Introduction

Pupils learn about the history of money and the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) and foster their European identity through cultural exchange. They come up with their own set of national symbols for each coin, design them and create them physically. In English, they make a presentation on them within the context of the EMU and exchange the coins with colleagues abroad.

Aims

Besides gaining knowledge about the Economic and Monetary Union of the EU, pupils will improve research skills by choosing their own national symbols of their country and gathering information about them. Making the coins will encourage them to be creative and improve their design skills, be it through ICT or by hand. Lastly, presenting the coins and their national symbols will enhance their communication competence, presentation skills and intercultural awareness. We believe it will also foster their European identity.

Key competences

citizenship, cultural awareness and expression, social and learning

Work process

First, pupils learn about the history of money and the history and purpose of the Economic and Monetary Union of the EU. Partners are free to choose in what way they carry this out, but we do encourage collaborative or interdisciplinary teaching, for example, by including a teacher of history.

Afterwards, pupils research the national symbols of their country and choose which ones they want to represent on their coins. They then design the coins using ICT or by hand, depending on their preference. Once the designs are complete, they can create the coins using materials such as clay or cardboard. After the coins are created, pupils make a presentation, which includes information about the national symbols on the coins, what they represent and how they are relevant for their country. Pupils also try to show whether the chosen symbol is relevant for the European Union and its cultural heritage in general. Finally, pupils present and exchange their coins with colleagues from partner schools.

The idea is for pupils to work in groups, with each group coming up with their own set of national symbols. However, the online presentation to the partner school will be delivered only by one group. During the project, we intend to communicate with our partners on a weekly basis.

Expected results

Besides gaining knowledge on the Economic and Monetary Union of the EU, raising intercultural awareness and making the coins, we plan to set up a webpage with the project's description, images and results. This way we will make it easily accessible to pupils' parents, friends and other teachers who may not be familiar with eTwinning. Besides, we believe the project will be a great way of implementing project-based learning.

School Partners

• IC Radice-Alighieri Catona, ITALY
• Osnovna škola "Lotrščak" CROATIA
• Osnovna škola Josipa Kozarca, Semeljci CROATIA
• Scoala Gimnaziala „Mihai Eminescu”, Dej. ROMANIA
• Özel ABC Okulları Göksu Kampüsü, TURKEY