Around the world, abacuses have been used in pre-schools and elementary schools as an aid in teaching the numeral system and arithmetic.
In Western countries, a bead frame similar to the Russian abacus but with straight wires and a vertical frame has been common. It is still often seen as a plastic or wooden toy.
The wire frame may be used either with positional notation like other abacuses (thus the 10-wire version may represent numbers up to 9,999,999,999), or each bead may represent one unit (so that e.g. 74 can be represented by shifting all beads on 7 wires and 4 beads on the 8th wire, so numbers up to 100 may be represented). In the bead frame shown, the gap between the 5th and 6th wire, corresponding to the color change between the 5th and the 6th bead on each wire, suggests the latter use.
The red-and-white abacus is used in contemporary primary schools for a wide range of number-related lessons. The twenty bead version, referred to by its Dutch name rekenrek (“calculating frame”), is often used, sometimes on a string of beads, sometimes on a rigid framework.
Look at the exchange rates (attached) and find the money that matches the foreign currency to the dollar. Why are rates different? How are rates decided?
International currency exchange rates display how much one unit of a currency can be exchanged for another currency. Currency exchange rates can be floating, in which case they change continually based on a multitude of factors, or they can be pegged (or fixed) to another currency, in which case they still float, but they move in tandem with the currency to which they are pegged.
Knowing the value of a home currency in relation to different foreign currencies helps investors to analyze assets priced in foreign dollars. For example, for a U.S. investor, knowing the dollar to euro exchange rate is valuable when selecting European investments. A declining U.S. dollar could increase the value of foreign investments just as an increasing U.S. dollar value could hurt the value of your foreign investments.
Factors That Influence Exchange Rates
Floating rates are determined by the market forces of supply and demand. How much demand there is in relation to supply of a currency will determine that currency’s value in relation to another currency. For example, if the demand for U.S. dollars by Europeans increases, the supply-demand relationship will cause an increase in price of the U.S. dollar in relation to the euro. There are countless geopolitical and economic announcements that affect the exchange rates between two countries, but a few of the most common include interest rate changes, unemployment rates, inflation reports, gross domestic product numbers, manufacturing data, and commodities.
https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/forex/how-forex-exchange-rates-set.asp
Making Currency
There is a list of objects used as currency at www.littlethings,com/old-currency/ that could serve as a prompt for students to design their own currency system and assign values for purchases (i.e. 3 small round stones for a loaf of bread), either by using objects as currency or designing their own artistically.
Not only is recycling a wonderful way to positively impact the environment, it also supports the local and national economy. Each year alone, recycling generates $200 billion in the United States’ economy. As the global population and international economies only continue to grow, the demand for finite natural resources will only intensify. With globalization and increased competition, the need for our local economies to become more productive and less reliant on finite resources becomes even more important. Fortunately, recycling efforts help support economic prosperity and provide one solution to a resource-confined future.
Job Creation
According to the EPA, recycling accounts for 757,000 jobs and $36.6 billion in wages across America. This makes green jobs essential to our economy and fundamental to supporting hundreds of thousands of families throughout the nation. The industry offers excellent opportunities for middle-income workers and individuals with limited education.
Supports Local Government to Fund the Most Important Needs within Your Community
The EPA’s 2016 Recycling Economic Information (REI) Report found that recycling generated $6.7 billion in local and state tax revenues in 2007 – with data suggesting these numbers will continue to climb in the future. $6.7 billion is a substantial amount of money for the government to reinvest in welfare programs, the educational system, infrastructure, and other important needs within the local community.
Reduces Energy Consumption
Recycling significantly reduces energy consumption. One ton of mixed paper recycled is the equivalent of saving 165 gallons of gasoline in terms of carbon dioxide reduction. After all, one aluminum can alone can produce enough energy to power a TV for 3 hours if reused and recycled.
Reduces the Costs Associated with Trash Disposal
The process of recycling is less expensive than disposing of trash in society and companies can save real money with recycling. The movement, organization, and combustion of trash adds up. Meanwhile, purchasing re-manufactured goods from recycled materials saves businesses and consumers money; many products made from recycled materials require less energy overall to produce.
Support the Community and a Better Tomorrow: Increase Your Recycling Efforts
The more you recycle locally, the more you are helping the local economy and a better future for all. Ethically, logically, financially, increasing recycling efforts within your organization and at home only makes sense. As a family-owned and operated organization committed to helping North and South Carolina businesses better their recycling efforts, Ever Green Environmental has been leading the way to a greener future for decades. If you would like to learn more about how Ever Green Environmental can innovate your company’s recycling processes, contact us today at 864.230.9800 or fill out our online contact form.
https://www.goevergreenllc.com/the-economic-benefits-of-recycling/
Recycle to sell and/or barter
- Look at the items that have been recycled. What can you use from your recycle bin that can be recycled to make something that you could sell? Could it be something you can use? Or is it an art piece?
- Make several usable items that you can share with the class and explain how you made them. Try and sell or barter the items. Look up the word barter.
Barter is an act of trading goods or services between two or more parties without the use of money (or a monetary medium such as a credit card). Bartering involves the provision of one good or service by one party in return for another good or service from another party.
Parent and student can look at the items in the house and ask the question:
- Where was this made?
- Make a list of items and the country they came from.
- Look up the definition of trade.
- From the items you have in your house, how many countries does America trade with.
Nonfiction (Most are available through the Poudre River Library)
- Eyewitness economy by Johnny Acton
- World money by Gerry Bailey
- Economic systems by Tamara Britton
- Show me the money: big questions about finance by Alvin Hall
- Do I need it? Or do I want it? by Jennifer Larson
- What can you do with money? by Jennifer Larson
- Pocket change by Michelle Mulder
Fiction
- Beatrice’s goat by Page McBrier
- Once upon a company by Wendy Halperin * How to start a small business
- One hen by Katie Smith Milway
Games that have economic issues to consider and several students can play at one time.
- Monopoly
- Life
Chart showing average income in countries around the world at www.worlddata.info/average-income
