Module 9: Foreign money
Module objectives
• Provide an opportunity to look at the learner outcomes in
the ‘Manage money’ element of the numeracy component
of the National Literacy and Numeracy Framework (LNF)
in order to identify where teaching learners about
calculating with foreign currency exists in the curriculum in
Wales.
• Highlight resources and activities that can be used in Key
Stages 3 and 4 to develop learners’ numeracy skills in the
context of calculating with foreign currency.
Note: Differentiation, extension ideas and effective questioning will often be
suggested in the notes within the PowerPoint for teachers/trainers to use as
required.
Learner aims
The module introduces the process of calculating
using exchange rates and using foreign money.
Learners will be able to:
• appreciate the different places/ways to buy foreign
money
• carry out calculations using a given exchange rate
• understand and demonstrate the real-life process
of foreign exchange.
The National Literacy and
Numeracy Framework (LNF)
The National Literacy and Numeracy Framework
(LNF) focuses on four strands of numeracy:
•
•
•
•
Strand 1: Developing numerical reasoning
Strand 2: Using number skills
Strand 3: Using measuring skills
Strand 4: Using data skills.
Numeracy component
of the LNF
Strand: Using number skills
Elements:
• Use number facts and relationships
• Fractions, decimals, percentages and ratio
• Calculate using mental and written methods
• Estimate and check
• Manage money
LNF learner outcomes
The following table shows the learner outcomes as
specified in the numeracy component of the LNF.
The focus in this module is the topic of foreign
money and the specific learner outcomes are
highlighted in bold.
Manage money
Learners are able to:
Year 7
• use profit and loss in buying and selling calculations
• understand the advantages and disadvantages of using
bank accounts, including bank cards
• make informed decisions relating to discounts and special
offers.
Year 8
• carry out calculations relating to VAT, saving and
borrowing
• appreciate the basic principles of budgeting, saving
(including understanding compound interest) and
borrowing.
Year 9
• calculate using foreign money and exchange rates
• understand the risks involved in different ways of saving
and investing
• describe why insurance is important and understand the
impact of not being insured.
Extension
• use and understand efficient methods of calculating
compound interest
• understand and demonstrate the real-life process
of foreign exchange
• understand and calculate income tax.
Foreign money
Starter activity:
What is an exchange rate?
Why do exchange rates exist?
Foreign money and
exchange rates
Discussion activity:
Where can you
purchase
foreign
money?
Do they all offer
the same
exchange rate?
Adding up to a lifetime
This is a free online resource which follows four characters
and how they deal with financial situations. It is suitable for
Key Stage 3 to Key Stage 5. The package is approximately
25 hours of learning activities which learners can complete
online. It is presented as 5 modules:
• Life as a student (aged 14 upwards)
Each module has
an audio tutorial
• Working life
which can be
• Relationships
listened to in
English or Welsh.
• New life
• Active retirement.
The modules offer the whole range of manage money topics.
www.addinguptoalifetime.org.uk
Adding up to a lifetime
The module ‘Life as a student’ explores a variety of topics.
Visit www.addinguptoalifetime.org.uk, click ‘Menu’ and
choose the topic ‘Holidays’.
The resource covers budgeting for a holiday, destinations,
money (currency) and insurance. The work can support the
development of learners’ literacy and numeracy skills and
any project work on holidays.
Calculating with
exchange rates
Country
Currency
Rate (per £)
Euro zone
Euro
1.17
USA
US Dollar
1.54
Egypt
Egyptian Pound
10.82
Japan
Japanese Yen
151.15
Turkey
Turkish Lira
2.97
Country
Currency
Rate (per £)
Euro zone
Euro
1.17
USA
US Dollar
1.54
Egypt
Egyptian Pound
10.82
Japan
Japanese Yen
151.15
Turkey
Turkish Lira
2.97
For every pound
I get just under 3
Turkish lira.
For every
pound I get
1.17 euros.
For every
pound I get
just over one
and a half
times as many
US dollars.
Currency signs
A currency sign is a graphic symbol used as a shorthand for a currency’s
name, and used to represent an amount of money.
Where is the sign located – at the end or the front of the numbers?
When writing an amount of money the position of the symbol varies by
currency. Also some currencies use a decimal point and others use a
comma.
Country
Currency
symbol
Euro zone
Euro
€
USA
US Dollar
$
United
Kingdom
Pound Sterling
£
Banknotes and coins
Discussion idea: How
many pence in one
pound?
How many cents in one
US dollar?
How many cents in one
euro?
Discussion idea: Is
there a £3 note? Or
a 25¢ coin? What is
the highest coin
available in euros?
Currency
Symbol
We also use
Euro
€
c (for cents)
US Dollar
Pound Sterling
$
£
¢ (for cents)
p (for pence)
Country
Currency
Euro
zone
Euro
USA
US Dollar
Coins
Notes
€2, €1, 50c,
€500, €200,
20c, 10c, 5c, 2c €100, €50, €20,
and 1c
€10, €5
1$, 50¢, 25¢,
10¢ and 1¢
$100, $50,
$20, $10, $5,
$2, $1
Learners can investigate what coins and notes are in circulation in
a chosen currency. Two examples are given above. In a real-life
context, when simulating the purchase of foreign currency online,
learners may notice that the amount will possibly be rounded to the
nearest note or coin. This may or may not include commission.
Calculating with
exchange rates
Use the given exchange rates to calculate the amount of currency you would
have for £400.
Encourage learners to think also about the approximate values they could use
to carry out the calculation.
Country
Currency
Rate (per £)
Approximate
Euro zone
Euro
1.17
1 (or 1.2)
USA
US Dollar
1.54
1.5
Egypt
Egyptian Pound
10.82
10 (or 11)
Japan
Japanese Yen
151.15
150
Turkey
Turkish Lira
2.97
3
Calculating with
exchange rates
Use the given exchange rates to calculate the amount of currency you would
have for £400.
Encourage learners to think also about the approximate values they could use
to carry out the calculation.
Currency
Rate (per £)
Approximation
Amount for £400
Euro
1.17
1.2 x 400 = 480
1.17 x 400 = 468
US Dollar
1.54
1.5 x 400 = 600
1.54 x 400 = 616
Egyptian Pound
10.82
11 x 400 = 4400
10.82 x 400 = 4328
Japanese Yen
151.15
150 x 400 = 60000
151.15 x 400 = 60460
Turkish Lira
2.97
3 x 400 = 1200
2.97 x 400 = 1188
Calculating with
exchange rates
Finley went on a trip to New York.
(a) He changed £750 into dollars ($) when the exchange rate was £1 = $1.54.
How many dollars did he receive?
(b) In New York, Finley purchased a new camera for $199. Using the same
exchange rate, calculate the cost of this camera, giving your answer to the
nearest pound.
(c) When Finley returned home he changed $115 back into pounds (£), when
the exchange rate being offered was £1 = $1.64. How much did he receive?
Extension
Was it in Finley’s favour that the exchange rate being offered was $1.64 instead
of $1.54 when he changed his dollars back to pounds? Give an explanation to
support your answer.
Calculating with
exchange rates
Eurocamping prices
(charges per night)
Per person
5 euros
Tent plot (small) 4 euros
Tent plot (large) 6 euros
Electricity
10 euros
Pets
2 euros
Olivia and James share one tent and stay for two nights at the
Eurocamping campsite. They changed pounds into euros for an
exchange rate of 1.13 euros to the pound. Calculate the cost, in
pounds, of their two-night stay in a small tent with no electricity.
Foreign exchange and
modern foreign languages
Ideas for learners:
• Produce a restaurant/café menu with prices converted from
real-life prices.
• Cost a holiday from the website of a campsite or European
theme park in the chosen foreign language. Where prices
are given in euros, part of the task is to work out the price
in sterling.
• Convert the cost to purchase items from an online website
where prices and information are given in the foreign
language being taught.
• Compare pocket money and spending activities of learners
from a different country, or compare salaries in euros with
the equivalent occupations in sterling.
Websites and resources
The following can be used to support work on foreign currency.
• www.nationwideeducation.co.uk
Finance Skills: games, factsheets* and worksheets* for learners
aged 4 to 18+ (printable resources and online games).
* Welsh versions available.
• www.Addinguptoalifetime.org.uk
The modules offer the whole range of manage money topics
including budgeting.
• www.pfeg.org
pfeg (Personal Finance Education Group) is an independent
charity providing a wealth of resources to support financial
education in schools.
• www.xe.com/currencyconverter
Exchange rates and free currency converting apps available.