Illuminations: Number Cents

Number Cents

Trading For Quarters

In this lesson, children listen to a poem about money, and then examine a quarter. They find sets of coins equivalent to a quarter using pennies, nickels and dimes. They also estimate and count coin collections and count by fives and tens using actual and online calculators and pose and answer coin puzzles.

Learning Objectives
 
Students will:
  • identify and state the value of a quarter
  • estimate the value of a collection of pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters
  • find the value of a collection of pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters
  • construct sets of coins which have a given value
  • find equivalent sets of coins
  • count by 5’s and 10’s

Materials
 
The poem "Smart" or "Follow the Money" from Shel Silverstein’s Where the Sidewalk Ends
Children's coin bags from the first two lessons
Quarters
Chart paper
Crayons
Ten Frame Activity Sheet
Ways to Make 25 Cents Activity Sheet
Online Calculator and Hundreds Board
Hundreds Boards and Calculators (optional)

Instructional Plan

Read from Shel Silverstein’s Where the Sidewalk Ends the poem "Smart". You may wish to ask volunteers to act out the transactions in the poem. Or, if you prefer, read "Follow the Money" to the children.

Then distribute the children’s coin bags, which at this point should contain 1 quarter, 3 dimes, 5 nickels and 8 pennies. Hold up a quarter, and ask the children to find a quarter in their bag. As they describe it, record their descriptions on chart paper and any new words they use on the word wall. Now ask the children to place a piece of paper over the quarter and make rubbings of both sides of the coin. Ask them to record the coin’s value in both words (25 cents) and using the cent sign.

Next display a Ten Frame activity sheet and ask volunteers to model trading pennies for nickels and dimes, and nickels for dimes. Model trading nickels for a quarter by placing a nickel in each cell of the top row of the ten frame, and when the row is full, exchanging the 5 nickels for 1 quarter. Then ask them to find out how nickels and dimes could be traded for a quarter.

Next ask the children to use their coins to discover how many ways they can make a set of coins equal to 25 cents. As they find the ways, ask them to record them on the Ways to Make 25 Cents activity sheet. [Answers are available for you.]

To facilitate counting large sets of coins, review with the children how to count by 5’s and 10’s. One way to make this interesting is to use the online calculator. You might also have the children use actual calculators and hundreds boards.

Now put the children in pairs and have the children return their coins to their plastic bags. Invite the children to take turns showing to their partner a handful of coins and having him or her guess the total value of the coins. Then ask them to work together to find the actual value, exchanging for nickels, dimes, and quarters whenever possible.

As a concluding activity, pose puzzles such as “I am a coin that has Lincoln’s head on it. Who am I?" You may wish to have students to create and share similar puzzles. These puzzles would make an interesting classroom display and can also be added to their learning portfolios.

Questions for Students
 

How many pennies equal a quarter? How many nickels?

[25 pennies equal a quarter; 5 nickels equal a quarter.]

What amounts can you model with just 2 dimes and one quarter?

[45 cents, 35 cents, 25 cents, 20 cents, depending upon how many coins are used.]

Which coins could we use to model 30 cents?

[1 quarter and 1 nickel; 1 quarter and 5 pennies; 3 dimes; etc.]

Which coins are silver? Which is the largest coin? The smallest?

[Quarters, dimes, and nickels are silver in color; The quarter is the largest coin of this set; The dime is the smallest coin of this set.]

Suppose you want to buy some juice from a machine, and the juice costs 40 cents. What coins can you put in the machine if it doesn’t take pennies?

[Dimes, quarters, nickels.]

How would you tell a friend to trade for a quarter?

[Answers may vary.]

Teacher Reflection
 
  • Which students counted easily by 5’s and 10’s?
  • What activities would be appropriate for students who met all the objectives?
  • Which students had difficulty distinguishing among the coins?
  • Which students had trouble counting sets of coins? What instructional experiences do they need next?
  • What adjustments would you make the next time you teach this lesson?

NCTM Standards and Expectations
 
Algebra Pre-K-2
  1. Sort, classify, and order objects by size, number, and other properties.
  2. Illustrate general principles and properties of operations, such as commutativity, using specific numbers.
Number & Operations Pre-K-2
  1. Develop a sense of whole numbers and represent and use them in flexible ways, including relating, composing, and decomposing numbers.
  2. Count with understanding and recognize "how many" in sets of objects.
  3. Develop understanding of the relative position and magnitude of whole numbers and of ordinal and cardinal numbers and their connections.
This lesson prepared by Grace M. Burton.
  
1 period   

NCTM Resources

Principles and Standards for School Mathematics

Web Sites
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More and Better Mathematics for All Students
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