From: Gail (for Teacher2Teacher Service)
Date: Nov 16, 1998 at 19:12:14
Subject: Re: Counting Coins

Dear Carol,

It sounds as though he knows the alternate "names" for the coins (nickel is
"five cents," etc.), but he doesn't realize that is a quantity. Maybe
it would help to let him make change with the money (equal trading) for a
while first. Have him start with a dime and break it all the way down to
pennies, stopping first to see that it is two nickels, and then going to
pennies. Do the same with the nickels, and the quarter (that will take a long
time, but could provide insightful later). That way, as he is counting later,
he can recall that the coins weren't all worth a penny, but different amounts
of pennies.

You could also place "Race to a Dollar". In this game, you use a die (or
two dice, if you want) and a variety of coins. The first person rolls and
then takes that amount of money in pennies, or a combination of coins. The
second person does the same. As the piles grow, and the dice are tossed,
different combinations of coins can be added to the pile to represent the
amount on the dice. The winner is the first to reach $1.00.

 -Gail, for the Teacher2Teacher service

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