From: Gail (for Teacher2Teacher Service)
Date: May 12, 1999 at 20:06:32
Subject: Re: Equivalence of coins

Have you ever seen this Shel Sliverstein poem? It is about those children you
mentioned in your message, the ones who can be easily tricked.

Smart

          My dad gave me one dollar bill
          'Cause I'm his smartest son,
          And I swapped it for two shiny quarters
          'Cause two is more than one!

          And then I took the quarters
          And traded them to Lou
          For three times -- I guess he don't know
          That three is more than two!

          Just then, along came old blind Bates
          And just 'cause he can't see
          He gave me four nickles for my three dimes,
          And four is more than three!

          And I took the nickels to Hiram Coombs
          Down at the seed-feed store,
          And the fool gave me five pennies for them,
          And five is more than four!

          And then I went and showed my dad,
          And he got red in the cheeks
          And closed his eyes and shook his head--
          Too proud of me to speak!

   - Shel Silverstein

Perhaps you could put this poem in the center of your display, and then have
the students prepare mini posters all around to show that THEY could not be
tricked like that!

-Gail, for the Teacher2Teacher service

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