Проектная работа "Новая банкнота Англии"

МУНИЦИПАЛЬНОЕ БЮДЖЕТНОЕ ОБЩЕОБРАЗОВАТЕЛЬНОЕ УЧРЕЖДЕНИЕ МБОУ «ГИМНАЗИЯ №44»

Actual English Symbols on a Contemporary English Currency.

Выполнила:

Рабочая группа учащихся 5 класса А в составе:

Акимовой Анны

Величко Дмитрия

Домырева Тимофея

Кочуры Екатерины

Сезоненко Кристины

Романчева Богдана

Научный руководитель:

Гусейнова Н.В., учитель английского языка

Курск 2019

CONTENTS

1. Introduction….…………….......................................................................3

The Main Part…..……………………………………...…....................................5

2.1 The History of the British Money…………...………………………………..5

2.2 Actual British Money………………...…………..……..…........................…7

3. Contemporary Symbols of England ………………………………….………..8

3.1The Queen of England…………………………….…………………………..8

3.2 The Flag……………………………………..................................................9

3.3 The Coat of Arms …………………………………………..….......................11

3.4 Harry Potter………………………………………………………………….12

4. The Practical part - The Survey………………………………………………..13

5. Сonclusion………………………………………………………………….....15

6. Sources…………………………………………………………………..........16

7. Applications…………………………………………………………………..17

THE BEGINNING

It is common knowledge that there is no country without its currency, notes or coins. The status of the country is represented by the country’s currency.

The use of money is as old as the human civilization. Money is basically a method of exchange, and coins and notes are just items of exchange. But money was not always the same form as the money today, and is still developing.

It is a well-known fact that each note or coin of the country has a lot of symbols drawn on it. Mainly, these symbols represent the country’s history, monarchs or presidents, sometimes contemporary symbols of the country.

        However, nowadays the currency of Great Britain should be changed because there appear a lot of new symbols, which can characterize the current situation in England. Moreover Great Britain has made the “Brexit” from the EU, thus a new currency is needed for the country.

From the abovementioned, we have realized that this project is actual, because with the changes in the country the currency should be changed.

            Thus the aim of the project is to find out the actual symbols of contemporary Britain today and to create a new banknote for the great country of the UK.

A lot of tasks were set in our research:

• To learn more information about the history of British money;
• to find the information about the contemporary English currency;
• to find out the most popular and interesting symbols of Great Britain;
• to make a research among classmates about the most popular symbols of Great Britain.
• to look for more facts about the traditional and actual symbols of England;
• to represent our own actual banknote with all contemporary symbols of England;

Furthermore, we intend to provide you with the methods of achieving the aim:

•    the Research;

•    the Survey among classmates;  

•    the Description.

          Moreover, as a subject of the project we have chosen The Money (the currency) of Great Britain, whereas the object of the project is the actual symbols on the British currency.

          Furthermore, the product of our project is a new banknote, which represents the contemporary Britain, it can be used in the lessons of both country studies and English, while speaking about the country, its culture and some bits of history. With the help of this product, we will try to tell the pupils the most interesting material and make them smarter and more mature.

         THE MAIN PART.

 2.1. THE HISTORY OF THE BRITISH MONEY.

Great Britain has always been proud of its currency and money. The British pound is the oldest currency in the world.

The first money appeared in England with the beginning of the so-called money changers. A similar pattern was observed in the history of the economies of other countries. Money changers are not ordinary bankers in today's sense of the word, but masters of jewelry. They kept some precious things (mostly gold) brought by other people. For this they gave the person a receipt, which was very convenient and useful for both sides. This was the first paper money.

The first King who is believed to create money was King Henry I. He created an amazing monetary system at about 1100 BC. The currency was considered as the wooden slats with notches. This system lasted until 1826.

In parallel with the system of dimensional slats, coins were minted and were in circulation in Britain.  Precious metals were widely used for their production. Since 1066 on the territory of Britain silver sterling began its “life”. In 1158, sterling was introduced by Henry II as the English currency.

The most well-known currency -Pound – began its “life” in the second half of the XII century. The first pounds included 12 shillings, each of which consisted of 20 pence. One penny was a 2-ft. In other words, one pound was equal to 240 pence, or 480 forints.

The coin of one pound sterling was introduced in 1489. Then the pounds also called Golden sovereigns - due to the image on the obverse the king that is sovereign of all subjects. The banknote depicted Henry VII, sitting on the throne, on the reverse – the coat of arms of England. Sovereigns weighed of 15.47 grams and made of gold 994 sample.

In 1560, Elizabeth I carried out a monetary reform and all old coins were replaced with new ones.

In 1603, England and Scotland were united, but each state had its own government and currency.

At the end of the seventeenth century the English Bank was established. At the same time, a Bank was established in Scotland. Having united, in 1694 they began to issue paper pounds sterling – in the form of banknotes. The current money of England, originated in this period. In 1707, after the unification of the two kingdoms and the formation of Great Britain, the Scottish pound was replaced by sterling of the same value.

In 1816, the gold standard was established in the UK, the sovereign became the main monetary unit, which had 7.32 grams of pure gold. In 1825, the Irish pound, which since 1701 was sterling at the rate of 13 Irish pounds = 12 pounds, was replaced by sterling at the same rate.

The pound held a leading position in the world economy as a reserve currency in the XVIII, XIX, XX centuries.

Now in the UK, the national currency is the pound sterling, which is equal to 100 pence. Coins are issued in face value 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 25, 50 pence, as well as larger-1, 2 and 5 pounds. Banknotes are presented in denominations of 5, 10, 20 and 50 pounds. One side of the note is occupied by the image of Elizabeth II, and the other-the image of another outstanding personality of England (including Charles Darwin, James Watt, Matthew Bolton, Adam Smith and others).            

2.2. ACTUAL ENGLISH MONEY.

The official currency of the United Kingdom is the pound sterling, known as the pound (£, GBP). GBP is an abbreviation of Great British Pound. Each pound is divided into 100 pence (100p = £1). 1 pound is equal about 80 rubles.

The British do not use the Euro. Although a few of the big shops will accept Euro, it is rarely used across Britain.

The singular of pence is "penny". The symbol for the penny is "p". So an amount such as 50p is often pronounced "fifty pee" rather than "fifty pence". The British have both coins and banknotes. Current coins are: 1 penny, 2 pence, 5 pence, 10 pence, 20 pence, 50 pence, 1 pound, and 2 pounds.

The 25 pence and the 5 pound coins are rarely used in Britain. They are legal means of payment, but are mainly used as a collection souvenir.

Current bank notes are: the 5 pound note, the 10 pound note, the 20 pound note and the 50 pound note. All British bank notes bear HM The Queen’s head on one side and a famous historical person on the other side.

You will usually hear British people say "pee" rather than pence, as in 50p (50 pee). The slang term for a pound is a "quid". A five pound note is known as a "fiver" and a ten pound note as a "tenner".

In the modern world, non-cash payment system is widely used. Credit cards are widely accepted in London's restaurants, bars, cafes and shops. However, “big” are very popular with people. People do like 100 banknote most of all.

3. CONTEMPORARY SYMBOLS OF ENGLAND

3.1 THE QUEEN OF ENGLAND.

For several centuries the Form of government in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a parliamentary monarchy. As head of the state queen Elizabeth II has been on the throne since February 6, 1952. This name is a symbol of greatness and power of the country. The British are very proud of their permanent ruler.

Today Queen Elizabeth rules the state and the nation. As head of state, she participates in the annual opening ceremony of the Parliament, weekly meetings with Prime Ministers, receives foreign ambassadors and delegations, visits foreign countries with official visits.

The Queen take an oath of allegiance, on her behalf the British issue a passport, the name of the national anthem "God save the Queen." The Queen is depicted on banknotes, coins and postage stamps. She's the head of the Royal armed forces. Despite their venerable age, the Royal family continues to perform their official duties.

Nowadays, Queen Elizabeth II is one of the main symbols of England and the UK. She has been a power for over 65 years and is a real role model and pride for millions of Britains.

        She is the symbol of the country, as once it has been said: “So long the Queen rules the country, so long the country stands!”

3.2 THE FLAG

           It is a well-known fact that British flag is often called the Union Jack. Its name derives from the use of the Union Flag on the jack-staff of naval vessels. It represents the emblems of three countries under one Sovereign. There are several emblems that appear on the Union Flag. They are of three crosses patron saints.

A red cross on a white background is a cross of St George, a patron saint of England. A white diagonal cross on a blue background is a cross of St Andrew, a patron saint of Scotland. A red diagonal cross on a white background is a cross of St Patrick, a patron saint of Ireland.

In 1801 appeared the final version of the Union Flag, it followed the Union of Great Britain with Ireland, and it included the cross of St Patrick. The cross still remains on the flag, though only Northern Ireland is now a part of the United Kingdom.

You won't find Wales on the Union Flag, because it is not represented there. When the first version of the flag appeared, Wales was already united with England. The national flag of Wales is a red dragon on a field of white and green. It dates from the 15th century.

The history of the Union Jack.

The Union Flag or Union Jack Flag is the official flag of the UK which includes Northern Ireland. It is also used extensively in Commonwealth countries.

The concept of a Union Flag matured in 1603 when James VI of Scotland inherited the throne of England as James I. In this way, the kingdoms of Scotland and England were united in the person of James (though they were officially united in 1707).

In 1606 the first Union Flag appeared. It was a combination of two flags. First, the red cross on a white background is known as the Cross of St. George and was the official flag of England. Second, the white X shaped cross (known in heraldry as a “saltire” on a blue background and known as the Cross or Saltire of St. Andrew, the official flag of Scotland.

The first Union Flag was the Cross of St. George superimposed on the Saltire of St. Andrew. You can see this in the diagram below where the two top flags created the first flag on the second row.

3.3 THE COAT OF ARMS.

The royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom, or the Royal Arms for short, is the official coat of arms of the British monarch, currently Queen Elizabeth II. In Scotland, there exists a separate version of the Royal Arms, a variant of which is used by the Scotland Office.

The Coat of Arms symbolizes the nation of England. There are three walking lions situated over each other on a red background on the English coat of arms. In heraldry these lions are called “walking lions, looking right.” The animals bear on three feet and the fourth is half-raised. The lions’ heads are turned to onlookers. Their claws are blue and blue tongues peer from the opened jaws.

The History of the English Coat of Arms.

The modern emblem of England appeared, when Richard the Lionheart ascended the throne. Since that time the emblem changed about 8 times and then it turned to the original form again.

At different times it was complemented by the emblems of France, Scotland and Ireland.

Three walking leopards were the symbols of the King. The image on his seal points to it.

3.4 HARRY POTTER

Harry James Potter is the main character in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter fantasy series. The books cover seven years in the life of the orphan who, on his 11th birthday, learns he is a wizard and the son of magical parents Lily and James Potter. He goes to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to learn magic. Harry soon learns that he is already famous in the world of wizards. He also learns that his fate is connected to Lord Voldemort. Voldemort was an evil wizard who killed Harry's parents, but was believed to have died when he tried to use the Killing Curse on the baby Harry. Rowling said that the idea for the Harry Potter character came to her while waiting for a train in 1990. She decided to make him an orphan following the death of her mother.

In the books, Harry's scar serves as an indicator of Voldemort's presence: it burns when the Dark Lord is near or feeling particularly murderous or exultant. According to Rowling, by attacking Harry when he was a baby, Voldemort gave him "tools (that) no other wizard possessed – the scar, and the ability it conferred, provided a magical window into Voldemort's mind." Asked why Harry's forehead scar is lightning bolt-shaped, Rowling said, "to be honest, because it’s a cool shape," and joked, "I couldn’t have my hero sport a doughnut-shaped scar."

In the novels, Harry is the only child of James and Lily Potter, but orphaned as an infant. Rowling made Harry an orphan from the early drafts of her first book. She felt an orphan would be the most interesting character to write about.

In 2002, Harry Potter was voted No. 85 among the "100 Best Fictional Characters" by Book magazine and also voted the 35th "Worst Briton" in Channel 4's "100 Worst Britons We Love to Hate" program.

In real life, Harry's iconoclastic appearance has become cult. According to halloweenonline.com, Harry Potter sets were the fifth-best selling Halloween costume of 2005. In addition, wizard rock bands like Harry and the Potters and others regularly dress up in the style of Harry Potter, sporting painted forehead scars, black wigs and round bottle top glasses.

PRACTICAL PART.

4. THE SURVEY AMONG THE PUPILS OF THE GYMNASIUM.

For us to understand the attitude of pupils towards British money and contemporary British symbols, we have decided to hold the survey among the pupils of our class. We asked 26 students to answer the following question “What symbols of Great Britain can you name?” :

1) Looking at the results of  the first question we may draw a conclusion, that our classmates know a lot of symbols of Great Britain: Big Ben, the Queen and the Flag are the most popular answers.

2) As for the second question we can say precisely, that Harry Potter, Sherlock Holmes and the Queen are the most popular people of the contemporary society from the opinion of our classmates. The Union Jack and the Coat of Arms come together as actual symbols for our banknote.

THE RESULTS OF THE SURVEY

After our analysis of the results of the research, we have understood, that for our new banknote we need to draw Harry Potter and Sherlock Holmes on the one side of the new currency, whereas mostly common symbols as the Queen, the Union Jack and the Coat of Arms should be put on another side of the banknote.

We are glad to realize, that all our classmates know a lot of symbols of Great Britain both actual and traditional together with the information about the symbols.

CONCLUSION

So coming up to the conclusion we have realized that there is no country without its currency, notes or coins. The use of money is as old as the human civilization.

Nowadays in the UK, the national currency is the pound sterling, which is equal to 100 pence. Coins are issued in face value 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 25, 50 pence, as well as larger-1, 2 and 5 pounds. Banknotes are presented in denominations of 5, 10, 20 and 50 pounds. One side of the note is occupied by the image of Elizabeth II, and the other-the image of another outstanding personality of England (including Charles Darwin, James Watt, Matthew Bolton, Adam Smith and others).

It is a well-known fact that each note or coin of the country has a lot of symbols drawn on it. Mainly, these symbols represent the country’s history, monarchs or presidents, sometimes contemporary symbols of the country.

However, nowadays the currency of Great Britain should be changed because there appear current situation in England has changed. We have investigated many actual symbols of Great Britain and thus draw a new 100 banknote, which people will use soon, after the Brexit.

SOURCES

1)

The Questionnaire for 5A

What symbols of Great Britain can you write?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Choose the CONTEMPORARY British symbols from the list:

• The Flag
• The Coat of Arms
• Sherlock Holmes
• Trafalgar Square
• Charlotte Bronte
• The Queen
• The Parliament
• Stonehenge
• Harry Potter
• YOUR variant_______________________