USA money game to learn values of coins

Early Learning Teaching Your Child Math
1

A friend of mine teaches a 1st and 2nd grade split class. She asked me if I had any ideas for helping her students learn the values of each coin. After reading about Fair Lands activities to help teach place value and different bases (http://www.moveitmaththesource.com/freee-booksandhu.html), I came up with a similar game for USA coins.

Objects needed to play game:

  1. Game board for each player. (see attachment) I printed them on card stock and covered them with clear contact paper.
  2. Coins-- at least 10 pennies, 4 nickles, 4 dimes, 8 quarters, and 1 dollar bill per player. If you don’t want to use real coins, you can print some out here. http://www.senteacher.org/Worksheet/11/PlayMoney.xhtml
  3. Receiving/spending card (above each game card) I cut these out and folded them in half so receiving was on one side and spending on the other. Then I “laminated” them with clear packing tape. :wink:
  4. Dice

Rules:

  1. If you can make an exchange, you must make the exchange.
  2. You must exchange from right to left consecutive boxes when receiving money, and from left to right when spending money.

Playing the game: Receiving
(place receiving/spending card with receiving side up above the game board.)

  1. First player throws the dice and collects that many pennies. If it is more than 5, he must make his game board safe by exchanging for nickles, dimes, etc. You must collect pennies, and then exchange up.
  2. The turn is over when no more exchanges can be made.
  3. First person to exchange for a dollar wins.

Playing the game: Spending
(place receiving/spending card with spending side up above the game board.)

  1. Start with a dollar bill on your board. Throw the dice and subtract that many cents. For example, if she rolls a 4, she would need to exchange her dollar for 4 quarters, and then one of the quarters for 2 dimes and a nickle, and then the nickle for 5 pennies. Then she could subtract 4 cents.
  2. The turn is over when you have subtracted the amount shown on the dice.
  3. First person to zero their board without going into debt wins.

To add to the game you could have each child tell you the total amount on their card each time their turn ends.

The kids seem to enjoy this game and want to play it in their spare time in the class room.

2

This is perfect! Thank you so much. I was recently reviewing a list on academic requirements each grade, and although my son is learning multiplication, he hasn’t learned about counting money yet. Oops. We mostly use credit, debit and checks. We’ve bought a poster from the dollar store and have been talking about it lately, and I’m going to the bank tomorrow to get a roll of each kind of coin to play with. The timing of this came couldn’t have been better. Karma to you. :slight_smile:

3

What a fabulous idea! Thanks! I keep meaning to make Fair Lands Blocks (out of salt dough … let’s see if that works!) and I just haven’t gotten around to it. Now I can just start playing the game with money and that takes the pressure off to finish the blocks. Plus, I really wanted to start teaching money values (my daughter knows how to swipe a card, say “credit,” and pretend-sign her name, but she doesn’t know a nickle from a dime -oops!) and this a great way to do it. Thank you again!