Coin Program Poetry

1. Research coin programs for your students to use by looking through the U.S. Mint Coin Classroom pages listed under Materials. Decide which coins or coin programs you want students to research.
   • You may also allow students to decide which program or coin they would like to research by giving them additional time during this lesson to review the pages on their own or assigning it  as pre-work/homework in advance of the lesson.
2. Explain to the class that the U.S. Mint has coin programs that honor important people, places, and events. Share with students some examples and display some of the coins from the U.S. Mint Coin Classroom or using actual coins, like an American Women quarter or 50 State quarter.
3. Create a K-W-L ("what we Know, what we Want to know, what we Learned") chart. Brainstorm with the class about the coin or coin program subject and take notes on the chart in the first two columns.
4. Divide the class into small groups and assign each group a question to research. Allow time and resources for the research. The links to the U.S. Mint website and U.S. Mint Coin Classroom below can start student research:
   • U.S. Mint Coin Classroom coin programs: American Women Quarters, 50 State Quarters, America the Beautiful Quarters, Lincoln Bicentennial Pennies, Westward Journey Nickels
   • Image library for high-resolution images of each coin
   • U.S. Mint YouTube Channel for coin-specific videos that explain the stories and designs and America the Beautiful, American Women Quarters
   • Coin & Medal Programs on the U.S. Mint website (reading level 4th grade or higher)
5. Sample research questions include:
   • General - Why was the subject of this coin / coin program selected? What makes it important?
   • America the Beautiful – Pick a quarter that shows a place you would like to visit. Describe the place, why you would like to visit, and how it relates to American history.
   • 50 States – Pick a quarter for a state you have never visited. Research what the symbols and writing on the coin means and how they relate to the state's history.
   • American Women Quarters – Research the life of one of the women featured on a quarter and explain how her life had an impact on the United States.
   • Lincoln Bicentennial Pennies – How do the images and writing on these pennies relate to Lincoln's life and American history?
   • Westward Nickels – How do the images and writing on these nickels connect to the Louisiana Purchase or Lewis and Clark expedition?
6. Have the groups share the answers they found with the class. Use the information to fill in the third column of your K-W-L chart.

1. Direct the students back into the same small groups, then have them write an acrostic for the coin, with the first letter of each line spelling out the     name of the individual or event. For example, "Lincoln" and "Maya" might read:

Lawyer Indiana is where he spent childhood Never without a book Chosen for Illinois General Assembly On a penny Lived in a log cabin Notable leader

Made poems and plays Author Youth activist Award-winner

• Have students write a brief essay explaining why the person or event was worthy of a coin.
• Using the Design Your Own Coin activity, ask students to design their own version of a coin honoring the same person, place, or event that they researched.
• Ask students to pick a person in their life that they would honor on a coin. Ask them to design the coin and write a brief essay about why they selected this person.