Good lesson plans incorporate multiple intelligence types. Whether teaching math in an elementary classroom or looking for lesson plans to incorporate into home school math, students benefit from being presented information in a variety of ways.
Teach Kids About Money
With kindergarten and lower elementary children, teach coin identification by first giving them coins to hold and to look at. Consider placing handfuls of the same types of coins in small baskets; for example, a basket of pennies, a basket of nickels, a basket of dimes and a basket of quarters.
Instruct the children to examine the coins. Guide them in noticing the difference in color, size and thickness. Note that some have ridged edges.
Give the children papers and a pencil to make rubbings of the coins. Making rubbings is a good hands-on activity. To make a rubbing, the child places a coin on paper and covers it with a second pieces of paper. He or she then shades over the coin with a pencil. The image of the coin appears on the paper. Let the children make rubbings for both the front and back of each type of coin. Have them label each rubbing with the name of the coin.
Addition and Subtraction Lesson Plans
Coins are useful tools in math lessons, and using them teaches both the math and the monetary value of the coins at the same time.
Use coins in addition and subtraction math problems. For example, ask:
- How many pennies in one dollar?
- How many pennies in one nickel, in one dime, and in one quarter?
- How many nickels do I need to make one dime?
- How many quarters do I need to make 75 cents?
- How many nickels do I need to make 75 cents?
- How else can I make 75 cents?
And so on.
Fractions and Decimals Lesson Plans
Coins are great ways to reinforce monetary value and teach fractions and decimals to elementary students.
Once the class has used pie charts to learn fractions, use money and pie charts together. Students can place one quarter on each section of a quarter pie chart, then write 1/4 next to each one. For dimes, they do the same with ten pie sections, and for nickels the pie is cut into twenty sections.
Let them count out 100 pennies for a single pie.
Money coins are best with lessons about decimals. Draw simple worksheets for the students to fill in, and give them coins to work with.
If one dollar = one whole, then each penny = .01. Each nickel = .05, and each dime = .10. Ask the students how to write one quarter as a decimal. Allow them to solve decimal math problems using money as a manipulative.
Money Math Budget Lesson Plans
Allowing children to take on some responsibility with money helps make the concepts real and memorable. Many money lesson plans include worksheets on which children must answer questions regarding what they can buy with $X. Acting it out, however, helps some children learn.
School supply centers and craft stores often have play money that is modeled after real money for sale. Set up a shop in a corner of the classroom or home, and be the "shopkeeper." The students can help decide how much various things for the store cost, and write up price tags. Things for the store:
- empty cardboard food boxes, such as cereal, crackers, and oatmeal
- pencils, pens and erasers
- an old toy truck
- an old toy doll
- a couple of mugs
- pretend food
- anything lying around the classroom
Give kids a designated amount of play money and let them shop. They can only spend what they have. After each shopping expedition, all items are returned to the store for the next person. Later, the kids can take turns being the shopkeeper.
Lesson Plans to the Bank
Ask a local bank if you can bring the children for a visit. A bank employee can give the school class or home school family a tour of the bank, and let the children see bank staff using coins and paper money. This experience makes the use of coins and the importance of counting and keeping track of them real and tangible.
All of these lessons experienced during the same month or theme will cement knowledge about coins and money in the students' memories.
