What do George Washington, an Egyptian pyramid and a bald eagle have in common? They all appear on the U.S. one-dollar bill! But they are not the only symbols on the dollar bill, consistently the bill most printed by the U.S. government.

How many Americans know the history of and symbols on our money? I admit to being one who knew far less than I should have and far less than I wanted to.

While I was in Seattle in March for the 2017 TESOL convention, I visited a branch of my bank and asked for five one-dollar bills, five five-dollar bills, five 10-dollar bills, five pennies, five nickels, five dimes and five quarters. The money was the foundation for a lesson I was preparing for Moscow students.

"There is no teaching without learning," observed Paolo Freire, considered the father of critical pedagogy in "Pedagogy of Freedom." I was (again) about to learn in preparation for teaching.

There is far more information about American money than I could include in my lesson (and in this column), so I had to focus on basic and introductory information. I relied on three sites for information: the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing, and the U.S. Mint.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia website has links to education and teaching resources, including lesson plans for K-12 students. The resources at the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing include videos — some of which are in Spanish — and free, downloadable materials in 24 languages.

Of particular interest is the Bureau's currency timeline, which traces "[our] currency back to the colonial era, [so] we can explore how U.S. history has helped shape the way we design, issue, and process modern U.S. banknotes." I had no idea, for example, that one of the many projects undertaken by Benjamin Franklin was preventing counterfeiting by producing paper money with "unique raised patterns cast from actual leaves."

The U.S. Mint also has K-12 lesson plans. When I last looked, there were nearly 500 plans covering language arts, social studies, drama, art, math, art, science and technology, and various unit plans including one covering ancient and modern coins. With pun intended, there is a wealth of information for teaching about American money.

For the lesson I facilitated, I had only an hour. I began by discussing with students how to behave appropriately with others' belongings. Of course, they knew. I showed students a PowerPoint slide of two people grabbing at and ripping a 100-dollar bill, and we all agreed it is necessary to be respectful.

I underscored the need for respect when I showed them how much my American money equaled in Russian rubles. For the vast majority of American or Russian 12- and-13-year-olds (if not for teachers), $82.50 or 4,695.35 rubles is a lot of money. They understood.

Students were in groups at four tables, and I told them that each group would receive the same thing: one of each bill and coin that I had brought with me. I assured students that each would have ample time to touch and examine the bills and coins.

I asked students to look for symbols, to make a list of them and to imagine what they might mean. I asked what they noticed in addition to the symbols. I asked why the government frequently redesigns the money.

Students were eager to touch the money, and they closely studied it. They had ready answers for many of the questions. As we had already studied a bit about America, students knew about the Great Seal, and they recognized George Washington and Abraham Lincoln on both bills and coins.

But they — and their regular teacher — learned about the commemorative quarters minted for each of the 50 states, and they learned that the phrase, "In G-d We Trust" was added to paper money only 60 years ago (there is a fascinating history behind this change).

They also had ready questions: Whose signatures are these? What building is on the penny, the nickel? Who is this? Answers: The U.S. Treasurer and the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury; the Lincoln Memorial, Monticello; Thomas Jefferson on the nickel, Franklin D. Roosevelt on the dime, Alexander Hamilton on the 10-dollar-bill.

Each answer required explanation, and I realized that each answer lent itself to being the basis for an entire multidisciplinary course on its own.

While I designed this activity for EFL learners, it is adaptable — and certainly suitable — for native English users. After all, how many Americans know the history of and symbols on our money?