Lesson Plan by Ellen Francois          1998
Grade level:  Sixth
Primary curricular area:  Math
Connected curricular areas:  Social Studies and Language Arts

Topic: Foreign Currency
Time Frame: 15 school days. Part of this activity should be completed by students outside of the class.

Curriculum objective: To research,  analyze, and make conversions within and between foreign currencies.

Resources:
   Internet
  Newspaper
  Encyclopedia on CD-ROM
  Books
  Human Resources
  Calculator
  Exploring Math Through Projects and Activities (Tables I & II) if available
  Foreign coins if possible
  ClarisWorks

Activity:
Students will research a selected countryís foreign currency and use the newspaper/Internet to follow the daily change in the value of various monetary units.  Conversions from one unit within a currency to  another will be made.

Students will conduct their own research within Grolier, Encarta, and Infopedia  electronic encyclopedias on CD-ROM.  They will access the Internet on a daily basis for ten days and record the foreign exchange rate for their chosen country. They will then complete  a table on their currency value.  In Table I, they will record the dollar value for one monetary unit each day.  In Table II, they will convert 100 US Dollars to their countryís monetary unit, for each of the ten days.  Then instructor will help students to set up the categories in Claris Works spreadsheet. Students will enter data from table, record it in ClarisWorks spreadsheet and create a line graph showing how the value of their basic monetary unit in US dollars has changed from day to day.  They will analyze the pattern and give a possible explanation(s)  for their results.This information will be presented as an exhibit during the schoolís Math Fair and, students will provide oral explanations of findings.

Assessment:
  Research report that will include the following:
    ïA cover page with studentís name, a title, date, name of country, and the name and symbol of its unit of currency; creativity is encouraged on this page,
    ïA report on monetary unit, spreadsheet and line graph, Table I & II,  and analysis of results.

Teacher Navigation Guide:
Teacher needs to locate site in advance by:
    ïaccessing Yahoo.com
    ïtyping keyword: Finance and Currency Exchange and,
    ïbookmark the URL for students.

Students' Navigation guide:
1.  Access the URL through the Bookmark Menu.
2.  Use conversion table to locate chosen country and record the exchange rate for that day.
 

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