Teaching Money in the Classroom

Teaching Money-Activities

Money Poems

5 pennies make a nickel
2 nickels make a dime
2 dimes and a nickel
make a quarter every time.

4 quarters make a dollar
and that is quite a lot.
And a dollar in my pocket
is exactly what I've got.


Penny, penny,
Easily spent
Copper brown
and worth one cent.
Nickel, nickel,
Thick and fat,
You're worth five cents.
I know that.

Dime, dime,
Little and thin,
I remember,
You're worth ten.

Quarter, quarter
Big and bold,
You're worth twenty-five
I am told!

Introduce the penny, nickel, dime and quarter. One each day for four days, using a magnifying glass to identify the similarities and differences of each coin. Discuss teach coins similarities and differences and value.

Teach the following rap:
Pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters.
Pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters.
Well a penny is one and a nickel is five,
A dime is worth ten and a quarter twenty-five.
Pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters.
Pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters.

Pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters.
Pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters.
Five pennies make a nickel,
Two nickels make a dime.
Two dimes and a nickel
make a quarter and it's mine.
Pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters.
Pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters.

Activities
1.)
Objectives: The students will be able to...
1. Correctly identify each coin and its assigned value.
2. Use the coins to arrive at the designated total marked on the envelops.
Lesson:
1. Allow the children to examine pennies, nickels, and dimes.
2. Ask the students how much each coin is worth.
3. Ask the students what coin has the greatest value.
4. Ask the students what coin has the least value.
5. Ask the students how much the nickel is worth.
6. Ask the students how much money they would have if they had one penny, one nickel, and one dime. Practice
1. in pairs, the students will choose an envelop with a designated value amount written on it.
2. Using pennies, nickels, and/or dimes, the students will place the specific amount of money in the envelop.
3. After placing the coins in the envelop, the students trade envelops with their partner. Each person checks what the other one did to make sure it is correct.
4. After each person has checked the amount in the envelop, it is their turn to come up with the correct amount on their new envelop using a different combination of coins than their partner did.
5. The students then trade envelops again to check the work of their partner.
6. Once each partner has completed the activity, the students trade envelops with another group. Now the partners repeat the entire activity following steps 2­5.
1. Have the students get a new partner.
2. With the handout provided, the students will be asked to use only a specific amount of coins to arrive at the designated value.
3. The teacher may demonstrate an example on the board if necessary to clarify. EXAMPLE:
(.10) (.05) (.05) (.01) (.01) (.01) (.01) (.01)

2.)
COIN ACTIVITIES
objectives:
1. improve knowledge of the value of coins
2. improve making change
3. learn facts about our US coins
4. to brainstorm how many ways to make change for coins
Procedures:
THE CHANGE EXCHANGE
1. There are 3 ways to make change for a dime. Have the children write them down and then discuss how they did it.
2. There are 12 ways to make change for a quarter. Can you figure out the twelve ways to exchange a quarter for other coins?
3.There are 49 ways to make change for a half-dollar. Have them figure out 20 ways and challenge them to figure out all 49 ways. Once they have , have a group make a chart.
*I have my children draw out these "ways" using real coins..... and have them even color them ....they love making the posters- and the challenge.
WHICH IS A BETTER VALUE?
I put these on paper strips...and post on a bulletin board which I reserve for math journal questions.
1. One for a dime or three for a quarter?
2.Two for a quarter or six for a dollar?
3.Two for a nickel or three for a dime?
4.Three for a dime or eight for a quarter?
I expect that they will draw out each, write about each one in sentences...and explain why their choice was a better value.
For older students , this could be done by using a sale flyer, and asking them to find the better value when a grocery store says they are having a sale. How much money are they saving?

3.)
Shopping Fun
Create a shopping center in one area of the classroom. Place grocery ads on your walls, give the children $25 (50, 100) and see how much they can buy with their money. Students takes turns being the cashier and make change. The shopper needs to pay attention to what the cashier is doing to be sure they get the correct change.

4.)
Using an egg carton place a penny, nickel, dime, and a quarter in the top row
of the carton in individual compartments. Have the student match the cutouts
to the real coins by placing his/her cutout under the corresponding coin.
Continue until all of the cutouts are matched.

5.)
Using small toys or candy, tell the student that each object costs either a
penny, a nickel, a dime, or a quarter. Have the student exchange a penny, a
nickel, a dime, or a quarter for the object that costs the same.

Note: For more advanced students, values may be taught rather than the names
of the coins. Activity 1 stays the same. Activity 2 place the number 25, 10,
5, and 1 instead of a coin or 25 cents, etc. Activity 3 tell the student
that each object costs 25cents, 10 cents, etc.

6.)
Math Cents
A game to teach kids Addition and Money units.

What you do is take 15 pennies and 10 dimes for each player and 1dollar.
Then you take a piece of paper and make 3 columns on it. At the top of each column you write 1 cent ,10 cents and 100 cents. You put the pennies in the 1 cent column, the dimes in the 10 cents column and the dollar in the 100 cent column .

Then you have the players take turns rolling a die. The number that comes up when a player rolls is the number of cents that the player gets from the 1 cent pile. When one player gets 10 cents they trade it in for a dime. When a player collects 10 dimes they may then trade it in for the dollar. The first player to get the dollar wins.

Description: The object of the game is to be the first player to earn a set amount (for example: 20 or 50 cents).
Directions:
1. Each player rolls the dice and gets the number of pennies of the number shown on the dice.
2. As each player gets 5 pennies, the pennies are replaced by a nickel, and 10 pennies are replaced by a dime.
3. The first player to reach the set amount wins.

Money, Math and Literature

Grade Level: 3rd grade (can be adapted for others)
Teacher Preparation: Collecting menus from local restaurants and locating the book "Pigs Will Be Pigs."
Student Activity: Yes
Time: One class period
Materials: The book "Pigs Will Be Pigs"
menus from local restaurants
calculators (optional)
paper and pencil
Description: This lesson integrates children's literature into a math lesson. The pigs are hungry and there's no food in the house and no one went to the bank so there's no money. How can the pigs buy dinner? They go on a money hunt. Students solve how much money the pigs find and then select food items from various menus not to exceed the amount of money they found.
Objectives: The Student Will (TSW) listen to the story "Pigs Will Be Pigs."
TSW calculate how much money the pigs find during their money search.
TSW select food items from various menus not to exceed $34.67.
Procedures: Before you begin this unit you will need to collect menus from area restaurants. Most local restaurants are willing to donate one menu for a class project. Explain that you're a teacher and that students will be using these menus. This is excellent public relations between business and school. You will also need a copy of the book "Pigs Will Be Pigs" by Amy Axelrod. This book is available from Trumpet Book Club for $2.50.
Before you read the book divide your class into five teams (make sure you have at least 5 menus.) Instruct the class that they will need a sheet of paper to calculate how much money the pigs find on their money hunt. As you read the story stop and have the students calculate how much money the pigs accumulate. Stop reading after page 22 (where the pigs ask, "what's the special?") and distribute real menus for each team. Have the students select items from the real menus for the pig family. They need to choose a meal and drink for each member of the pig family (a total of 4 meals.) The cost of the meal cannot exceed the amount of money the pigs found ($34.67.)
After solving their problem continue reading the book and have them solve how much the pigs spent at the Enchanted Enchilada. They can also solve how much money they have left.
Extension: 1. Have the students calculate the change the pigs would get back from their menu search. 2. Students can use calculators to check their answers.

Other Money Books
•Axelrod, Amy. Pigs Will Be Pigs
•Hoban, Tana. Twenty-Six Letters and Ninety-Nine Cents.
•Leedy, Loreen. The Monster Money Book
•Maestro, Betsy. The Story of Money
•Merrill, Jean. The Toothpaste Millionaire
•Schwartz, David. If You Made A Million
•Viorst, Judith. Alexander Who Used to Be Rich Last Sunday

Teaching Money-Links

Here are some great links to places with lessons for teaching money in the elementary classroom.

History of Money from Ancient Times to the Pr...
Math Forum: Ask Dr. Math: FAQ
InfoWeb--NC Math Curriculum
math09.txt at www.col-ed.org
Helping Your Child Learn Math
math45.txt at www.col-ed.org
Encarta Lesson Collection: Search Results
Bibliography of Books
Math Forum Pre-Kindergarten Teachers Place
Shopping For Toys
A McTrip Back In Time

This lesson created by :Marcia Goudie
Vacaville, California