#1049. Math and Money

Mathematics, level: Elementary
Posted Mon Apr 26 20:33:50 PDT 1999 by Mary Bucska (mlbucsk1@acsmail.henryford.cc.mi.us).
Henry Ford Community College, Dearborn, USA
Materials Required: JumpStart 1st Grade software, PC w/windows 3.1 or higher or MAC, coins
Activity Time: two 45-minute sessions
Concepts Taught: Students will learn to recognize and count coins, add coins, and determine coin combinations.

Teacher Instructions:

-Load software and review vending machine and cash
register activities before teaching lesson.
-Begin lesson by explaining the value of pennies,nickels,
dimes and quarters.
-Pull out coins (real or facsimile of) and ask children
to identify and count the money.
-Instruct children to work on coin recognition and
counting worksheets.
-Have children test their money-counting ability with
Frankie and the talking cash register in JumpStart 1st
Grade.
-Guide students in their selection of the most
appropriate difficulty level in these activities.

Classroom Activity:
$$$ Money Marathon* $$$

Materials:
-poster with the following poem on it:
Five pennies, trade a nickel...
Two nickels, trade a dime...
Two dimes and a nickel,
Trade a quarter every time!
-four-column boards with the following headings for each
column (respectively, from left to right):
Quarter: 25 cents
Dime: 10 cents
Nickel: 5 cents
Penny: 1 cent
-dice
-real or "pretend" quarters, dimes, nickels and pennies

Method:
1. Students begin by taking turns rolling a die and
taking that number of pennies for their board.
2. As the students collect coins that can be traded, they
should do so. Saying the poem is a great way to help
students figure out the trades on their own.
3. The first student to get a designated amount with the
fewest coins (75 cents, for example) is the winner.

Assessment:

-Utilize the Progress Report in JumpStart.
-Set-up a classroom "store". Be the cashier, and have
each student purchase items with exact change. Be the
customer, and have each student cashier make change for
over-payment.
-Administer a written test to determine students'
comprehension of math money skills.

References:

* Money Marathon courtesy of Kim Matlock of Nixa R-2
School, Nixa, MO.