Topic: The National Bank of Poland

Author: Anna Rabiega

Addressee:

8th‑grade primary school student.

Core curriculum:

Expanded material for gifted students.

The general aim of education:

The student has some basic knowledge on the banking system.

Learning outcomes:

The student:

• presents and analyses the structure of the National Bank of Poland.

• presents the most important areas of activity of the National Bank of Poland.

• explains the operations of commercial banks.

Key competences:

• communicating in a foreign language,

• digital competence,

• learning to learn,

• social and civic competences,

• sense of initiative and entrepreneurship.

Teaching methods:

• discussion,

• mind map,

• WebQuest,

• teaching conversation using movie, interactive scheme, interactive exercises.

Forms of work:

• self‑learning,

• work in pairs,

• group work,

• whole‑class activity.

Material & equipment needed:

• computers with loudspeakers/headphones and internet access,

• multimedia resources from the e‑textbook,

• interactive whiteboard/blackboard, felt‑tip pen/a piece of chalk.

Lesson plan overview (Process):

Introduction:

1. The teacher presents the goal of the lesson: You will analyse the activities of the National Bank of Poland and those of commercial banks.

2. The teacher asks a willing/selected student to read the law regulations governing the functioning of the National Bank of Poland from the abstract. (The teacher can also play a relevant fragment of the abstract's recording.) Then the teacher asks willing/selected students the following questions:

• What are the consequences of such regulations for the functioning of the National Bank of Poland?

• Are such solutions necessary?

• Why are they regulated in the Constitution and an act, and not e.g. in a regulation?

Implementation:

1. The teacher asks the students to watch the film „Wprowadzenie do Narodowego Banku Polskiego” (available online). During the film, the students should write answers to the following questions:

• What is the National Bank of Poland? On the basis of which legal acts does it function?

• What are the three functions of the National Bank of Poland?

• What do they entail?

• What is the meaning of the National Bank of Poland in Poland and in the world?

• Who manages the National Bank of Poland?

• Who initiated the creation of the Polish central bank?

If necessary, the film can be screened twice.

After the screening of the film, the teacher conducts a teaching conversation, willing/selected students provide their answers to the questions. If necessary, the teacher corrects and completes the students’ answers.

2. The teacher asks the students to count to three and remember their number. Students with number 1 read the abstract on the tasks of the President of the National Bank of Poland, with number 2 – the tasks of the Monetary Policy Council (interactive scheme „What does the Monetary Policy Council do?”), while students with number 3 – the tasks of the NBP Management Board. Afterwards, the students form groups of three and pass on to other group members the information they managed to gather about the activities of the NBP bodies. The teacher specifies a time limit for this task. When the time is up, the teacher makes the „NBP bodies” mind map on the board. Students give their suggestions concerning the tasks of the President, the Management Board, and the Monetary Policy Council, while the teacher writes them down on the board. At the end of the exercise, the teacher asks willing/selected students to summarize the activities of each of these three organs.

3. The teacher informs the students that they will use the WebQuest method to determine what commercial banks do. The teacher sets a time limit for this task and, if necessary, explains what WebQuest is. The students work in pairs. Their task is to visit the websites of various commercial banks operating in Poland and to write down the names of bank products which illustrate the diverse nature of banking operations. When the time is up, the teacher asks willing/selected students to present the results of their work. If necessary, the teacher corrects and completes the students' answers. The teacher writes down on the board examples of the names of commercial banks and the types of products they offer. Afterwards, the teacher initiates a short discussion on the role of commercial banks in the economy. The students present their opinions. At the end of the discussion, a willing/selected student summarizes it.

4. The students again form pairs and use the WebQuest method. This time they will focus on the analysis of offers regarding the management of personal accounts. Their task is to:

• determine the criteria for selecting a personal account from the point of view of the needs of a specific customer,

• analyse the offers of at least five banks in this respect,

• select the offer they think is currently the best one,

• justify their choice.

The teacher sets a time limit for the exercise, and when the time is up, asks willing/selected students to present their choice and justify it.

5. The teacher asks the students to choose the best offer for making a deposit of PLN 30,000 in the same way as in the previous task. The teacher sets a time limit for the exercise, and when the time is up, asks willing/selected students to present their choice and justify it.

6. The teacher then conducts a short discussion about whether saving money is worth it and what drives people to save. The students present their opinions. At the end of the discussion, a willing/selected student summarizes it.

Summary:

1. At the end of the class, the teacher asks the students the following question: What do you think you still have to learn about the National Bank of Poland and the commercial banks to be satisfied with your knowledge and skills?

Willing/selected students share their opinions.

2. Homework proposal:

a. Analyse the „The most important areas of the NBP activity” infographic. Explain in your own words what does each of the functions of the National Bank of Poland listed there entail and why these functions have been entrusted to the NBP.

b. Listen to the abstract recording to review the material and new vocabulary. Then do the vocabulary exercise at the end of the chapter.

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

The National Bank of Poland

The National Bank of Poland (NBP) fulfills the tasks set out in the Constitution of the Republic of Poland, the Act on NBP and the Banking Act of 29 August 1997. These legal acts guarantee the independence of the NBP from other state authorities.

In accordance with the Monetary Policy Strategy developed by the Monetary Policy Council after 2003, the NBP's objective is to stabilize inflation at 2.5% with an acceptable fluctuation band of +/– 1 percentage point (that is, inflation may be between 1.5% and 3.5 %).

The bodies of the National Bank of Poland are the President of the NBP, the Monetary Policy Council and the Management Board of the NBP.

The President of the NBP is appointed by the Sejm at the request of the President of the Republic of Poland for a six‑year term. He is responsible for the organization and functioning of the National Bank of Poland. The same person cannot be the President of the NBP for more than two terms. The President of the NBP:

• is the head of all employees of this institution,

• is the chairperson of the Monetary Policy Council, the Management Board of the NBP,

• represents the NBP outside,

• is the representative of the interests of the Republic of Poland in international banking institutions and, if the Council of Ministers does not decide otherwise, in international financial institutions.

The Monetary Policy Council includes: the President of the NBP (as the chairperson of the Monetary Policy Council), and nine other members, appointed in equal numbers by the President of the Republic of Poland, the Sejm and the Senate for six years.

The day‑to‑day activity of the NBP is managed by its Management Board, which includes the President of the NBP and 6 to 8 other members (including two NBP vice presidents). The main task of the Management Board is the implementation of resolutions of the Monetary Policy Council, adoption and implementation of the NBP plan of activities, the execution of the financial plan approved by the Council and the performance of tasks related to the exchange rate policy and the payment system.

The other banks of the banking system are commercial banks. Commercial banks deal with financial services for business entities and individuals. For this purpose the banks:

• conduct deposit activity (consisting in receiving and storing cash of their clients on specific terms),

• conduct loaning activity (consisting in granting short-, medium- and long‑term loans by the bank and guaranteeing loans from other entities),

• provide operational services (meaning that the bank keeps bank accounts of its clients and performs banking operations on them).

It should be emphasized that a bank is a kind of enterprise, which is why, like any enterprise, it should bring profit. The activities of banks are not limited to collecting funds paid by their clients.

Currently, banks offer more and more of their products, including:

• Internet banking,

• the issue and management of payment instruments (e.g. credit cards),

• brokerage in securities and the issue of bank securities,

• advice on all services the bank offers,

• money delivery services,

• safe services.

Banks are constantly expanding and modifying their offer.

Banks are just as important as money in the economy – they improve its functioning. The most visible effect of the lack of banks and the banking system would be the functioning of the money flow in the economy almost exclusively in the form of cash. We would have to keep money for current expenses and any savings in their physical form, bearing the risk of losing them as a result of damage, loss or theft. In the era of online transactions and non‑cash settlements, it is difficult to imagine an economy without these institutions.