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Image shows a piggy bank standing on a large coin.

Activities

The United States Mint H.I.P. Pocket Change™ Web site is all about coins!  And taking a close look at coins can help a youngster begin to grow into a fiscally responsible adult!  Check out some of this site's fun activities and lesson plans that promote basic economic understanding:

  • What do your students know about saving money?  Examine your student's attitude towards saving with the lesson plan Do You Like to Spend or Save?.  Or use the lesson plan Alexander's Coin Conundrum to watch the choices made by a young boy as he spends money that he receives as a gift.
  • Common Cents is a unit plan containing lessons that introduce first and second graders to the basics of using coins.  Be sure to click on the individual lesson plans to get the step-by-step procedures for each activity!
  • Money Hungry Piggy Bank and its related Teacher Feature, Money Matters, will get your students excited about saving their money!  In these fun activities, students will make papier-mâché piggy banks and participate in a group competition, where they will compare coin values.
  • Plinky's Create-a-Card is an educational game that gives players a virtual allowance to spend.  Your students can use correct change combinations to buy pictures, and add them to a card that they can print and color on their own!  Don't forget to read through the Teacher Feature, "Cha-ching!" that was developed to accompany this fun game!
  • Quarter Explorer lets players earn quarters by answering questions about 50 state quarters and the states that appear on them.  They have to budget their money to make sure Bill doesn’t have to travel by bike when he visits those states!
  • Coins of the World brings travelers across the sea to see other lands and their currencies.  They’ll spend a virtual allowance in euros, yen, or dollars seeing the sights!
  • Time Machine is a portal to historic events and the coins that famous figures carried in their pockets.  Get a taste of the part that money has played in our nation’s history.
  • Coin Collector’s Workshop gives a tour of the world of coin collecting and tips for one’s own collection.   After all, collecting is one way to manage money!

Lesson Plans

The Educators area offers hundreds of lesson plans covering all major subject areas.  All are written by teachers and adhere to national standards, so you’re sure to find plans you can use, from kindergarten through high school.
Coin programs, like the 50 State Quarters® Program, provide great opportunities to get your students thinking about spending and saving their money! These circulating coin programs include:

Under the 50 State Quarters Program, Wisconsin's quarter design creates many opportunities for your students to learn about economic resources! Take a look at these lesson plans from the United States Mint:

Take a look at Michigan's quarter design and you'll see one of the state's greatest natural resources.  Look into how the Great Lakes affect this state's economy when you try out "Introducing Industries" [rtf], a lesson plan for grades 4 through 6 from the United States Mint.

For more ideas, explore these lesson plans:

Grades K and 1

Grades 2 and 3

Grades 4 through 6

Grades 7 and 8

Grades 9 through 12

Learn More About Financial Literacy

It doesn't matter how old or young you are, learning how to save and manage your money is vitally important.  By starting good financial practices in your youth, you are more likely to maintain these good habits in your adulthood.

Need more information about Financial Literacy?  Look for Web sites with information that may help you generate new classroom ideas!  Some examples follow:


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