The "Pass the Buck" Internet project can be integrated into your classroom curriculum in many ways. The ideas below offer suggestions for using the project to teach geography, math, history, language arts, and more.
Track a Buck (Geography)
The most obvious way in which to integrate this activity is by using maps to track the locations of the "Pass the Buck" dollar bills as they circulate from person to person, community to community, and state to state. The "Pass the Buck" Track a Buck Page makes it easy for you and your students to do that.
MORE ACTIVITIES
Can You Make A Dollar? (Math)
Begin this activity by reviewing, if necessary, the value of pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, and a dollar bill. You might photocopy a bunch of coins onto an overhead transparency. Then cut them out and place them on the overhead projector. Use the transparent coins to illustrate how combinations of coins (such as 4 quarters; 2 quarters and 5 dimes; and 3 quarters, 2 dimes, and 1 nickel) can be used to add up to $1. Ask students to identify a few more ways in which they can use coins to add up to a value of $1. Invite them to use the transparency coins to present those combinations to the class. Then provide students with the Can You Make a Dollar? printable work sheet. Have them work on their own or in pairs to complete the work sheet. Then ask them to share some of the new combinations they came up with. Did you know that there are 243 different combinations of coins that can make a dollar? (If you include half dollars, there are 293 possible combinations.) You can see all of the combinations at Change for a Dollar. For additional fun activities that reinforce the value of coins, you might use the Money Combinations Math Games or the Counting Coins Game.
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Design a Dollar (Art)
Introduce students to the image of a dollar bill. (You might copy a dollar bill onto a transparency and use an overhead projector to share that image of the dollar with the class.) Share with students that all money has certain characteristics that make it unique, recognizable, and legal. Explain that the dollar bill is a pictorial representation, or symbol, of our country. Provide a rectangular template in the same dimensions as a dollar bill; since the dimensions of a dollar bill are approximately 2-1/2 inches by 6 inches, your template might measure (depending on the size paper used)
Design a Dollar (Technology)
Turn the "Design a Dollar" project above into a technology project. Instead of having students design a new U.S. currency, have them develop a dollar bill that can be used as a class or school currency. Students might use programs such as Paint Shop Pro or PhotoShop to create a new "class dollar bill." They might import from the school Web site a photograph of students or their school to use on their bills; or they might use a digital camera to take photos for the new bill. Students will present their designs to classmates. They should be prepared to explain why their bill should be accepted as the new class/school dollar bill. Students can vote to determine the bill(s) that will be used as their classroom or school currency. The currency can be used as "reward dollars," which can be traded for special privileges.
Money Facts (History)
Display U.S. $1, $5, $10, and $20 bill (or photocopies of them) for students. Talk about the president who appears on each bill and the symbols that are seen on the front and reverse sides of the bills. Make a chart. Record the value of each bill, the name of the president who appears on it, and the symbols that appear on it. Students will learn some more interesting facts about our paper currency as they answer the questions on the Money Facts work sheet. You might share additional facts about U.S. currency that are found on Fact Monster's Facts About U.S. Money or the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta's Dollar and Cents: Faces and Backs of Currency.
"Money Facts" Worksheet Answers
1. The eagle holds an olive branch, which symbolizes peace. The olive branch has 13 leaves and 13 berries on it. The 13 leaves represent the United States' 13 original colonies. In its left talon the eagle holds 13 arrows, which represent war. The eagle's head is turned toward the olive branch, which symbolizes a desire for peace. 2. a. $10 bill, b. $20 bill, c. $5 bill, d. $1 bill. 3. a. Great Seal of the United States, b. Lincoln Memorial, c. Treasury Building, d. White House.
A Magnetic Experience (Language Arts)
Share the poem "Smart" by Shel Silverstein (from his best-selling book Where the Sidewalk Ends). Attach magnets (the kind with adhesive on one side; you can get them at craft stores) to a $1 bill, 2 quarters, 3 dimes, 4 nickels, and five pennies. Attach your magnetic money to a cookie sheet or magnetic board. As you read the poem, illustrate the money exchanges made by the child in the poem. Then let students take turns playing the role of poem reader and "money illustrator."
MORE MATH ACTIVITIES
Can You Afford It?
For this activity you will need two copies of a store catalog or flyer. Choose an activity below that is appropriate for your grade level.
Making Change
Prepare in advance paper bags full of play money or photocopied money. You should prepare a bag for each student or team of students. Each bag must have the exact same amount of money in it. Present a picture with its price cut from the catalog. Have the student or student teams count out the correct amount of money from their bag. Then they should record how much money is left after their purchase. How many students or student teams have the correct response? After purchasing several items as a class, you might let each student/student team solve a handful of problems on their own. If this is a skill students should master at your grade level, you might record an assessment grade for this activity.
Lemonade Stand
If you have Internet access, play the Lemonade Stand Game. If you do not have Internet access, see detailed instructions.
MORE GEOGRAPHY ACTIVITIES
Longitude and Latitude Journal
As students track the travels of some of the Pass the Buck dollar bills, have them keep a record of the longitude and latitude of those places. First, they will need to locate those places a map of the state where they have been tracked. Then students can use Look-Up Latitude and Longitude -- USA to find the coordinates for that location. Choose the coordinates for the city closest to the dollar bill's actual location.
How Far Is It to...?
Have students use MapQuest's "Driving Directions" Tool to figure out how many miles the dollar bill has traveled in all. Or you might have students
MORE FUN!
Check out these sites...
In the Money: U.S. Currency Trivia
Do you know where the term greenback came from? Do you know who was the only woman to grace U.S. currency? You'll find those answers and more in this resource.
Collectors' Fact Sheets: Small Denominations
A very close-up look at our currency from the Bureau of Engraving. Click "Large Denominations" in the left nav bar to view large images of the bills.
Dollar Bill Origami
This page is dedicated to origami made from dollar bills.
Understanding the Design and Symbolism of the U.S. One Dollar Bill
Take out a dollar bill and study it...
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