Prior to the lesson, prepare the following materials for each group to use during the main activity:
- Print out and cut a set of Want Cards for each group. Put them in a plastic bag to keep them organized.
- Print out and laminate the Piggy Bank and the Bank Work Mats.
- Create bags of assorted plastic or real coins for each group. The bags should contain at least ten each of pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters.
- Create coin cubes. To create coin cubes, use stamps or coin stickers and place one of each coin on four sides of a one-inch wooden cube. Then, write the word “wild” on the remaining two sides. As an alternative, a six-section spinner could be used. Each section should contain one of the four coins or one of the two “wild” sections. If a cube or spinner is not available, put six small pieces of paper into a paper bag. The six pieces of paper should contain one of the four coins or one of the two “wild” sections. During each turn, a student would pick a piece of paper out of the bag and return it at the end of their turn.
To build excitement for the main activity, show students a picture of a small item that you would like to purchase. Tell them that you would like to purchase that item. Ask them to tell you what you would have to do to purchase it. [First you would have to get some money, then you would have to go to the store and then you would have to pay the cashier.] Tell the students that you do not have any money right now to purchase this item, but you really want it. Ask them to give you suggestions of what you have to do to get the money you need. [You could work to get money or get it as a gift.] Tell them that you will get paid soon, so you will get to buy this item. The item you would like to purchase is ten cents; ask them to tell you what coins could be used to buy this item? [You could have a dime, two nickels, a nickel and five pennies, or ten pennies.]It may be helpful to have coins for students to use and a large set of coins to display for the entire class to see. Explain that you will get paid only five cents. Ask them what they think you will have to do since you won’t have enough money. [You would have to save it until you get more money]Explain that sometimes you cannot buy something right away. If this happens you have to save your money until you have enough.
Ask the students to give you an example of something small that they would like to buy. Draw a picture of the requested item on the board and give it a fictitious price that is less than twenty five cents. Ask the students what coin combinations could be used to get to that price.
To begin the main activity, divide the students into groups of four. Explain to the students that they are going to select different things that they would like to purchase and then they are going to roll a number cube in order to get money and save it in their piggy banks. One student from the group is going to be the banker. The banker will pay everyone for their work and he will also collect the money when an item is purchased. The other three students will be the consumers. They will work, save and purchase.
Select three students to help you model the lesson and sit with them around a small table. Have the rest of the class stand around the table to see how to do the activity. Model the lesson by doing the following:
- Select a person to be the banker and give them a Bank Work Mat and a bag of coins. (While modeling the lesson, it works best if the teacher is the banker.)
- Give the other three consumers a Piggy Bank Work Mat.
- Place the want cards in the middle of the table.
- All three consumers will choose a Want Card and place it on the work mat where it says I WANT IT.
- The first consumer is going to roll the coin cube
- The banker will give the consumer the coin that they rolled.
- If it is enough to buy the item on their Want Card, they can give the money back to the banker and purchase the item and place the card on the work mat where it says I BOUGHT IT and select another Want Card.
- If it is not enough the consumer will have to put the coin in their piggy bank and save it until they get more money.
- They must have the exact amount to purchase the item on the Want Card. For example, if an item costs eleven cents, they must give the banker eleven cents. They cannot give the banker a quarter.
- Then the next consumer would roll the number cube and repeat the process.
- They will continue until all of the cards have been purchased.
Once you have made a complete rotation around the table and every consumer has had at least one chance, allow the students to get into groups, give them their supplies, and allow them to start the activity. When all of the Want Cards have been purchased, another student from the group should become the banker, and the group can begin the activity again. (You may want to create additional Want Cards with different items and prices for additional rounds of the game.)
At the end of the lesson, have the students return to their seats and take out a half sheet of paper. Show them a pencil and tell them that this pencil costs 24 cents. Explain that you already have a dime in your piggy bank. Ask, “What other coins would be needed in order to buy that pencil?” Have them record their answers on the half sheet of paper and then compare their answers with a friend. As they are comparing, walk around the room and listen to what the students are saying to each other. Listen for accuracy and strategies that they used.
