Teaching Money Resources and Freebies

Teaching the foundations of money is a very important topic for students. Not only do kids need to know how to count money for real world applications, but it’s also a huge milestone in their mathematical learning. Over the years, I’ve used some very fun methods to teach students about coins and dollar bills! I know it can be a pain to search all over the internet for one specific activity to go along with certain standards so I want to share with you all of my ideas and resources on how to teach money so that you can use them with your students!

1. Introducing Money

Within my Introducing Money in the Primary Classroom blog post, I share all of the details on how I structure my money unit with students. Anchor charts are huge when it comes to memorizing coins. Not only do I use large anchor charts, but I would also hang up mini anchor charts around the classroom with details about each coin. I truly believe that the more exposure students have to the different types of coins and what they look like, the better they will learn them.

There are so many fun activities to do with students when introducing money. Some of my favorite include showing this YouTube video from Jack Hartmann and completing the coin book together. After students have a strong understanding of recognizing each coin type, we then move on to sorting them!

Sorting mats are the perfect tool to lead into graphing coins. Students count how many of each coin they have in their cup and once sorted, they practice graphing their data!

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Simply fill out the form below to have this FREE graphing coin activity sent straight to your inbox!

2. Reinforcing Money

Teaching about money is something that constantly needs to be reinforced with our students. One of my favorite ways to do this is by playing a game called Scoop and Count. All you have to do is dump an assortment of coins into various large bowls or containers. Students then use a plastic spoon to scoop (only one) coins onto their tables.

Another game I share about in my Reinforcing Money in the Primary Classroom blog post is called Roll, Add, and Count. Using dice, have students roll two, add the numbers together and then create the value that they made using any mixture of coins. A few other fun activities to reinforce money include pocket sorters, money bingo, and cupcake crafts!

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3. Books that Teach about Money

Using anchor texts are a great way to get students excited about learning! I always love finding ways to incorporate literature into math units. In 8 Book that Teach Kids about Money, I share my favorites that students love to read over and over again! Each of the books are suitable for primary grades and can make a great addition to your classroom library!

4. Apps for Learning How to Count Money

It’s no secret that kids of all ages love technology. Let’s use it to our advantage to help reinforce money skills! With an increase in credit card purchases, students are seeing paper bills and coins less and less in their everyday lives. By incorporating math apps that reinforce money skills, kids will still be able to learn the proper way on how to handle cash! Head over to Math Apps for Learning How to Count Money to see my top 8 apps for students!

5. Money Unit: Counting Coins & Dollar Bills

This unit is designed to introduce and reinforce money skills. It includes counting coins up to one dollar and counting bills and coins up to $5.00. The best thing about this unit is that it includes 10 days worth of lesson plans to be used as a guide!! Yes, 2 weeks worth of lessons already planned out for you!! These plans follow a guided math format that includes a warm-up, mini whole group lesson, independent practice, and small group ideas for you to use in your classroom.

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As you can see, there are endless activities and resources that you can use to teach money with your students! Just think, by the end of the school year, you’ll have plenty of counting friends in your classroom. Don’t forget to grab your Money Cup FREEBIE here!

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