Lesson One

Objective: After a lecture and discussion on counting bills and coins, students learn to count and name groups of bills and coins, with 80% accuracy. 

Vocabulary: bill, coin, penny, nickel, dime, quarter, half dollar (penny = $0.01 or one cent; nickel = $0.05 or five cents; dime = $0.10 or ten cents; quarter = $0.25 or twenty-five cents; half dollar = $0.50 or fifty cents) 

 Materials: 

    * Manipulatives (play money)

    * Worksheet

    * Internet  

Activities:

1.  Introduce vocabulary and the value of each coin.

2.  The teacher explains to the students that today they are going to learn how to count bills and coins. Before doing so, the teacher makes sure that students know how to properly identify the different coins and their worth as well as bills and their worth by distributing play money. 

The teacher asks each student to raise up the various coins and bills and name them one by one as well as say how much they are worth (i.e., when they lift up a penny, they must say "penny, 1 cent." When they lift up a quarter, they must say "quarter, 25 cents", etc ...)

3.  After students recall the names of different types of coins and bills and their worth, the teacher writes a word problem up on the board that reads as follows:  "Mel bought a T-shirt.  He paid the amount shown.  How much money did Mel spend?"  Underneath the word problem the teacher displays two one-dollar bills, one quarter, two dimes, and one penny.  Then the students have to answer the word problem by counting the money.  After this the teacher writes different amounts of money on the board and distribute play money to students.  

The teacher then asks the students to count the play money in order to see what combinations of bills and coins they can use to come up with the amounts written on the board.  As students mention what bills and coins they used to come up with the amounts written on the board, the teacher draws the bills and coins mentioned on the board.  Below the drawings she writes each amount as you would read it.

4.  After having introduced the concept of counting bills and coins to the students, the teacher explains that when writing amounts of money the following always applies: 1) the number before the decimal point shows the number of dollars; and 2) the number after the decimal point shows the number of cents.  The teacher goes on to explain what the symbols $ and c represents.  Next, the teacher stresses that when reading amounts of money, the word and stands for the decimal point. 

5.  Once the students feel comfortable with counting money, the teacher instructs them to complete a worksheet.  As students work, the teacher walks around answering any questions that the students might have.

Web Activities:

1.  Students go online and play a matching activity about counting change.

2.  Students go online and make their own money worksheets with 10, 20, 30 or 50 problems.

3.  Students go online and play an interactive money game.

4.  Students go online and take a quiz on counting money.

Evaluation:  Worksheet (Students will complete the worksheet with 80% accuracy)

Home Learning:  Students create 5 money problems relating to their allowance and complete a worksheet.