Literature
Let’s Find Out Money
Dollars
Dimes
Nickels
Don’t have books? Have you ever gone to your public library to search for math non-fiction titles? My library is chock full of amazing newer titles. I like searching the J 332 and J513 sections. I can be seen checking out endless baskets of books from these sections!
I begin each lesson with a short read aloud and then place the books in our math literature tub. If students finish early, they love choosing a book to enjoy on the carpet. Books are one of my favorite ways to teach coins!
Anchor Charts
I rely on Anchor Charts daily. I love referring to these visuals! I mean…Love Love Love!
Here is the short story what introduced me to my LOVE of anchor charts. A few years ago, I had a principal that pushed me to meet everyone of my student’s individual needs. It was the year I had 13 students enter our Second Grade classroom significantly below grade level.
I created 13 RTIs filled with data, goals, individual strategies, accommodations and modifications. In my numerous evaluations meetings, my principal would ask me to reflect on how I was meeting that student’s individual needs. She would ask…What type of learner are they? What am I doing to support THAT student’s learning style. What extra supports did I put in place in my classroom to help support each student’s individual learning style. As she was speaking to me in my head I was thinking , “What? Type of learner? What is she talking about? How will I find out how each of my 26 students learn best? I don’t even know how I learn best?”
After I began to understand that each student learns differently. I filled the classroom with tons of visuals and anchor charts for students like me. I incorporated more songs and chants into our lessons, began using Beanie Babies for Math, Reading and Writing strategies for my visual and kinesthetic learners and also began Whole Brain Teaching. (That is a blog post in itself)
Hands-On Manipulatives, Games, and Practice

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Lastly, my absolute favorite hands-on practice is our Time and Money Lapbook created by Undercover Classroom. It is cute, colorful and practical to use. This ongoing activity is an amazing reference for the students. We put the lap books together through a series of mini lessons.
Each morning the students would walk in asking if today was the day that we would add more to the lap book. Each lap book has a wallet full of paper coins and dollar bills. While the students were cutting our their bills and coins they would squeal with delight how “rich” they were. I couldn’t help laughing out loud about their enthusiasm and sheer “cuteness”.
Sometimes on “Fun Friday”, I will ask students to open their lapbook as a reference and I will run a mini gameshow with questions matching the information in their lapbook. They love my buzzers, spinners and sound effects during the gameshow and the excitement is off the charts during this practice!
There’s my favorite three ways to teach coins. What are yours?