Coin Sorting

I love teaching money. It is so much fun -- and a very high interest area for the kids.

I love that money lends itself so well to so many math workstations and small group activities. We spend about a month on money -- introducing all four coins, counting and making combinations. Don't get me wrong, we could buzz through the coins in a week. But, it's a great unit and the length of it really emphasizes mastery.

Three years ago, my teammates and I spend three days of professional development creating a huge math workstation binder. I love pulling activities from it -- there is always something ready to go! This is a great practice station from our binder.

Here is a great activity/workstation for sorting coins. Because counting and making combinations is so tricky, spending some time comparing and sorting coins is a great place to start. My kids have loved it so far -- and been very successful!

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First, put a handful of coins in four ziploc bags labeled A, B, C, and D.

Print out the coin sorting mat and laminate (or be ghetto and put it in a page protector with a little tape on top -- like me!)

Then, the kids pick a bag of coins, sort them on the mat, and record how many of each on the recording page.

    

Click on the pictures above for printables. Enjoy!