Sweet Coin Counting Practice

Coins are TRICKY for first graders, but many are already motivated to learn about money.  For those who aren't, I introduced one thing that no one can resist.  SWEETS!  

 I use 4 different menus that students can "buy" from.  There's the ice cream truck, ice cream shop, candy store, and bakery.  There are about a dozen sweets in each menu, and each item has a different price. 

To start the lesson, I tell the kids, "Thanks for coming over so quickly.  Today we're going to pretend to buy some treats!  First we'll look at a menu for the candy shop.  Then you'll each get a "pocket full of money."  I'll show you how to count the coins.  Today the coins will be nickels and pennies.  Then you can choose one of the sweets that you can afford."

What will this teach them?  Well, they will need to learn and practice counting coins.  They will compare numbers to 100 to determine what amount is greater (the treat or they amount of money thy have).  Then they will need to use mathematical reasoning to determine if they have enough money to buy the treat they want.  They might even get into some discussion on saving versus spending on something they don't really want!  

Next I hand out their "pockets full of money."  Sure, a handful of plastic coins works well for this activity.  But if I want them to work on this activity independently later in the week, the pockets work much better.  They won't spill, they won't end up lost, we won't end up with 4 separate cups worth all dumped into a single cup that needs to be redistributed after each rotation.  And I have an answer key that lets me keep tabs on if they're counting accurately.  

But the best part about the pockets is they are differentiated.  I color code each set.  The easiest set has just dimes and pennies.  The hardest has all 4 types of coins.  I can decide for students which color I want them to work on.  Later in the unit, some students start making their own good choices about which color to grab (I love when they take ownership over their learning). 

The final tool in my coin teaching tool belt is the set of coin counting mats.  This system helps those students who forget how to count by 5s and so on.  The charts can be used with or without plastic coins.  I demonstrate like this:

"I'm going to start with the dimes.  I have 6 dimes, so I'm going to count by tens.  This mat will help me if I forget.  10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60.  If you need more help, you can put these 6 plastic dimes right on the mat as you say each number.

Now I'll take that 60 and move it over to the nickels mat.  I have 3 nickels after the 60, so I say 65, 70, 75.  I have 75 cents in my pocket. 

Now I'll compare.  I have 75 cents, which is more than the 40 I need for the cotton candy.  So I can buy it!"

Finally, students fill out the shopping list.  They write the item they want, cost (from the menu) and amount in their "pocket."  Then they write "yes" or "no" if they can or can't afford it.  For kids ready for a challenge (or 3) there are differentiated shopping lists that involve making change and adding items they want to buy.  

The materials were quick and easy to prep and the kids ate this activity up!  The colors were enticing and they could really see themselves as consumers making choices about what they wanted to buy and how to do it independently.  It was like their whole year of math culminated in this activity. 

You can get Sweet Coin Counting Practice for your students on Teachers Pay Teachers.  Check out the preview to see every included page.  If you have questions, let me know in the comments. 

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