Dollars and Cents
Background Information & Activities

Money is a topic that many early elementary classes visit each year, so what your children may already know and understand will vary. Familiarize your children with pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, and dollar bills. Although coins such as the half-dollar, the Susan B. Anthony dollar, and the Sacagawea golden dollar are rare, it is still important for your children to recognize them and know their monetary values.

The word “percent” means “per one hundred.” With money, one cent represents one per one hundred cents, or one dollar. Five cents represent five percent of one dollar, ten cents represent ten percent of one dollar, and so on. When using numerals, people use the symbol ¢ to represent cents up to a dollar, as in 4¢ or 48¢. When the value reaches a dollar or more, people use the symbol $, as in $1.01 or $324.00.

The “Dollars and Cents” movie introduces children to different coins and their values. This movie also teaches how to count groups of the same coin. Counting money is explored at length in the “Counting Money” movie and working with money and decimal places is addressed in the “Decimals” movie.

Remind your children that a penny is worth one cent, or 1¢. A nickel is worth five cents, or 5¢. You can count nickels by counting by fives. A dime is worth ten cents, or 10¢. You can count dimes by counting by tens. A quarter is worth twenty-five cents, or 25¢. It is important for your children to know how to read money amounts both as words and as numbers and symbols. Practicing skip counting will help your children count money faster and more efficiently.

Money is a means of exchanging goods and services and it is important for your children to understand how to be responsible with money and how to save money. By teaching good habits now, your children will become more responsible and conscientious with their finances in the future.

Dollars and Cents Teacher Activities – Click Here!

Dollars and Cents Family Activities – Click Here!

Dollars and Cents Teacher Activities

For Sale

Set up a sale in your classroom. Students can bring in items from home or they can make art projects to sell. Students may also want to bring in baked goods. Together as a class, discuss how much each item should be priced. Encourage your students to think about what would happen if a cupcake was priced at $1 and another cupcake was priced less. This provides an opportunity to teach economics and business. Use fake bills and coins and give each student the same amount. You can print out fake bills and coins from different websites or buy them from a toy store. Students can then “buy” the items and see what they can and cannot afford. This is a good opportunity for students to understand the value of money.

Penny Harvest

Start a Penny Harvest with your class. Have students collect as many pennies as they can for a month or for the whole year. Then at the end of the harvest, count the pennies together and come to a grand total. Students can discuss what to do with the money and take a vote. Students may want to use the money to buy something for the classroom, go on a trip, or donate to an organization of their choice.

Coin Rubbing

To help students identify different coins, have them make rubbings of each kind of coin. Give coins to groups of students and have them place a piece of paper on top of the coin. They can use the side of a crayon to rub over the coin. Have students rub the head and the tail of each coin. Remind them to label their coins and write the value. Point students’ attention and discuss the different elements on a coin, such as the date, the picture, and the rim.

History of Coins

Discuss where to find the date on each coin and then have your students bring in the oldest coin that they can find. Discuss important events that happened during the time the coin was released.

As an extension, encourage your children to bring in coins from different countries. Compare and contrast the coins and discuss how they would count the coins. For example, you would count by twos to count two-pence coins. This provides an opportunity for students to learn about other cultures and how their money works.

Dollars and Cents Family Activities

Allowance

One of the best ways to learn about money is to deal with it on a regular basis. If possible, give your child a small weekly or monthly allowance. Give your child different coins and/or dollar bills and together with your child, count the money. Have your child identify the monetary value of each coin and/or bill. Then have your child sort the coins into groups. Have him or her explain how to count the coins and keep a running tally of the total value. Encourage your child to save money for important items and make a plan to save a little each week.

Penny Exchange

Place pennies in a bag. Have your child reach in and take a handful of pennies and count them together. Then have your child exchange the pennies for other coins. For example, your child can exchange 5 pennies for a nickel or 10 pennies for a dime. Then sort the different coins and have your child count each group. Remind your child how to skip count to count nickels and dimes. This will help your child understand how skip counting is a fast and efficient way of counting money.

Change is Good

Reward good behavior in the home with coins. Take an empty jar and place a coin in the jar whenever your child behaves well. Good behaviors can include completing a chore without being asked, helping a family member, asking or waiting politely, or watching over a sibling. At the end of the month, count the coins with your child. Your child can decide what he or she would like to do with the money.