1st Grade · Math · 1.MD.A.2
Counting Money Lesson Plan for 1st Grade
A ready-to-teach counting money lesson for 1st Grade. Everything below is classroom-tested structure: an objective, a 45-minute sequence, a way to check who got it, and 6 printable practice pages.
Approximately 45 minutes
Learning objective
- Practice match u.s. coins to their name & value with step-by-step guided exercises
- Build counting money skills aligned to 1st Grade math standards
- Apply number sense and problem-solving to match u.s. coins to their name & value activities
Materials
- Match U.S. coins to their name & value
- Identify & sort coins
- Counting Pennies and dimes
- Pennies, nickels, and dimes
- Dimes and quarters
- Nickels and quarters
- Pencils, and whiteboard space for the modeled examples
Lesson steps
1. Warm up together (5 min)
Count around the circle before anyone sits down, then ask where counting money shows up outside this room. Listen for who counts confidently and who is watching a neighbour's lips.
2. Model it (I do) (10 min)
Work two examples of counting money where everyone can see, saying each number aloud as you go. Miscount once on purpose and wait: the child who corrects you has it.
3. Practice together (we do) (10 min)
Work three more problems as a class. Ask a different student to supply each step rather than the whole answer. If a step stalls, drop back to concrete objects or a drawing before moving on.
4. Independent practice (you do) (15 min)
Hand out "Match U.S. coins to their name & value". Students work independently while you circulate. Note who is fluent, who is counting on fingers, and who has not started, because that grouping drives tomorrow's small group.
5. Close the loop (5 min)
Pull the class back. Ask one student to explain a problem they got right and one to name something that is still confusing. End on the confusion, not the success, so students learn that naming a gap is normal.
Check for understanding
Collect the practice pages and sort them into three piles: fluent, developing, and not yet. Any student in the third pile needs counting money retaught in a small group before the class moves on.
Differentiation
Extra support. Students who stall: pull them into a small group and rebuild counting money with concrete materials or a simpler text before asking for the written work again. Do not send the page home as homework, it will just rehearse the misunderstanding.
Extension. Students who finish early: ask them to write their own counting money problem for a partner to solve, then check the partner's work. Creating a problem is harder than solving one and it surfaces whether they really understand counting money.
Skills covered in this lesson
Match U.S. coins to their name & value · Identify & sort coins · Counting Pennies and dimes · Pennies, nickels, and dimes · Dimes and quarters · Nickels and quarters · Pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters · Canadian coins: names & values · Sort Canadian coins · Count nickels and dimes · Nickels and quarters (Canadian) · Dimes and quarters (Canadian)
