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Subject Matter:
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Mathematics, Social Studies
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Grade Levels:
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6-8
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Time Allotment:
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3-4 hours
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Overview
Students learn to convert U.S. dollars into the currency of a country
they are studying by applying an Internet currency conversion site
to exports of that country.
Learning Objectives
Students will be able to:
- Research facts about a specified country, finding economic and
population data on the Internet.
- Identify exports and currency of a specified country.
- Find the price in U.S. dollars of an exported item.
- Use an Internet currency conversion program to convert the price
in U.S. dollars to the price in the currency of their country.
Oregon Standards Available at:
http://www.ode.state.or.us/cifs
Social Sciences - Economics
- Identify and give examples of how the United States economy
affects citizens of both the United States and other countries.
- Understand the function of money.
Mathematics - Calculations and Estimations
- Perform calculations on whole numbers, fractions, decimals and
integers using paper and pencil, calculators and/or computers.
Social Studies Standards From the National Council for the Social
Studies
(http://www.ncss.org/standards/toc.html)
- Social studies programs should include experiences that provide
for the study of how people organize for the production, distribution
and consumption of goods and services.
- Social studies programs should include experiences that provide
for the study of global connections and interdependence.
Mathematics Standards From the National Council of Teachers of
Mathematics
(http://standards.nctm.org/)
The assessment of students' ability to use mathematics in solving
problems should provide evidence that they can:
- Formulate problems.
- Apply a variety of strategies to solve problems.
- Solve problems.
- Verify and interpret results.
- Generalize solutions.
In grades 5-8, the mathematics curriculum should include the continued
development of number and number relationships so that students
can:
- Understand, represent and use numbers in a variety of equivalent
forms (integer, fraction, decimal, percent, exponential and scientific
notation) in real-world and mathematical problem situations.
- Develop number sense for whole numbers, fractions, decimals,
integers and rational numbers.
- Understand and apply ratios, proportions and percents in a wide
variety of situations.
- Investigate relationships among fractions, decimals and percents.
In grades 5-8, the mathematics curriculum should include exploration
of statistics in real-world situations so that students can:
- Systematically collect, organize and describe data.
- Construct, read and interpret tables, charts and graphs.
- Make inferences and convincing arguments that are based on data
analysis.
- Evaluate arguments that are based on data analysis.
- Develop an appreciation for statistical methods as powerful
means for decision-making.
Media Components
Video
Check the link at http://www.opb.org/edmedia/trs/
to find access to the video(s) from unitedstreaming™ referenced
in this lesson plan.
- "South America Today: Brazil" (20:21)
Web
As part of the lesson, you will want to have students do research
on Web sites such as those listed below:
Materials
- Access to computers with Internet capability
- A copy of the South American Money Exchange Worksheet (at end
of lesson plan)
- A projector or television that is hooked up to a computer to
play the video clip
- A map of the part of the area your class will be studying
- A map that includes Brazil
Prep for Teachers
Familiarize yourself with the video clip and cue it to start
at 00:17.
Photocopy South American Money Exchange Worksheet.
Bookmark Web sites you will be using during the Introductory Activity.
Set up Web sites students will be using in Portaportal on the school
server or in a desktop folder so they will not need to type in Web
addresses.
Introductory Activity
South America will be used in this lesson as a part of the world
for student focus. This focus can be adapted as needed to integrate
with your social studies or language arts curriculum.
Step 1: Explain to students that, as part of their study
of South America, they are going to be learning a little about the
exports of one South American country, Brazil. Locate Brazil on
a map. Lead a discussion of what an export is and how it benefits
the country that is exporting it.
Step 2: Make sure the video clip, "Economy" (02:30),
from the video, "South America Today: Brazil" (20:21),
is cued to 00:17 after the narrator says, "… except
oil and coal."
Before playing the first segment of the video clip, provide students
with a Focus for Media Interaction by telling them they need
to write down at least three of the gems that Brazil is famous for
exporting.
Play the video through the gem discussion and pause
at 00:45 after the narrator says, "… testifies better
than words as to the mineral wealth found in Brazil." Ask students
to share answers.
Step 3: The next segment of the video clip will address
the manufactured exports. Provide students with a Focus for Media
Interaction by telling them they need to write down the four
main manufactured exports of Brazil.
Play the video and pause at 00:59. Allow students
time to complete their lists of manufactured exports (custom machinery,
airplanes, autos and military equipment). Ask students to discuss
whether they are surprised by this list and if so, why. This could
lead into a discussion of the broad generalizations we often have
about other cultures.
Step 4: The next segment of the video will address the agricultural
exports of Brazil. Provide students with a Focus for Media Interaction
by asking them to write down three agricultural items that they
think Brazil might export. Ask them to check their guesses as they
watch the next section of the video clip and to write down the six
agricultural items that Brazil does export.
Play the video until 01:19 and pause. Allow students
to complete their lists (coffee, sugar, orange juice, cocoa, soybeans
and tobacco). Discuss how the lists of predicted exports matches
the actual exports. Are there any surprises on the list?
Step 5: Choose one of the exports from Brazil and tell students
you are going to show them how the price that we pay in U.S. dollars
would look in Brazilian Reals.
Using a computer hooked up to a projector, go to a search engine
like Google. Provide students with a Focus for Media Interaction
by asking them to help you find the price of a metric ton (MT) of
soybeans. Search for "soy beans" + price and you'll find
the Web site, http://www.importers-exporters.com/corn.htm.
It is important to model searching for the site for students since
that is what you will be asking them to do. On this site, about
a quarter of the way down, you will find a "Soy Beans"
heading.
Ask students what price they found. Recently the price of soybeans
was $185 per MT (metric ton - a metric ton is 1,000 kilograms).
Tell students that you will now show them how to convert that price
into the Brazilian currency of Reals.
Step 6: Provide students with a Focus for Media Interaction
by asking them to mentally estimate how many Reals a metric ton
of soybeans would cost after you show them how many Reals are in
one dollar.
Go to the currency conversion site you have bookmarked at http://www.oanda.com/convert/classic.
The amount of 1 U.S. dollar is already listed in the "from
box." Scroll down to the Brazilian Real in the "To list"
and click the "Convert Now" button. Recently, the exchange
rate converted 1 U.S. dollar into 3.377 Reals. Students can estimate
that to be a 1 to 3 ratio, giving them about 555 Reals. Under the
dollars-to-Reals amount is the conversion done the other direction,
Reals-to-dollars.
Step 7: To let students check their work, click the "New
Conversion" button and put 185 (no dollar sign) into the "Convert
Amount" box. Brazilian Reals should already be on the "To"
menu. Click the "Convert Now" button and, using the numbers
above, the program comes up with 185 U.S. Dollar = 624.745 Brazilian
Real. Discuss the differences likely to occur between estimations
and actual amounts.
Learning Activities
Step 1: Setting Up the Activity
Divide students into groups. The size of the group depends on the
area of the world you are studying, the number of computers to which
you have access and the capability of your students. You might choose
to have some students work alone, even though they may be working
on the same country as other students in the class. Less capable
students can also be teamed with more capable students.
Assign each group or student a country. If you are studying South
America, you might want to consider assigning Brazil to less capable
students, since they will already have a sense of what they need
to know.
When assigning countries, eliminate the countries that have currencies
with a one-on-one exchange rate for the dollar. You can find this
information by checking each of the countries on the currency converter.
For instance, in Central America, one Panamanian Balboa is equal
to one U.S. dollar, which doesn't make the math very interesting.
Give each student/group a copy of the South American Money Exchange
Worksheet. Show students the sites you have set up for their research,
either on http://www.portaportal.com/
or as a folder on the desktop or server of each computer. Limiting
sites to ones that contain useful information will allow students
both to learn searching techniques and be successful in a minimum
amount of time.
Sites that are useful for the country research are:
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/
http://www.atlapedia.com/
http://www.worldbank.org/data/countrydata/countrydata.html
http://157.150.195.28/cyberschoolbus/infonation/index.asp
Step 2: Research
Students will research information about their country and its
economy, making comparisons to the U.S.
Let students work on filling in the questions on the South American
Money Exchange Worksheet. Allow approximately one hour for this
part of the lesson.
As described on the Exchanging Money Worksheet, have students go
to an Internet store to find the prices of five different items.
You can use Yahoo's site (http://shopping.yahoo.com/)
or list just a few stores on Portaportal to restrict student choices
a bit more. Students then use the currency converter to find the
prices in the currency of their country.
Culminating Activity
Students will take the information from their two worksheets to
create a poster about their country. They can include other information
about the country, as well as any pictures that seem appropriate.
There should be cutout pictures or drawings of the five products
and an explanation of how much those products would cost in the
currency of their country. If possible, students should include
a picture of the currency. Some pictures can be found at http://www.x-rates.com/photo_list.html.
The poster can be designed from the point of view of a child in
that country describing the country and his/her life to others,
or it can be informational only. Posters can be presented to the
class and/or posted in the classroom.
Cross-Curricular Extensions
Language Arts
- Write a story from the point of view of a student from the country.
- Read a book from a writer from the country.
- Read a book about people in the country.
Art
- Draw the flag of the country.
- Make a collage about the country.
Science
- Research scientific discoveries made by people in the country.
- Learn about the natural resources of the country.
- Learn about the environmental issues facing the country.
Community Connections
- Invite an importer who imports products from your area of the
world to come and talk to the class.
- Invite a banker to come and talk to the class, bringing examples
of currencies from the countries you are studying.
- Put on a cultural fair for your school or an elementary school,
and have your students explain what they have learned and share
their posters. For more information about this idea, go to http://teachers.net/lessons/posts/195.html
(this lesson by Jennifer Jones at Lafayette Elementary School,
Oklahoma City, OK, describes a multicultural fair with a money
exchange included).
- Have parents, friends or neighbors who have traveled to your
part of the world visit the class and talk about their experiences.
Name: ____________________
South American Money Exchange
The country you have been assigned to is ____________________.
Use the Internet to answer the following questions:
1) What is the population of your country?
2) What are five exports of your country?
3) What is the name of the currency in your country?
4) What language(s) are spoken in your country?
5) What is the average (per capita) income of your country in U.S.
dollars? What is the average income of the United States? What is
the difference between the two (subtract)?
6) What is the life expectancy of your country? What is the life
expectancy in the United States? Why do you think they are different?
Exchanging Money
What is 1 U.S. dollar worth in the currency of your country?
Fill in the table below by finding the prices (in U.S. dollars)
of 5 different products at an Internet store. Use the currency converter
to change those U.S. dollar prices into the currency of your country.
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Product Name
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Price in U.S. Dollars
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Price in Your Country
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