Materials

• Current exchange rate between the euro and the dollar
• Imitation money representing the euro as well as the currencies of several European countries that do not use the euro. NOTE: See the Web site <http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/euro/our_currency_en.htm> for downloadable images of the euro.
• Chart showing current exchange rates between the currencies of various European countries. NOTE: See the Web site <http://www.xe.com/ucc/> for up-to-the-minute rates.

Instructional Activities

1. Review content from the previous session.
   
   
2. Discuss the economy of Europe. Include in the discussion the problems created by having so many countries that are located so close together using different currencies.
   
   
3. Divide the class into several different “countries,” one that uses the euro and others, such as Great Britain, Switzerland, Denmark, and Sweden, which do not. Distribute money in various denominations to each country (or have the students make it.)
   
   
4. Conduct a simulation in which students travel about the room visiting other countries. Prepare and display a large chart on the board or overhead showing the exchange rates between the selected countries’ currencies. As students travel from one country to another, have them exchange their money, using these rates, so that they can make purchases there. Every three or four minutes, update the rates slightly in one direction or another. Allow enough time for students to develop an understanding of how complicated it can be to move from one country to another with different currencies and with constantly changing exchange rates. At the end of the simulation, ask students if any of them felt they were losing money in the exchanges as the rates changed. Point out that in the real world, additional loss occurs because every time such an exchange is made by a bank or other financial entity, a small fee or commission, usually a percentage, must be paid to the entity making the exchange.
   
   
5. Discuss with students the reason why changing exchange rates may be a greater problem in a continent like Europe, which has so many small countries close together, in contrast to North America, which has only two large countries. Instruct students to examine a map of Europe and identify the countries in which exchanging money would be most frequent because they are located in such a small geographic area. For example, the Benelux countries (Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg) were the first to cooperate — a forerunner of the European Union.
   
   
6. Assign a teacher-selected reading, worksheet, or other reinforcement activity, using available teacher resources.