Learning Money Games For First Graders

Importance of Counting Money

Money is very essential as that is what is needed to buy your favorite things, such as, ice-cream, chocolates, toys or games. Money is required to buy almost everything today be it candy, clothes, books or gadgets. Hence it is imperative to know how to count money. Counting is a very important basic skill, but counting money is a crucial functional skill of Math that all children must know. Counting money is the basis of any financial deal that happens in or around this world. Everyone needs to know how to count in order to know whether we have enough to buy what we want to and also to make sure that we are wary of being shortchanged.

Like every other skill counting money also needs to be taught in a sequential way, taking baby steps, one at a time to grasp the concept well.1st grade Splash Math skills are designed to help children gain an ability to correctly identify and count the coins, know the value of each coin type and then progress to be able to correctly count money.

Counting Money Through Games

Since counting money is a crucial functional skill of math, learning it through math games makes it fun and engaging for the children. Math games take away the risk of failing and provide a stress-free learning environment where children can learn, enjoy and do a lot of practice without a frown on their faces. Math games and activities for kids based on counting money will help them identify the different types of coins in America, classify them, count the coins, know the value of each type of coin and thereon kids shall learn how to add and subtract in order to count money.

Money is what children would use and deal with in real life hence grasping it through books or traditional ways shall take away all the fun. SplashLearn brings some entertaining and engaging math activities and kids games that are relentlessly fun and deceptively educational. These math learning games are a perfect substitute to the traditional 1st grade worksheets on counting money.

Counting Money Games and Activities

I) IDENTIFICATION OF COINS

Money comes in different sizes, shapes, and forms. The foremost skill one needs to learn to count money is to be able to first recognize the various types of coins. Hence, it is important to first correctly recognize the most common American denominations that are- pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters.

Sorting Coins: Sorting is the best way to start with the first-time mathematics learners. Provide kids with a bag of varied coins asking them to make different piles of the coins. Once done, investigate their activity by asking them their method of sorting. Find out whether they sorted the coins by color, by size, by the number written over it, by the picture drawn over it or by something else?

According to Piaget's learning theory, the initial free play stage must be followed up with playing by certain rules. Make a rule, let's say, sorting coins according to color. After all, children have done that they can be asked to further sort or classify the colored coins. This will help them to understand the different type of coins on their own. They can be further led into asking which coin has the highest value and which would be of the least value and why? Post this math activity children should be told about pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters. This math activity acquainted them with authentic coins which they could see, feel and touch, to understand and observe the difference between the front and back of each coin type, thereby exploring and enjoying this math journey.

Manipulatives to teach counting money

Sorting Hats/Mats: To understand whether children can identify the coins correctly, give them a bag of varied coins and four hats with markers of pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters. The student will open their bag and sort the coins into the hats which are already marked. This sorting math play activity can also be conducted on a Sorting Mat as shown (at this point children don't know the value, we can omit those):

II) COUNTING OF COINS

Once the identification of coins is grasped the next objective is to help kids learn to count money. Counting coins asks for basic understanding of the base ten math system and strong counting by skills.

Counting Piles: While sorting the coins kids are asked to make piles of 5 coins each or 10 coins each. This way children get to add one coin each and can count along with that. Once kids are comfortable counting money, they are next asked to skip count to complete their pile of 5 or 10 coins.

Sorting coins by type and color

Grab and Graph Coins: In this math play activity, kids grab a handful of coins which they must sort into each coin type and then count each type of coin too. Kids count coins of any coin type and color as many boxes of the corresponding coin type in the bar graph worksheets as shown.

Coloring Coins: In this activity, math worksheets are provided with different coin types printed. Kids grab a handful of coins which they count and color on the sheets accordingly. Children should be progressed gradually from penny worksheets to nickels, then dimes and then finally do the 1st grade worksheets on coloring quarters.

Counting coins Differentiated money worksheets and so many fun learning money activities to teach kids how to coins

III) VALUE OF COINS

Different types of coins have different values that can be used to pay for so many different things. Adults find it very trivial that a quarter has more value than a penny but for children, this is problematic as they believe in size more than value. Hence, it's important to do math activities in which size of the coins doesn't matter as much as the value of the coin.

Comparing Coins: Kids are asked to make four different stacks of pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters respectively, all equal to a dollar. Then children are asked questions like-which stack is larger, which is smaller, and why? What would they prefer 4 quarters or 10 dimes? 20 nickels or 100 pennies?

Comparing Coins by value

This math play activity assists kids in finding the value of each coin.

Once the values are known, the same question can be asked again- What would they prefer: 4 quarters, 10 dimes, 20 nickels or 100 pennies?

Measuring with Coins: Draw a long snake on paper and ask kids to measure this snake with coins. First, allow them to use only pennies and ask how many pennies long is the snake? Then let them use nickels and investigate how many nickels, how many dimes and how many quarters long the snake is respectively? Why is that so? Does the size of the coin correspond to the value of the coin?

Puzzle Games: Jigsaw puzzle games are the best way to put together all the information collected so far. In this educational game begin by a 3-piece easy money puzzle game whereof the 3 pieces one money puzzle piece should have the coin type name written in words, second money puzzle piece should be either the front or the back of the coin and the value of the coin type can be the third money puzzle piece. To increase the level 4-piece math money puzzle too can be made where both the front and back of the coin type are used as puzzle pieces.

Matching money puzzle Matching coins puzzle

IV) COUNTING MONEY

Using Coin Manipulatives: Adding money comes easy once identifying coins, counting coins and values of types of coins are known. Just add up the two values. Coins are an easy manipulative to use and understand. For example, in this counting money game, if kids take 3 pennies and 2 nickels, how much do they have in total? If 2 nickels are taken away, how much money will be left?

Using Flash Cards: Two sets of the flash card are used to conduct this counting money game math activity. One set of cards that would have a pictorial representation of money. To increase the complexity first introduce cards with one type of coins only and then later introduce cards with mixed type of coins drawn over it. The other set of cards has the total amount written over it. Mix and shuffle these Flash cards. Now, pair each flash card of one set with the correct sum of money from the other set of cards.

Coin Dice Game: This is a fun counting money game where coin dice is created by pasting or drawing different types of coins on it (front or back) Roll a normal dice along with the coin dice. Five on the number dice and Penny on the coin dice indicates 5 pennies. Now find the total money. After the end of 10 such rounds, the player with maximum score wins this educational game.

Piggy Bank Activity: In this Math activity, two dies (normal dice and the coin dice) are rolled as in the previous case and then put the money as shown by the dies in the piggy bank. Add and find the total money in your piggy bank at the end of five such rolls. One with the largest sum of money at the end of five rolls wins this counting money game.

Piggy bank

Coin Clip Cards: In this math game, wooden clips and cards are used. Group of coins of one type or group of coins of different types can be drawn and colored on cards with three options given below for the total sum of money on each sheet. One of these three options is correct. The children need to clip the correct answer using a clip on the card.

Coin clip card

Topic Overview of Counting Money

In America, there are four most common types of coins that are used which are the penny, the nickel, the dime and the quarter. All the coins are not of the same worth. They have a different value associated with each coin type.

The penny is worth 1 cent, the nickel is worth 5 cents, the dime is worth 10 cents and the quarter is 25 cents

Counting Money

Counting money can be done only once one knows about the types and values of the coins. Counting money is very similar to counting numbers. We need to add just the way we add numbers the only difference being the number we use to count by.

Pennies

Penny is worth 1 cent.

Tail of 1 cent coin Head of 1 cent coin

Hence, counting pennies is like counting numbers, that is, counting by ones.

One penny is equal to 1 cent, Two pennies equal 2 cents and so on.

100 cents make one dollar. Hence, it would take 100 pennies to make a dollar.

Nickels

Head of 1 Nickel coin

Nickel is worth 5 cents. Tail of 1 Nickel coin

Hence, nickels are counted by fives.

One nickel is equal to 5 cents, Two nickels equal 10 cents, 3 nickels equal 15 cents and so on.

It would take 20 nickels to make a dollar.

Dimes Head and tail of 1 Dime

Dime is worth 10 cents.

Hence, dimes are counted by tens.

One dime is equal to 10 cents, Two dimes equal 20 cents, 3 dimes equal 30 cents and so on.

It would take 10 dimes to make a dollar.

Quarter Quarter

The quarter is worth 25 cents.

Hence, quarters are counted by twenty-fives.

One quarter is equal to 25 cents, Two quarters equal 50 cents, 3 quarters equal 75 cents and so on.

It would take 4 quarters to make one dollar.