a Terry Fox Run each fall to raise money for cancer research, which combines donating money and giving time.

Respectful sharing

When trading, lending or borrowing: be honest about value and condition, keep your promises about when things come back, and say thank you. Being trustworthy makes people happy to share with you again. That's a healthy-relationships skill as well as a money skill!

Just for fun

What if libraries lent out snowmen? You'd have to return them before spring, and the late fee would be a puddle on the floor.

Hands-on activity

Family swap and share

You need: paper, a pencil and a few things you've outgrown or don't use (books, toys, games, sports gear), with a grown-up's OK.

  1. Swap: Set up a small swap with family members or a friend. Write down each trade and about how much each item is worth used. Was each trade fair? Did both people agree?
  2. Lend and borrow: Make a list of three things your family has borrowed or lent this year (library books count!). Estimate how much money borrowing saved compared with buying.
  3. Donate: Choose items in good condition to donate. With a grown-up, find a local organization that accepts them (a clothing drive, a library book sale, a shelter).
  4. Write two sentences: how did sharing help you, and how did it help someone else?

What to look for: trades with estimated values, at least three borrow/lend examples with a money estimate, and a donation plan checked by a grown-up.

Grown-up note: decide together what can be traded or donated; only donate items that the organization accepts and that are clean and safe.

Your turn

1

Is each one trading, lending, borrowing or donating? (a) Giving canned food to a food drive. (b) Taking out a library book. (c) Swapping a hockey card for a sticker book.

2

Name three kinds of resources, other than money, that people share.

3

Name one organization that lends things and one that receives donations.

4

Tia lends her brother $30. He pays back $6 a week. How many weeks until she's paid back?

5

Renting skis costs $40 a day plus HST. What does one day cost?

6

8 students each volunteer 3 hours at an animal shelter. How many hours do they donate in all?

7

Why might borrowing something be better than buying it?

More practice: warm-up

1

What does donate mean?

2

When you borrow something, what must you do?

3

Trading without using money is called...?

4

A library lends books. Is the library an individual or an organization?

5

5 used books at $3 each are worth...?

More practice: on your own

1

Ethan trades 4 hockey cards worth about $2.50 each for Noor's puzzle worth about $12. In dollars, who gives more, and by how much?

2

A family needs a tent for one camping trip. Buying costs $150 plus HST. Renting costs $30 plus HST for the trip. How much do they save by renting? Give one reason they might still buy.

3

A bank lends $1000 at 8% a year, and a saver's account at the same bank earns 2% a year. For each $1000, how much does the bank collect from the borrower, and how much does it pay the saver, in one year?

4

A school toy drive collects 84 toys. They're shared equally among 6 community groups. How many toys does each group get?

5

Describe one way First Nations traded long ago, and one way Inuit communities share resources today.

Challenge

1

A business matches donations 2 to 1: it gives $2 for every $1 raised, up to $600 in matching. A Terry Fox Run at school raises $270. How much goes to cancer research? What if the run raised $450?

2

Ski rental: $40 a day plus HST. Buying used skis: $180 plus HST. How many days of skiing make buying the cheaper choice?

3

Lucas lends his friend $25. His friend repays $5 a week, but misses 2 weeks in the middle. Lucas was going to use the money for a $25 gift needed in 6 weeks. Will he have it back in time? What advice would you give Lucas next time?

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

Giving your outgrown boots to a winter clothing drive is:

2.

Which is an example of trading?

3.

Which of these is a resource that is not money?

4.

You lend $24 and get back $4 a week. How many weeks until you're paid back?

5.

A business matches every dollar raised. A class raises $150. How much does the charity get in all?

6.

For a tool you'll use only once, which is usually the least expensive?

For parents and teachers

What your child is learning: Ontario's Grade 6 expectation F1.5 asks students to describe trading, lending, borrowing, and donating as different ways to distribute financial and other resources among individuals and organizations. Students learn that resources include goods, time, skills and space as well as money; they compare borrowing, renting and buying; judge fairness in trades; and see how banks, libraries, charities and businesses fit in. The lesson includes long-standing First Nations trade networks (already in place when Europeans arrived) and present-day Inuit food-sharing practices as examples of sharing systems. Considering fairness and others' needs links to the social-emotional skills in A1.

Common difficulties:

  • Thinking only money is a resource. Point out time, skills and things you share.
  • Mixing up lending and borrowing. The lender gives; the borrower receives and returns.
  • Thinking a trade is fair only if dollar values match. Agreement and honest information matter too.
  • Forgetting the cap on a matching donation.

How to help: Notice sharing in your community together: the library, a food drive, a neighbour lending a ladder. If your child lends money to a friend or sibling, help them agree on a clear plan. Choosing items to donate together is a great way to talk about needs, wants and helping others.