There are many standards that children learn in school and will use throughout their entire lives. For instance, learning to read and write is heavily focused on because they are skills that students will always use. Additionally, learning to add, subtract, multiply, and divide is the foundation for many math concepts. Honestly, knowing these skills leads to students understanding how to tip, calculate discounts, and pay bills. Thus, teachers must show how operations are the basis for so many aspects of life. To guide students into this process, working on Counting Coins is the perfect way to teach students about money!
Learning about Money with Picture Books
Honestly, students do not always see the connection between what they are learning and what happens in life. This is especially true as students get older and dig into the content deeper. Therefore, it is imperative to build the relationship between classroom content and life from a young age. To do this, teaching students about money using picture books is incredibly helpful! By doing this, students can listen to a story about how money impacts different people. Many times, students will build connections in their minds. For instance, they may relate to what the characters in the book are going through. Or, they may remember knowing someone who experienced something similar. Either way, using picture books that incorporate saving money and counting coins is incredibly valuable!
A Chair for My Mother by Vera B. Williams
I love to use this story to begin a unit on counting coins!
Rose, her mother, and grandmother sadly lost their home and possessions in a house fire. However, the three of them do not give up hope. Instead, they focus on ways to save for one big, comfortable chair that will fit all three of them. At the end of the day, what matters most is being together and supporting each other through anything.
Counting Coins
Coins can be confusing. Between different sizes, colors, and amounts, it can be challenging for students to keep the quantities straight. Hence, teachers need to develop hands-on activities to practice this challenging skill. Therefore, this product includes 24 task cards in color or black and white. On each task card, students will practice counting a combination of pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters. Students may record answers on a recording sheet or a QR code checker. If using the QR code, students will gain instant feedback on if they counted right or not. Even better, the task cards can be printed or used on Google Slides and Google Classroom! As a bonus, an assessment is included to gauge each student’s level of understanding.
Teaching students about money is essential! Truly, money impacts so many aspects of life. Thankfully, picture books will help show this importance to students while fun activities will help them practice counting! Students will love learning about money between books and the counting coins activity!
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