Cultural Activity Highlight: Jamaican Currency and Math Standards

By Melissa Miller née Williams, 3rd year Elementary teacher from Jamaica

Laurel Elementary School (Polk County)

Jamaica introduced a new bank note which became available in Summer 2023. The new notes are made from polymer or plastic base material. The notes honor former Prime Minister, the Most Honorable Edward Seaga, and the Most Honorable Michael Manley who appear together on the 2000-dollar bill. The national heroes are also displayed on the different notes.

The new notes included $50, $100, $500, $1000, $2000, and $5000. The pictures of the notes were taken and enlarged, then displayed in the 5th Grade Hallway and cafeteria on a bulletin board entitled “Did You Know?”.

New Jamaican notes displayed in the 5th Grade Hallway and cafeteria on a bulletin board.

The purpose of this exercise was to inform the school community of the historical events in Jamaica and to compare the Jamaican currency's value to the US dollar. The following comparison was made after the question, “Did you know that since October 11, 2023, 1 US dollar is equivalent to 157.98 Jamaican Dollars?” The pictures of identical milk were shown with the price in US dollars and in Jamaican dollars.

This focused on the student’s current benchmark: MA.5.NSO.2.3: Add and subtract multi-digit numbers with decimals to the thousandths, including using a standard algorithm with procedural fluency. Teachers used the opportunity to have students find the sum and difference of $5.79 and $914.70.

For me, my school family better understood the difference between the value of the US dollar and the Jamaican dollar. They were also able to compare the value of a basic food that most persons use. They were also thrilled at the cool features and differences of the new notes, as they aremade of plastic and have raised dots that enable a blind person to identify the notes. I was surprised by the level of interest other persons showed in historical events my country.