Grades 1-2
28 activities – 141 pages

Understanding and handling money properly is an essential life skill. Young learners are exposed to money usage daily and are excited to gain an understanding of how it works. Counting on Coins will provide these early learners with the first steps necessary to identify, count, compare and use money.

Students will discover how many pennies are needed to fill a one-dollar circle in the game Hundred Penny Pie. As they count the pennies and reach 100, they make the visual and conceptual connection that 100 pennies make up a dollar. In this game and others, they also learn why having coins of different values makes practical sense.

In activities like “Hot Dog Haven” and “Books for a Bargain,” students will be delighted as they are given “money” and purchasing power. They choose what to order from a menu or from a book club form, and they determine what their bill will be. The activities also include problem solving such experiences as estimating costs and making change.

Counting on Coins provides students with concrete experiences such as these that will teach early learners the importance of money and the role it plays in our daily lives. The book covers how to identify and compare the values of pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, half-dollars, and one dollar coins and bills; determine combinations of coins for equivalent values and recognize that equal amounts can be reached through different coin combinations; and use coins in problem-solving, real-life situations.