Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Money in Second Grade


In Second Grade the Standards of Learning state, "the student will count and compare collections of pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters whose total value is $2.00 or less; and correctly use the dollar symbol, the cent symbol, and the decimal." 

Measurement, money in particular, is a real-world application that should be introduced with a variety of representations.

Therefore, this post will provide some children's literature that can be useful in supporting the instruction on money in second grade, as well as, some fun web resources.

A Quarter From The Tooth Fairy. By Caren Holtzman. Illus. Betsy Day. (1995). Cartwheel, (0590265989). 40 p. Gr. K-3.
In this book, Caren Holtzman [Hello Math Reader, Level 3] recounts in verse how a young boy spends the quarter he got from the Tooth Fairy for his tooth.   He first buys a monster for his quarter but then decides it wasn't quite right and returns it, getting 2 dimes and 1 nickel back.   Each time he buys and returns an item, he gets his 25 cents back in a different combination of coins, making this book an excellent introduction to the problem of how many different ways students can make 25 cents.

Pigs Will Be Pigs: Fun with Math and Money. By Amy Axelrod. Illus. Sharon McGinley-Nally. (1997). Aladdin, (0689812191). 40 p. Gr. K-3.
In this book, Amy Axelrod tells how the hungry pig family finds an empty refrigerator and then decide to hunt all over the house for money. After finding different amounts of money, they drive to their favorite restaurant, Enchanted Enchilada, and order 4 daily specials from the menu.


Jenny Found a Penny. By Trudy Harris. Illus. John Hovell. (2007). Millbrook Press, (0822567253). 32 p. Gr. K-3.

In this book, Trudy Harris describes how Jenny saves different values of coins to make a special purchase that costs one dollar. But even when she has the correct amount, will she be able to buy her item? There's a real life lesson in the story and is a great resource to pave the way towards financial responsibility.

The Coin Counting Book. By Rozanne Lanczak Williams. (2001). Charlesbridge Pub Inc, (0881063266). 32 p. Gr. K-4.
In this book you will find large, clear photographs of money that instruct students in coin denominations, grouping, and counting. This book is valuable as an introductory lesson on money.

How the Second Grade Got $8,205.50 to Visit the Statue of Liberty. By Nathan Zimelman. Illus. Bill Slavin. (1992). Albert Whitman & Company, (0807534315). 32 p. Gr. 1-3.
Nathan Zimelman takes a humorous look at a second grade fund raising project and the many adventures and misadventures along the way. What better way to slip in the concept of money to a second grade class than with a book exclusively about second graders raising money.

The Penny Pot. By Stuart J. Murphy. Illus. Lynne Cravath. (1998). HarperCollins, (0064467171). 40 p. Gr. K-2.
Stuart Murphy explores the world of money when Jessie want to have her face painted at the school fair. However, it costs 50 cents and she only has 39 cents. Therefore, she hangs out at the "leave a penny, take a penny" penny pot to gather additional change until she has enough.

Where the Sidewalk Ends. By Shel Silverstein. Illus. same. (1974). HarperCollins, (00605722345). 192 p. Gr. K-5.
The poem Smart, written by Shel Silverstein in Where the Sidewalk Ends, is a good-humored look at our money system and a child's misunderstandings about the size and value of coins. This is especially effective when student's "act out" the poem using the large coin cutouts or when students draw their own coin illustrations for the poem. Additionally, by having the students work out the equations for what occurs in the poem, you are encouraging some reversibility of thought.






Here are some fun websites that "coin"cide with teaching money in second grade.

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/math.htm This site provides ten different games on money, from verifying the amount, comparing, and matching.


http://www.practicalmoneyskills.com/games/ This site provides some dynamic, educational video games while teaching important money skills, such as "Peter Pig's Money Counter".

http://www.hbschool.com/activity/counting_money/ This site reinforces basic money counting skills by totaling the value of the shown coins correctly to fill in the box.

http://www.kidsmathgamesonline.com/money.html This site provides six different money games - like paying for bus fare, running a lemonade stand, and shopping.




Here is an additional site for fun facts about money. It can help bring in a history element to the learning process.   http://www.childrensmuseum.org/special_exhibits/moneyville/pop5.htm 

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