If a preschooler can count, it isn’t too early to introduce coin counting. Start with pennies; explain that a penny is worth one cent and that you need 100 of them to make a dollar. Give the preschoolers a worksheet with pictures of 100 pennies. Hold up an item and tell them how much that item costs, such as a sticker for 7 cents or a pencil for 20 cents. Have them count out how many pennies they will need to buy each item and then circle the seventh penny, for instance, to show that is how many pennies it takes to buy a sticker.
Introduce the nickel and dime; explain their value and their relationship to the penny. Introduce counting by fives and 10s. Give each student a coin necklace you create out of money made of construction paper; punch a hole in the middle of the paper coins and attached them to a string. Make the value of each necklace different. Tell the class what items cost, such as “A can of dog food costs 62 cents? Who can buy that?” The students will count their necklaces, and the one with the necklace valued at that amount will raise her hand. Later, introduce the quarter.
Challenge second-graders to manipulate coins to equal a set amount. Divide the students into groups, and hand out plastic bags filled with play coins and several index cards with a number written on them. Instruct the students to work together to use their coins to make the amount on the index card. If their number was 26, the students should list on a worksheet all the ways they added to 26 using the coins available in their bag, such as two dimes and six pennies, five nickels and a penny, one quarter and one penny.
Begin lessons mixing comprehension of paper money and coins for third-graders. Create a PowerPoint presentation with several slides. On one slide, put a drawing of a dollar bill. Under it, add drawings of a collection of coins. Ask the students to count the money and determine if they have more money in coins or in bills. On another slide, add drawings of two sets of money, both bills and coins. Have them tabulate which is more.