Trading Faces

Lesson Plan (PDF)

Summary

Students will use addition to determine values of coin combinations.

Objectives

  • Students will use addition to determine values of coin combinations.

Subject Area

  • Math

Grades

  • 1st
  • 2nd

Class Time

  • Total Time: 0-45 Minutes minutes

Materials

Lesson Steps

  1. Explain that the class will divide into groups to play a game in which they will add together the value of various coins.
  2. Review values of the cent, nickel, dime, quarter, half-dollar, and Golden Dollar.  Prompt students to come up with possible trades that can be made (e.g., two nickels for a dime).
  3. With two to three student volunteers, demonstrate the game.  Allow each volunteer to take a turn.
  4. Distribute dice, cans of coins, and the "Coin Combos Tally Sheet" work page.
  5. Allow groups 20 minutes to play the game.  At end of 20 minutes, direct students to the "Coin Combos Tally Sheet" work page. Each student should record his or her coin combination by writing the value of each coin, the total number of coins he or she had, and the total value of the collection. Students should then cut and paste from the reproducible coin sheets to show an alternative combination that equals the same amount.
  6. Students can complete the "Trading Faces" work page in class or at home.

How to Play "Trading Faces"

  1. Players sit in a circle with a coffee can full of coins (cents, nickels, dimes, quarters, half-dollars, and Golden Dollars) and a pile of coins (nickels, dimes, and quarters) in the middle.
  2. Students will pull coins from the can for each turn; the pile of coins will be used as a "bank," for making trades.
  3. The first player rolls the die and collects the indicated number of coins from the can and determines the value of the coins he's collected. If the student has picked a Golden Dollar, he may take another turn.  Otherwise, the next player rolls.
  4. Remaining players take turns, repeating until time is called.
  5. Throughout the game, the teacher should stop the game periodically and remind students that they may have some coins in their piles that they can trade in for other, higher-value coins. They may make trades with the money in the "bank," the pile next to the coffee can. Players who wish to trade in coins should do so only during one of their own turns, so they may explain their trades to the rest of the group.
  6. When time is called, players should take turns counting their money aloud.
  7. When everyone has had a chance to share their coin combinations, they should complete the "Coin Combos Tally Sheet".

Assess

Use the worksheets and class participation to assess whether the students have met the lesson objectives.
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Common Core Standards

This lesson plan is not associated with any Common Core Standards.

National Standards

Discipline: Mathematics Domain: 3-5 Number and Operations Cluster: Compute fluently and make reasonable estimates. Grade(s): Grades 3–5 Standards: In grades 3–5 all students should
  • develop fluency with basic number combinations for multiplication and division and use these combinations to mentally compute related problems, such as 30 × 50;
  • develop fluency in adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing whole numbers;
  • develop and use strategies to estimate the results of whole-number computations and to judge the reasonableness of such results;
  • develop and use strategies to estimate computations involving fractions and decimals in situations relevant to students' experience;
  • use visual models, benchmarks, and equivalent forms to add and subtract commonly used fractions and decimals; and
  • select appropriate methods and tools for computing with whole numbers from among mental computation, estimation, calculators, and paper and pencil according to the context and nature of the computation and use the selected method or tools.
Discipline: Mathematics Domain: 3-5 Number and Operations Cluster: Understand meanings of operations and how they relate to one another. Grade(s): Grades 3–5 Standards: In grades 3–5 all students should
  • understand various meanings of multiplication and division;
  • understand the effects of multiplying and dividing whole numbers;
  • identify and use relationships between operations, such as division as the inverse of multiplication, to solve problems; and
  • understand and use properties of operations, such as the distributivity of multiplication over addition.
Discipline: Mathematics Domain: 3-5 Number and Operations Cluster: Understand numbers, ways of representing numbers, relationships among numbers, and number systems. Grade(s): Grades 3–5 Standards: In grades 3–5 all students should
  • understand the place-value structure of the base-ten number system and be able to represent and compare whole numbers and decimals;
  • recognize equivalent representations for the same number and generate them by decomposing and composing numbers;
  • develop understanding of fractions as parts of unit wholes, as parts of a collection, as locations on number lines, and as divisions of whole numbers;
  • use models, benchmarks, and equivalent forms to judge the size of fractions;
  • recognize and generate equivalent forms of commonly used fractions, decimals, and percents;
  • explore numbers less than 0 by extending the number line and through familiar applications; and
  • describe classes of numbers according to characteristics such as the nature of their factors.
Discipline: Mathematics Domain: All Problem Solving Cluster: Instructional programs from kindergarten through grade 12 should enable all students to Grade(s): Grades 3–5 Standards:
  • Build new mathematical knowledge through problem solving
  • Solve problems that arise in mathematics and in other contexts
  • Apply and adapt a variety of appropriate strategies to solve problems
  • Monitor and reflect on the process of mathematical problem solving
Discipline: Mathematics Domain: K-2 Number and Operations Cluster: Compute fluently and make reasonable estimates. Grade(s): Grades 3–5 Standards: In K through grade 2 all students should
  • develop and use strategies for whole-number computations, with a focus on addition and subtraction;
  • develop fluency with basic number combinations for addition and subtraction; and
  • use a variety of methods and tools to compute, including objects, mental computation, estimation, paper and pencil, and calculators.
Discipline: Mathematics Domain: K-2 Number and Operations Cluster: Understand meanings of operations and how they relate to one another. Grade(s): Grades 3–5 Standards: In K through grade 2 all students should
  • understand various meanings of addition and subtraction of whole numbers and the relationship between the two operations;
  • understand the effects of adding and subtracting whole numbers; and
  • understand situations that entail multiplication and division, such as equal groupings of objects and sharing equally.
Discipline: Mathematics Domain: K-2 Number and Operations Cluster: Understand numbers, ways of representing numbers, relationships among numbers, and number systems. Grade(s): Grades 3–5 Standards: In K through grade 2 all students should
  • count with understanding and recognize "how many" in sets of objects;
  • use multiple models to develop initial understandings of place value and the base-ten number system;
  • develop understanding of the relative position and magnitude of whole numbers and of ordinal and cardinal numbers and their connections;
  • develop a sense of whole numbers and represent and use them in flexible ways, including relating, composing, and decomposing numbers;
  • connect number words and numerals to the quantities they represent, using various physical models and representations; and
  • understand and represent commonly used fractions, such as 1/4, 1/3, and 1/2.