Money
By the end of second grade, children should know the names and values of the U.S. coins:
- a penny = 1 cent
- a nickel = 5 cents
- a dime = 10 cents
- a quarter = 25 cents
- a half–dollar = 50 cents
- a whole (“silver”) dollar = 100 cents
Preschool and kindergarten are appropriate times to begin this training. It is best that parents take care of these things at home, rather than have teachers spend valuable classroom time on them.
By the end of third grade, children should have learned the basic equivalents:
- 20 nickels = 10 dimes = 4 quarters = 2 half–dollars = 1 dollar
- 1 dime = 2 nickels
- 1 quarter = 5 nickels
- 1 half–dollar = 5 dimes = 10 nickels
Other combinations, like 3 quarters = 15 nickels and 15 dimes = 6 quarters, should also be explored. Next come questions like, “How many dimes have the same value as 6 quarters? …40 quarters?”
Counting piggy–banks full of coins is an excellent way to develop these skills.
“Making Change” is a skill that can be introduced in late first grade or early second grade, and can be mastered by fourth grade. Children should learn to make change from:
- a dime
- a quarter
- a half–dollar
- one dollar
- two (…five …ten …twenty …hundred…) dollars
Questions can take the form of:
- “You have a dime. If you spend 6 cents, how much will you have left?”
- “If you want to buy something that costs 50 cents, and all you have is 47 cents, how much more do you need?”
- “If you want to buy something that costs a dollar, and all you have is 78 cents, how much more do you need?”
- “If you buy something that costs 18 cents, how much change will you get from $2.00?”
- “If you buy something that costs $1.46, how much change will you get from $2.00?”
- “If you buy something that costs $12.89, how much change will you get from a twenty dollar bill?”
Other money related questions:
- “A roll of dimes is worth $5.00. How many dimes are in a roll?”
- “A roll of quarters contains 40 quarters. How much is the roll worth?”
Money is the best model of our base 10 (decimal) number system.
Find a math tutoring center near your location.
Browse Math Tutoring Tips:
