The Bank of Canada introduced a new $100 bill recently – and it has a window in it.
It’s Canada’s first “polymer” (a type of flexible plastic) bill.
The new $100 bill features a picture of Sir Robert Borden, who was the Prime Minister from 1911 and 1920. The back of the bill celebrates innovation in medical research, including the Canadian discovery of insulin, which is used to treat diabetes.
The new “bank notes” (or bills) are better for the environment than paper bills because they will last more than twice as long. They are also more secure, meaning that they cannot be easily copied or “counterfeited” by criminals.
The $100 bill has a few interesting security features. For instance, there is a transparent window in the bill. The window has a holograph in it which can be seen from either side.
The new $100 bills are able to be recycled, after their lifespan as ended, into other products.
The Bank of Canada is also introducing a new $50 bill in March 2012. A new $20 bill will begin circulating in late 2012, followed by $10 and $5 notes in 2013.
CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS
By Kathleen Tilly
Writing/Discussion Prompt
On the front of a Canadian dollar bill, there is usually the face of a previous Prime Minister. On the back of a bill, there is often a symbol of Canada (such as the loon) or an image showing an important part of Canadian history (such as the invention of insulin).
In your opinion, what images should be on the back of the new $5, $10 and $20 bills?
Reading Prompt: Reading Unfamiliar Words
This article includes several challenging words that may be unfamiliar. Some of these words might be: polymer, notes, counterfeit, holograph, circulating, transparent, lifespan, insulin, diabetes, innovation.
When you read this article, what strategies did you use to read these unknown words? Discuss your strategies with a partner and explain how they helped you to decode the words and understand the article.
Primary, Junior and Intermediate
Predict the meaning of an quickly solve unfamiliar words using different types of cues, including: semantic, syntactic and graphophonic (OME, Reading: 3.2).
Grammar Feature: Synonym
A synonym is a word that sounds and looks different than another word, but it has the same meaning. For example, in the article, “money” is called “bill” and “bank note.” Another example of synonyms are the words, “copied” and “counterfeited.”
Find as many synonyms as possible for the following words:
1. fun
2. nice
3. interesting
4. shoes
5. home
