There are so many fun ways to introduce your students to American coins!
Below you will find a collection of educational resources to help get your students started.
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And don't forget to visit the
Circulating Coins section to find out more about all of the current circulating coins from the United States Mint!
Kids love coins!
Watch your students explore some of the fun activities below and watch them gain an appreciation for coins and coin collecting!
Description:
In teams of four, have your students observe and note the physical attributes of a penny, nickel, dime and a quarter. Then have them work as a class and use their observations to find the correct answers to a related game.
Subject Areas:
Science
Description:
Are you more likely to see a certain Mint location marked on coins depending on where you live? This hands-on activity teaches students about probability using coins as manipulatives. Students will also explore the factors that affect probability.
Subject Areas:
Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies
Description:
What does a coin's composition have to do with the sound it makes when dropped? Well if you listen closely, older pennies have a different sound than those minted today. See if your students can hear the difference when trying their hands at this experiment.
Subject Areas:
Science
Description:
After examining Illinois' quarter reverse, students will explore and write about the controversy that arose the first time President Lincoln's image was placed on a coin, the Lincoln cent.
Subject Areas:
Language Arts, Social Studies, and Technology
Description:
Here's a fun computer center activity for your classroom! Prepare clues about a particular coin.
Then invite your students to visit the United States Mint H.I.P. Pocket Change™ Web site to research the answers to the quirky hints they are given!
Subject Areas:
Technology
Description:
As an introduction to the decimal system, invite your students to play this game where they examine the relation of different coins to a dollar.
Subject Areas:
Mathematics
Description:
Teach your students to create percents from fractions by sorting coins of different denominations.
Subject Areas:
Mathematics
Description:
The interesting thing about coins is that there have been many changes in design over the years. Have your students work in pairs to trace the design history of a currently circulating coin and display their findings on a timeline.
Subject Areas:
Social Studies
Description:
Is a coin's value based on its weight? Try this science experiment with your class to find the answer to this hefty question.
Subject Areas:
Science
Description:
Students will work in groups to examine a jar of coins to make both "guesstimations" and more precise estimations!
Description:
Students will use coins to help them explore the sun as a source of renewable energy.
Description:
Students will use their abilities to recognize coins and their values in this game that focuses on locomotor skills (skip, slide, gallop, run, jump). This game also requires students to add coin values.
Description:
This math game invites students to use practice their addition and subtraction skills while building upon their knowledge of coin values. The activity can be modified for older children to allow them to practice their multiplication skills.
Description:
Students will estimate the number of pennies it takes to fill outlines of various basic shapes.
Description:
Students will learn about penny quilts made in the late 1700s through the early 1800s. They will then identify significant events from their lives and create their own class penny quilt displaying this information.
Description:
Using a penny and its date, students are asked to remember and write about an important event in their lives. Then students read "The Hundred Penny Box" by Sharon Bell Mathis, the story of a 100-year-old woman who has collected a penny for each birthday she's celebrated and who uses the collection to recount the stories of her life.
Description:
Students use sets of circulating coins to determine the unique characteristics of each coin. They then create paragraphs and illustrations to convey what makes each coin in our pockets special.
Description:
Students will play a game where they determine the value of different coin combinations.
Description:
With this fun activity, students get to build a piggy bank and experiment with coin denominations
Description:
Students review coin identification and learn the value of each coin.
Description:
Students will review coins and their values and create coin combinations that equal 25 cents.
Description:
Directions: Using coins as the standard of measure, students will estimate and check weights of classroom objects.
Description:
Students will play a game in which they determine the number of cents (pennies) that equal a nickel, dime and quarter. The students will also identify which sets has more, fewer, or the same amount while also counting each collection and writing the corresponding value.
Description:
Students will recognize coins and their values and count coin groups.
Description:
Students will practice counting by 10s, 5s, and 1s in order to prepare for counting and adding the values of coins.
Description:
Students will correctly identify the each coin's value, and will add pennies and nickels to arrive at a designated amount.
Description:
Students will add pennies, nickels and dimes and will organize the coins to display a variety of price values from real life examples.
Description:
Students will use various coin denominations to explore the concept of fractions.
Description:
Students will use addition to determine values of coin combinations.
Description:
Students will solve story problems involving money. They will use higher level critical thinking skills to develop their own strategies for solving the problems.
Description:
Students will compare sets of coins and determine which group is greater than, less than, or equal to the other according to the number and value of each set. Students will read and interpret a simple bar graph to answer questions.
Description:
Directions: Students will use various coin denominations to explore the concept of fractions.
Description:
Students will use the Internet to learn about the creation of coins. They will then work collaboratively, with pen pals, to develop stories about the life of a coin.
Description:
Students will explore basic principles of electricity and will create their own battery.
Description:
Students will use their abilities to recognize coins and their values in this game that focuses on locomotor skills (skip, slide, gallop, run, jump). This game also requires students to add coin values.
Description:
This math game invites students to use practice their addition and subtraction skills while building upon their knowledge of coin values. The activity can be modified for older children to allow them to practice their multiplication skills.
Description:
Students will observe and make rubbings of circulating U.S. coins.
Description:
Students will estimate and determine the number of cents (pennies) that are needed to equal the mass of a variety of common objects.
Description:
Students will look at different samples of coin combinations in a pocket. They will then learn how to determine the probability that a particular coin will be pulled at random from the pocket.
Description:
Students will examine and discuss the designs on the circulating coins produced by the United States Mint. They will read to learn about the woman and child featured on the Golden Dollar. They will then compare and contrast this coin to the other circulating U.S. coins.
Description:
Students collect pennies and sort them in ascending order of dates. For the year on each penny, students research key events in history and pick a single event, explaining its historical significance. Then students use these events to create a timeline of U.S. history.
Description:
Students will explore the concept of density by trying to make a penny and other materials float.
Description:
Students will create their own balance to determine a difference in the weight (and composition) of cents made in different years.
Description:
Students will work in pairs to design a lever. They will conduct experiments using a penny and nickel to explore the uses of a lever.
Description:
Using a penny and its date, students are asked to remember and write about an important event in their lives. Then students read "The Hundred Penny Box" by Sharon Bell Mathis, the story of a 100-year-old woman who has collected a penny for each birthday she's celebrated and who uses the collection to recount the stories of her life.
Description:
Students build a stack of pennies as tall as possible, recording the number of pennies they are able to stack before the tower falls. Then, sharing answers, they determine the average number of pennies that could be stacked.
Description:
Students will explore basic principles of electricity and will create their own battery.
Description:
Students will observe and make rubbings of circulating U.S. coins.
Description:
Students will use pennies to illustrate how our states are represented in Congress. This lesson is to be implemented during a unit covering the branches of United States government.
Description:
Students will conduct a science experiment where they will learn that the different denominations have characteristic densities that can be used to help identify the type of coin being used.
Description:
Students will use skills of observation, recording, and calculation to provide an overview of years of cents (pennies) in circulation in the local area.
Description:
Students will explore surface tension and the effect that tensioactive substances (soap) will have on it, through the use of coins. They will also collect data on coins and their different properties.
Description:
Students will create their own balance to determine a difference in the weight (and composition) of cents made in different years.