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Money in the Bank

Children will create paper coins and practice counting money and making change in this fun banking activity.

Lesson Plan

Supplies Needed

Gather all the supplies needed to bring your craft ideas to life! From paints and markers to glue and scissors, our crafts section has everything to spark creativity and make every project truly special.

  • Recycled Cardboard Box

Steps

  • Step 1

    Coins come in various sizes and denominations. In the United States there is the penny, nickel, dime, and quarter as well as the less frequently used 50-cent piece and the dollar coin. Display one of each coin and note the denomination. Ask students to cut coin shapes out of paper and write a monetary value within each. Have them practice counting the coins that they and classmates created. Students can organize the coins into appropriate equivalents. For example, they would put five 1-cent pieces with one 5-cent piece, two 5-cent pieces with one 10-cent piece, etc. 

  • Step 2

    Have some of the students form a group that will  decorate a coin bank by covering a recycled box with construction paper. When each side and top of the box are decorated, one or two students can  glue the paper sheets to the box.

  • Step 3

    Students can practice a variety of number operations math skills. Ask a student to be the bank manager and keep track of how coins are withdrawn and deposited as small groups of students address real and imaginary money challenges. For example, how many of each type of coin could be used to be equivalent to a dollar. If the item they are pretending to shop for is on sale, how much money might they get as change if the item is now 90 cents? Have students suggest shopping, saving, and donating challenges for their classmates that involve the use of the coins they created. Encourage students to practice these skills when they're at home or shopping with family.

Standards

MATH: Describe, compare, quantify, and classify objects by attributes. Sort objects into categories. 

MATH: Create models that demonstrate math concepts and attend to precision. 

Adaptations

Challenge older students to create paper bills in US currency denominations of $1, $5, and $10 to extend their money math banking skills with addition (deposit) and subtraction (withdraw) of dollars. 

Invite a bank employee or financial literacy or investment advisor to talk to the class and explain topics such as saving, spending, and investing in simple terms.