Materials Needed

• Set of play money (coins: pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters; bills: $1, $5, $10, $20)
• 5–10 household items (toys, snacks, books) to serve as "Store Inventory"
• Small slips of paper or sticky notes for price tags
• A "Money Master" ledger (notebook or piece of paper) and a pencil
• Optional: A calculator for checking work

Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

• Identify and total different combinations of bills and coins.
• Use the "Count On" strategy to find the total value of a mixed pile of money.
• Calculate the correct change needed for a purchase up to $20.00.
• Explain why organizing money from largest to smallest value makes counting easier.

1. Introduction: The Treasure Chest Hook

The Scenario: Imagine you are an explorer who just found a hidden treasure chest! Inside isn't gold bars, but a messy pile of cash and coins. To buy the supplies for your next adventure—like a high-tech drone or a mountain bike—you need to know exactly how much you have. If you miscount, you might walk away empty-handed!

The Goal: Today, we are going to move from "just counting" to becoming a Money Master who can handle any checkout counter with confidence.

2. Body: The Step-by-Step Method

Step 1: The "I Do" – The Secret of the Big Fish

When we count money, we always start with the "Big Fish" (the largest denominations). Why? Because it’s much easier to add 25 to 50 than it is to add 5 to 67!

• Demonstration: Watch as I sort a pile of $13.42. First, I put the $10 bill down, then the three $1 bills. Then, I look at the coins. I start with the quarters, then move to the smaller values.
• The "Wall" Concept: The decimal point is like a wall. Dollars stay on the left, and cents stay on the right. Once cents hit 100, they jump over the wall and become $1!

Step 2: The "We Do" – The Build-a-Price Game

Let’s work together to "build" these prices using your play money. I’ll give you a price, and we will find the fastest way to make it.

• Target 1: $6.75. (Hint: Let's start with the $5 bill. What comes next?)
• Target 2: $12.18. (How many quarters can we use? Can we do it with fewer than 5 coins?)
• Check-In: Why did we use two dimes instead of 20 pennies? (Discussion: Efficiency and pocket space!)

Step 3: The "You Do" – The Pop-Up Shop Simulation

Now, Olivia, you are running the "Adventure Supply Store."

1. Set Up: Take your household items and give them "random" prices between $0.50 and $15.00.
2. The Customer: I (the teacher) will come to your store to buy an item. I will hand you a bill that is larger than the price.
3. The Task: You must calculate the total, "count back" my change, and record the transaction in your ledger.
4. The Challenge: Try to give me the change using the fewest number of coins possible.

3. Conclusion: Closure & Recap

Summary: Today we learned that counting money isn't just about addition; it's about organization. By starting with the largest values and "counting on," we make fewer mistakes.

Review Questions:

• If something costs $4.50 and I give you $5.00, what is the "counting on" way to find my change?
• What happens when you get 100 cents?
• Which coin is the most "powerful" for making change quickly?

Assessment: How Do We Know You've Got It?

• Formative Assessment: During the "Build-a-Price" game, I will observe if you are instinctively reaching for the largest denominations first.
• Summative Assessment (The Final Boss): I will present a "Mystery Bag" of mixed play money. You must total the bag correctly within two minutes and write the amount correctly using the dollar sign ($) and decimal point (.).

Adaptability & Differentiation

• For an Extra Challenge (Extension): Introduce a 5% "Explorer Tax." Have Olivia calculate a small extra fee for each item to practice basic percentages or simple addition of extra cents.
• For Extra Support (Scaffolding): Use a "Cheat Sheet" card that shows the image of each coin next to its value (e.g., Picture of Quarter = 25¢). Use a hundreds chart to help visualize how many cents are needed to reach the next dollar.
• Digital Variation: If physical play money isn't available, use an online "Money Pieces" app to drag and drop virtual currency.

Success Criteria

You’ll know you’re a Money Master when:

1. You can sort and total a pile of mixed change in under one minute.
2. You can correctly identify that four quarters make a dollar every single time.
3. You can give back the correct change without feeling "stuck" or confused by the numbers.