THE EURO OR THE EUROPEAN MONETARY UNIT
Mary Ann Kurke
Illinois Geographic Alliance Summer Geography Institute, 1998
(Revised to bring up to date, 2009)
Preview of Main Ideas
This activity is designed to have students briefly learn about the European Union (EU), the countries involved, and some of the components of the EU agreement. The main focus of this lesson is to familiarize the student to the Euro, the new economic and monetary unit in the EU. The student will better understand the impact the euro will have on Western Europe.
Connection with the Curriculum
This lesson could be used in a geography, social studies, or math class.
Teaching Level
: Grades 5-8.Objectives Classification Outline
Objective #1: The student will analyze the benefits that one large European Union has over smaller individual countries.
Essential Element: Human Systems.
Standard #13: How the forces of cooperation and conflict among people influence the division and control of earths surface.
Knowledge Statement #2: How cooperation and conflict among people contribute to political divisions of Earths surface.
Skill Set #5: Answer geographic questions.
Skill #1: Develop and present combinations of geographic information to answer geographic questions.
Skill #2: Make generalizations and assess their validity.
Theme: Regions and Movement.
Objective #2: The student will be able to evaluate the importance of the Euro Monetary Unit and understand some of the benefits and drawbacks of the new currency.
Essential Element: Human Systems.
Standard #13: How the forces of cooperation and conflict among people influence the division and control of earths surface.
Knowledge Statement #3: How cooperation and conflict among people contribute to economic and social divisions of Earths surface.
Skill Set #5: Answer Geographic Questions.
Skill #1: Develop and present combinations of geographic information to answer geographic questions.
Skill #2: Make generalizations and assess their validity.
Theme: Regions and Movement.
Materials
Suggestions for Teaching the Lesson
Opening the Lesson
DAY 1:
1. Have the students look at a map of Western Europe and brain storm on the differences between counties. (ie. Languages, customs, religions, politics, currency, postage, national holidays, values, etc.)
1.54 * 100 = 154 4 = $150.
How much in U.S. dollars was the commission charge?
0.649 * 4 - $2.60 U.S.
Do other examples using different European countries. The Sunday travel section of a major newspaper carries the latest currency exchange rates.
Developing the Lesson:
DAY 2:
1. Tell students that after centuries of competition and frequent wars, the nations of Western Europe are now coming together in a spirit of unity and cooperation and have formed the European Union (EU). While students look at a map of Western Europe, identify the 15 European Union countries. EU = Germany, France, Italy, and the United Kingdom the 4 giants; Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Denmark, and Austria 5 neighbors of Germany; Ireland, Sweden, Finland, Greece, Spain, and Portugal the 6 outer countries.
Concluding the Lesson
DAY 3:
1. Pass out a copy of the EMU or Euro sheet and have students read and comment on any of the statements.
Extending the Lesson
Assessing Student Learning
Acknowledgments
Exploring Your World: The Adventure of Geography. Washington D.C.: National Geographic Society, 1993.
"The Euro Special Report." Business Week, April 27, 1998, Several articles.
"The European Community". Prentice Hall World Geography: A Global Perspective, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1995, p. 312-313.
"Getting Ready for Europes New Money". Macleans, May 11, 1998, p. 33.
"Kicking and Screaming into 1999". The Economist, June 7, 1997, pp. 19-22.
Peterson, Thane. "EMU: No More Ifs or Maybes". Business Week, October 27, 1997, p. 66.
EURO or ECONOMIC MONETARY UNION (EMU)
1. The European Union or Community was established to create a mutually beneficial union for its members. The uniting of several small counties have created a single powerful market able to compete economically with the United States, Japan and other counties. Three components of the European Community include; a) the removal of trade barriers to its members; b) the right to live anywhere in the community and vote in local and European elections; and c) the establishment of a single currency1.
2. The common currency (called the "EURO") was introduced during 1999. On May 2, 1998, 11 countries of the European Community Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Ireland, the Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, Finland, Portugal, and Luxembourg set the terms for trade in their national money for the euro.
3. The currency system officially started on January 1, 1999, when corporate books, bank transfers, credit card payments and even mortgages began to be figured in euros.
4. Euro coins and notes replaced national currencies on January 1, 2002.
5. National currencies of the "Euro Countries" ceased to exist on July 1, 2002. They were replaced by the newly designed euros. The design of the euros was created by school children, and does not show favoritism to any country by using only Latin and Greek words. See the enclosed euro example sheet.
6. A major benefit of using a common currency includes less confusion on the actual worth of money. The same currency highlighted pricing disparities. It is easier for Europeans from Lisbon to Copenhagen to compare prices on everything from pencils to automobiles, because they are quoted in the same money.
7. People and companies save on foreign currency exchange. The euro wiped out some $65 billion annually in currency exchange costs and cut the middleman out of trillions of dollars worth of transactions2. Western Europe is slightly less than two-thirds the size of the United States. No place in Europe is very far from anyplace else on the continent. Consider traveling from Lisbon, Portugal to Copenhagen, Denmark, a distance of about 1400 miles. Within that distance a person would have traversed over seven different countries with seven different currencies. The foreign currency exchange can get quite expensive. The euro has simplified this situation.
8. The euro was expected to give Europe a much stronger economy. More European companies are able to compete globally with high productivity, low inflation, and steady growth. The euro campaign initiated more growth than Europe had seen in nearly a decade3.
9. Not all Europeans were sold on the euro. In a recent German poll 32% of the people felt the monetary union should be postponed, and 33% believed the euros should not have been introduced4. So far, all they saw were layoffs and social-spending cuts. They didn’t buy the notion that EMU would boost growth and create jobs. Some Europeans were being dragged into monetary union against their will. They saw a single currency as an assault on values they held dear, the shared sense of community and centuries of tradition. For many, monetary union was an affront to their way of life. They thought the euro would increase political animosity and division. Creating a new currency would be a risk under any circumstance. It was an enormous risk when the new currency was introduced against the will of the people who were going to use it.
Footnotes
1"The European Community," Prentice Hall World Geography: A global Perspective (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1995) p. 313.
2"Finance," Business Week, April 27, 1998, p. 96.
3"The Euro Special Report," Business Week, April 27, 1998, p. 101.
4Joan Warner, "Mix us Culturally? Its Impossible," Business Week, April 27, 1998, p. 108.
Name ____________________________________________________________
Date _____________________________________________________________
Period ____________________________________________________________
EURO WORKSHEET
Match the European Union country with its main languages, largest city, and todays currency.
Country |
Main languages | Largest City | Currency | |
| 3. | Austria |
a) German | Vienna | Shilling |
| 4. | Belgium |
b) Dutch, French, German | Brussels | Franc |
| 5. | Finland |
c) Finnish, Swedish | Helsinki | Markka |
| 6. | France |
d) French | Paris | Franc |
| 7. | Germany |
e) German | Berlin | Mark |
| 8. | Ireland | f) English, Gaelic | Dublin | Pound |
| 9. | Italy | g) Italian | Rome | Lira |
| 10. | Luxembourgh | h) French, German, Luxembourgian | Luxembourg | Franc |
| 11. | Netherlands | i) Flemish, French | Amsterdam | Guilder |
| 12. | Portugal | j) Portuguese | Lisbon | Escudo |
| 13. | Spain | k) Spanish | Madrid | Peseta |
.
14. Which four European Union countries decided not to switch their currency system to the euro?
15. List five benefits European Union countries hoped the euro would bring.Did these occur?
16. Give three reasons why some Europeans were not happy with the switch to a common currency. Were these concerns valid?
17. When traveling from Lisbon to Copenhagen the currency changed seven times. List the seven countries traversed and their currencies. (Straight line from Lisbon to Copenhagen. The currency in Denmark was the Krone.)
18. Every time you exchanged foreign money there was an exchange charge. Consider the following countries, what a U.S. dollar is worth in that country, and what a currency exchange charges for converting the money. Determine the dollar cost charged for the exchange.
| Country | Value of the $ | Exchange Charge Rate | U.S. $ cost |
| United Kingdom | 1 pound = $1.65 | 2.5 pounds | |
| Belgium | 1 franc = $0.03 | 175 francs | |
| Germany | 1 mark = $0.56 | 5 marks | |
| Switzerland | 1 franc = $0.67 | 5 francs |
19. On the enclosed map of Western Europe, label the 15 countries of the European Union and their capital cities. Color the European Union countries in green.