What is money? – (level 4+)

A 24hr web search challenge

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Context for learning
Everyone knows money when they see it, but what IS money? This is a team challenge where students have 24 hours to investigate and present their findings.
The purpose is for students to highlight why we need and use ‘money’ and how it is connected to income, spending, savings and investment.
This investigation will help students understand the role and place of money in the key financial messages:
  • We can spend now, save and spend later, or invest our savings.
  • ‘We need to be financially responsible’.
NB: the students may wish to extend their presentation by inviting a Bank representative to critique their findings, and to add further information to support students’ learning.
Learning areas
English, Technology, Mathematics and statistics
Learning outcomes
Students will be able to:
1.apply a range of enterprising attributes as they work in teams to gather and share information
2.understand the role of money and the forms in which it is used to settle transactions
3.understand that money represents the value of a transaction - their spending, savings and investing transactions. / Financial Capability Progressions
Money
  • Understand how payments may be made from a distance - online, tele-banking, cheques.
  • Investigate different ways to get value for money when spending e.g. layby, rent to own etc.
Income and taxation
  • Discuss how income contributes to well-being of individuals/families e.g.
Spending
  • Compare spending choices and life-styles at different stages of life.

Key competencies
Thinking
  • Generating and using creative ideas and processes.
Participating and contributing
  • Working with others and in teams.
  • Identifying, recruiting and managing resources.
Relating to others
  • Communicating and receiving ideas and information.
Managing self
  • Planning and organising.
/ Values
Community
  • Considering personal contributions to community goals.
Excellence
  • Setting financial goals and achieving them.

Resource requirements
  • Access to internet
  • Homework time
  • Web search, including Reserve Bank of New Zealand.
  • Book: A New Coat for Anna
    Author: Harriet Ziefert, Anita Lobel (Illustrator)
    Publisher: Dragonfly Books, May 1988
    ISBN: 0394898613 EAN: 9780394898612

Teaching and learning sequence
  1. The teacher asks students the question, “What IS money?” Ideas are recorded.
  2. The teacher explains the team challenge, that students have 24 hours to find out ‘what IS money’, and they need to present their ideas to an audience, some of whom will know the answers.
  3. Students brainstorm key questions that they could ask during their research process – questions may include: When was money invented? How did people exchange goods before they had money? What would we do without money? Where does New Zealand currency come from? What does it look like? Who says it IS money? etc.
  4. Students brainstorm where this information might be found at such short notice. The teacher gives students useful website addresses as a starting point.
  5. Students are given the vocabulary list and are told that some of these words might be useful in their investigation. However, they are likely to also introduce further words of financial interest.
  6. The teacher explains that each team has in 24hrs time, say, 6 minutes to present their findings. However they can choose their form of presentation, Powerpoint, Poster, Storybook, etc. Teams will be assessed on their team work – working to their strengths, working to a timeline, ability to inform others as to “What IS money?”
  7. The teacher and students discuss and establish success criteria for completing the challenge.
  8. Students work in their teams, deciding roles and making decisions as to who might do what to complete the challenge. They also create a timeline for the next 24 hours with steps and roles allocated to the line.
  9. Students complete the research and present their findings to a designated audience (class members, other students, a Bank spokesperson, parents, etc).
Reflective questions for discussion
1.If we did not use notes and coins or cheques to pay for something, how else could we pay for the transaction, now, or in the future? What does EFTPOS stand for? NB: EFTPOS is the acronym for Electronic Funds Transfer at Point of Sale.
2.What type of bank account/s do we have that let us use EFTPOS?
3.What type of ‘arrangement’ allows us to pay in the future? What is the cost of paying later rather than now?
4.Where does the ‘money’ go to after you have handed it over to the shop keeper? Can you draw a flow diagram of possible ‘journeys’ that this money may make?
5.What do you think would happen if the Governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand ordered that lots and lots of ‘money’ be printed and given out to the people in New Zealand? If you were given lots of this ‘money’ in this way, would it benefit you? Would it not benefit you? Would it be good for the business owners? Would it be good for New Zealand’s economy?
6.Some countries have experienced the scenario in No 5. Why do you think that people then begin to ‘barter’ for their goods and services? Read students the book, “A New Coat for Anna”.