Children must be able to count by ones, fives and 10s before they can count coins correctly. Counting backward or forward by any number other than one is called skip-counting, according to Rod Pierce, creator of the website Math Is Fun. Songs from educational television shows, such as Schoolhouse Rock, coin pictures and real coins, skip-count recitation and real-world activities help children learn to count coins to determine their total value.
Step 1
Ask the children to take paper pennies from their plastic zipper bags. Have children count out loud together as they drop their pennies onto a paper plate, until they reach 50.
Step 2
Beginning with 51, count 50 more pennies onto a second paper plate until you reach 100. Pour the pennies on both plates together and count to 100. Set the 100-penny plates aside.
Step 3
Watch the Schoolhouse Rock video, "Ready or not, Here I Come" with the children, which teaches children to count by fives using a "hide and seek" chant. Show the children a nickel and ask them to find all 20 nickels in their zipper bags.
Step 4
Ask the children to count out five pennies onto their paper plates. Explain that each nickel is worth five pennies, so they have to count nickels by fives.
Step 5
Ask the children how many pennies they had on their plate when they poured the two penny-filled plates together. Count nickels together by fives out loud, until you reach 100, as the children place them on a paper plate.
Step 6
Count all the nickels on the plate by ones. Explain to the children that the 20 nickels on the plate equal 100, just like the 100 pennies did. Set both plates aside.
Step 7
Ask each child count to 10 as they place 10 pennies in one row. Have them count by fives as they place two nickels in another row. Place a dime in a third row. Explain to the children that 10 pennies equal one dime, and two nickels also equal one dime. Return the pennies and nickels to the correct paper plate.
Step 8
Tell the children to stand and hold their hands at their sides with their fingers spread. Watch "Whatcha Gonna Do" from 58 seconds, which is where the section for skip counting by fives begins, until you reach the end. Have the children stand and stretch while they count along with the chants.
Step 9
Ask each child to count by 10s as they place 10 dimes on a paper plate and lay it aside. Explain that 10 dimes equals 20 nickels and 100 pennies.
Step 10
Count the quarters together by 25 as you place them on a paper plate. Ask the children to look at the four plates of coins. Ask the children to point to the plate with the most coins, and then to the plate with the least coins. Explain that even though each plate has a different number of coins, their value is equal.
Step 11
Tell each child to glue 100 paper pennies on one sheet of construction paper without overlapping them. Make a second sheet with 20 nickels, a third sheet with 10 dimes and a fourth sheet with four quarters.
Step 12
Glue 10 pennies in a vertical row on the fifth sheet of construction paper. Glue two nickels in a row beside them, and a dime in the next row.
Things You'll Need
- Zipper bags of paper coins with 100 pennies, 20 nickels, 10 dimes and 4 quarters
- Paper plates
- Skip-counting videos (see Resources)
- Glue sticks
- 5 sheets construction paper per child
