Counting Money

💰 What Is Money?

Money is what we use to buy things.

In Grade 1, we learn how to count coins and understand what each coin is worth.

🪙 U.S. Coins You Should Know

Coin

Value

What It Looks Like

Also Called

Penny

1 cent

🟤 small, copper color

1¢

Nickel

5 cents

⚪ larger, silver color

5¢

Dime

10 cents

🔘 smallest, silver

10¢

Quarter

25 cents

⚪ big, silver with edge

25¢

✅ All coins have different sizes, colors, and values.

🧠 Value Chart

Coin Name

How Many to Make 1 Dollar?

Penny

100

Nickel

20

Dime

10

Quarter

4

🧠 Tip: A dollar = 100 cents

➕ How to Count Coins

Start with the biggest value first, then add smaller coins.

🔹 Example 1:

1 Quarter (25¢) + 1 Dime (10¢) + 1 Nickel (5¢) =
👉 25 + 10 + 5 = 40 cents

🔹 Example 2:

2 Dimes + 3 Pennies =
👉 10 + 10 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 23 cents

✅ Use skip counting to help:

• Count quarters by 25s
  
  

• Dimes by 10s
  
  

• Nickels by 5s
  
  

• Pennies by 1s
  
  

🧺 Real-Life Example

You want to buy a toy that costs 30¢
You have: 1 quarter (25¢) and 1 nickel (5¢)
✅ That’s 25 + 5 = 30¢ → You can buy it!

📘 Vocabulary

Word

What It Means

Cent (¢)

A small part of a dollar

Coin

A round piece of money

Value

How much the coin is worth

Count

To add coins to find the total

Skip Count

Count by 5s, 10s, or 25s to go faster

✏️ Practice Time

1. Count: 1 dime + 1 nickel = __________
   
   

2. Count: 2 quarters = __________
   
   

3. Count: 3 nickels + 2 pennies = __________
   
   

4. Can you make 30¢ using 3 coins? → __________
   
   

Answers:

1. 15¢
   
   

2. 50¢
   
   

3. 17¢
   
   

4. 1 quarter + 1 nickel
   
   

🎯 Try This with Real or Paper Coins

• Match coins to prices (Ex: apple = 25¢)
  
  

• Make a dollar using different coins
  
  

• Find different ways to make 50¢
  
  

✅ You can use real coins, paper coins, or pictures of coins.