Inter-Group Relations · B3 History

Lesson notes

Learning Objectives

Indicator: B3.2.2.1.2 - Name some of the items exchanged among the various groups.

By the end of the lesson, learners can:

Name at least six items that were exchanged among ethnic groups in Ghana, including salt, fish, gold, kola, shea butter, pottery, cloth, and iron utensils.
Match at least four trade items with the areas or sources where they were obtained (for example, shea butter from the savannah belt).
Explain in simple terms how cowrie shells (called cedie) were used as a medium of exchange and why they became popular.
Trace the origin of the name “cedi” and connect it to the cowrie shell.
Describe the difference between the barter system and trading with cowrie shells.

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Curriculum details

Strand: My Country Ghana (Strand 2)
Sub-strand: Inter-Group Relations (2.2)
Content standard: B3.2.2.1 - Demonstrate knowledge of how intergroup alliances, conflicts and other exchanges
Indicator: B3.2.2.1.2 - Name some of the items exchanged among the various groups.
Suggested placement: Term 1, Week 7 (Week 7 of the year)
Our suggestion, laid out in curriculum order across three terms of twelve weeks. NaCCA does not fix the week, so follow your school's scheme of learning.
Source document note: The official curriculum document has a fault in this entry, so the curriculum text above is transcribed exactly as printed:

content standard text - p.16: The cell stops mid-sentence: it is printed 'B3 2.2.1. Demonstrate knowledge of how intergroup alliances, conflicts and other exchanges' with no verb to finish it. Transcribed exactly as printed.
Curriculum reference: History Curriculum (Basic 1-6), 2019, p. 16
Transcribed from the official NaCCA publication. Check this page against the source.

Exemplars (from the NaCCA curriculum)

Enquiry route: What items were exchanged among the various ethnic groups? Why were these items exchanged? How and why did cowrie shells (cedie) become the most common medium of exchange? Discuss the transformation from barter system to the use if cowry shells as a medium of exchange
1. Identify trade items that were exchanged among ethnic groups: salt. fish, gold, kola, Shea butter, pottery and cloth and iron utensils
2. Match items with the areas / sources where the items were obtained. e.g. Shea butter - savannah belt
3. Explain the medium of exchange
4. Trace the origin of the name 'cedi'