Hey there! Do you know what these shiny things are? That’s right, they are coins! Coins are a type of money we use to buy things. Today, we’re going to learn all about them!
Have you ever heard someone say “dollars and cents”? Coins are the “cents” part. This is the symbol for cents: ¢. When you see this symbol, it means the money is in coins.
Let’s start with the penny. It’s our coppery friend and is worth 1 cent. If you have 100 pennies, you have $1! The penny has a picture of President Abraham Lincoln on the front. Did you know that before 2010, the back of the penny showed the Lincoln Memorial? Now, it shows the Union Shield. Even though pennies aren’t worth a lot on their own, their copper color makes them special!
Next is the nickel. A nickel is worth 5 cents. That means 20 nickels make $1. A long time ago, you could buy a candy bar for just one nickel! The nickel has President Thomas Jefferson on the front. His home, Monticello, is on the back.
Can you guess the smallest coin? It’s the dime! A dime is worth 10 cents, so you need 10 dimes to make $1. The front of the dime shows President Franklin D. Roosevelt. On the back, there’s a torch with an olive branch and an oak branch. The torch means liberty, the olive branch means peace, and the oak branch stands for strength. Cool, right?
Quarters are used a lot. They are worth 25 cents, so four quarters make $1. You might use quarters in vending machines or at the laundromat. Some quarters have pictures of states or territories on the back, and others have a bald eagle. All quarters have President George Washington on the front.
There are also half dollar coins and $1 coins, but we don’t use them as much. Two half dollar coins equal $1, and one $1 coin is, of course, $1. Half dollars have President John F. Kennedy on the front and a bald eagle on the back. Dollar coins might show Sacagawea, an explorer, or different presidents on the front, with a bald eagle on the back. You can find these coins at the bank.
Wow, we learned a lot about coins! Let’s see what you remember:
Great job, coin collectors! Coins help us understand money and are a fun way to practice math. Maybe one day, you’ll collect coins or design a new one!
Hope you had fun learning with us!
Coin Hunt Adventure: Go on a coin hunt around your house or classroom! See if you can find one of each type of coin: penny, nickel, dime, and quarter. Once you find them, try to arrange them in order from the least value to the most value. Can you find any special designs on the quarters? Share your findings with a friend or family member!
Coin Rubbing Art: Create a coin rubbing art piece! Place a piece of paper over a coin and gently rub a crayon or pencil over it to reveal the design. Try this with different coins and colors. Can you make a picture using your coin rubbings? Display your artwork and explain which coins you used and what you learned about them.
Coin Math Challenge: Use coins to practice simple math problems. For example, if you have 3 nickels and 2 dimes, how much money do you have in total? Try creating your own math problems using different combinations of coins. Share your problems with a friend and see if they can solve them!
Sure! Here’s a sanitized version of the transcript:
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Do you know what these are? That’s right, they are coins! Coins are a part of the money that we use to pay for goods or services, and today we are going to learn more about them.
Before we get into that, have you ever heard of the phrase “dollars and cents”? Well, coins are the cents part of this phrase. This is the symbol for cents. Whenever you see this symbol, you can remember that the money you are using is cents or coins.
Let’s talk about the value or worth of each coin, plus some fun facts, starting with our coppery friend, the penny. The penny is equal to 1 cent, and 100 pennies or cents equals $1. Pennies are usually used to make change at a store. President Abraham Lincoln is featured on the front of the penny. As for the back, here’s a fun fact: before 2010, the back of a penny had the Lincoln Memorial on it, but now it shows what is called the Union Shield. Either way, their coppery color makes them unique, even if they aren’t worth a lot on their own.
Next up is the nickel. The nickel is worth 5 cents, which means that 20 nickels equal $1. A long time ago, you used to be able to buy a candy bar for a nickel! Can you even imagine? President Thomas Jefferson is on the front of the nickel. Before 2006, President Jefferson was shown in profile, but now you can see his whole face. Jefferson’s home, Monticello, is shown on the back.
Can you guess what the smallest U.S. coin is? If you said dime, you are correct! A dime is equal to 10 cents, so how many dimes does it take to make $1? Yep, it’s 10. The person on the front of the dime is President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and the back of the dime shows a torch with an olive branch to the left and an oak branch to the right. Want to know an interesting fact? The torch represents liberty, the olive branch stands for peace, and the oak branch means strength and independence. Pretty cool!
Quarters are used much more often than other coins. They are worth 25 cents, so it only takes four quarters to equal a dollar. You have probably used quarters for vending machines, at the laundromat, or even washing a car. You might also collect quarters because there are many different kinds. Some feature states or territories on the back, while others feature a bald eagle, but all have President George Washington on the front.
There are also two other coins that are used but not quite as often: the half dollar coin and the $1 coin. As you might suspect, two half dollar coins equal $1, and one $1 coin is equal to $1. Half dollars have President John F. Kennedy on the front and a bald eagle on the back, while dollar coins feature either Sacagawea the explorer or the presidents of the United States on the front and a bald eagle on the back. You can get both of these types of coins at the bank.
Wow, we have learned a lot about coins today! Let’s review to see what you remember.
True or false: Pennies are worth the most out of all coins. If you said false, you’re correct!
Fill in the blank: The _______ is the smallest coin in size. The smallest coin in size is the dime.
How many quarters are equal to $1? That’s right, four! Great job, coin collectors! Coins make sense out of our money and are also a fun way to practice math facts. Maybe one day you will become a coin collector or create a new design for the back of a coin for all to see.
Hope you had fun learning with us! Visit us at learn.org for thousands of free resources and turnkey solutions for teachers and homeschoolers.
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