Contextualization

Throughout history, money has adopted several forms. From cocoa beans to shells to gold and silver coins, however, money is not just an object; rather, it is first an idea. An idea that revolutionized trading and made modern societies possible. Money is a tool that facilitates trades between goods and services.

Introduction to the topic

Currently, in our country, the Real (R$) is the most commonly employed currency, however, there are several currencies around the globe, each one with its own value and characteristics. For example, we have the US dollar (USD), Euro (EUR), Pound sterling (GBP), and many others. Each currency has its value, which is determined by several financial and political factors; nevertheless, this value is not fixed and may shift considerably from one day to the next.

Converting one monetary value to another is known as "exchange." This process is imperative in commercial activities involving multiple nations, international travels, and investments, which makes understanding how money, currencies, and the exchange market function crucial for an appropriate comprehension of the economy and personal finances.

Contextualization and importance of the topic

Money is ever-present in most activities in our lives, be it buying bread at a bakery or planning a vacation abroad. Understanding money is essential to making informed financial decisions.

Moreover, money is also an excellent topic to develop math abilities, such as problem-solving, working with numbers, and logical, structured thinking.

Practical Activity: Exchange Market in our Classroom

Project's Goal

The goal of this project is to simulate a currency exchange market scenario within the classroom with the purpose of teaching students about currency exchange operations and reinforcing mathematical concepts, like addition, subtraction, and proportion.

Detailed Description of the Project

The students will be divided in teams of three to five. Each group will represent a distinct country with its own negotiable currency. Each country will have a product or service to be traded with the other teams.

Teams will freely define which products or services are going to be offered. For example, a team representing Brazil could offer "coffee" whereas one representing the "United States" could trade in "Hollywood movies".

At each round, the groups can choose to acquire or sell products or services. To do this, they will need to exchange currencies and negotiate prices.

Required Materials

1. Paper and pen for every team.
2. Toy or paper "coins" with the name of each currency.
3. A currency exchange rate table, provided by the teacher.

Detailed step by step instructions to carry out the activity

1. Students will be divided into groups of three to five.
2. Each team represents a country and its currency.
3. The groups define the products or services they will sell.
4. The teacher shares a currency exchange rate table after the products or services are defined.
5. At each round, the teams negotiate among themselves, exchanging currency and purchasing or selling their products or services.
6. The game carries out over several rounds. In the end, the group with the most profit wins.

Deliverables and Report Writing

After concluding the project, each group must create a report explaining the following:

Introduction: Contextualization about how currency and exchange markets work, justifying the relevance of comprehending how monetary systems function.

Development: Explanation of the practical experience, describing the team's strategy (buying, selling, negotiating, risk management), faced difficulties, and how these were overcome. Furthermore, a step-by-step account of how the group conducted the activity, methodology, and results. At this point, it is crucial for the students to clarify any mathematical operations performed during the game.

Conclusion: Conclusions extracted from the obtained results. The report should present the acquired knowledge and how the activity contributed to understanding the functioning of currency and exchange markets.

References: Each team must list all research sources used in the project.