Both the euro and the metre can be the start point for geographical enquiry across the age range. Foreign currency is an interesting artefact to investigate with young children. Questions such as “where does it come from?”, “what does it look and feel like?” and “what could I buy with it?”
will help to answer the key question “What is this place like?” (KS1 amp; 2 PoS 3a).
Mapping the euro zone will help to meet the key stage 2 requirement to “use atlases and globes, and maps and plans at a range of scales” (2c), ‘places in the news” (3b) and the “European dimension” (7b).
The impact of the euro on trade would be a good case study at key stage 3 (3e, 6i), GCSE and A-level. The debate over whether to join the euro raises interesting issues about national identity and would provide good material for the KS3 units of study 5 (Exploring England), 8 (Images of a country) and 24 (Passport to the world).
The story of the metre links well with scale, latitude and longitude. Young children can use their own pace as a non-standard measure of scale for fieldwork and making maps and plans (key stage 1 PoS 2b, 2e), while older children can work out how many paces they take per metre to estimate a real scale (KS2 PoS 2b, 2e).
Lavoisier and Mechain’s mission could be the stimulus for personal investigation for KS3 pupils, supporting geographical enquiry and the use of atlases and globes (KS3 1a, 2c). For example, they could work out the length of the prime meridian with a piece of string and answer questions such as “how does this compare with the length of the equator?”, “what is the distance in metres from the equator to the poles?” and “what is the relationship between the distance from the equator to the poles and the metre”.
