Contact UsCoins Money and Finance Activities for Kindergarten First Grade and Second Grade
Teaching coins money and finance in Kindergarten First Grade and Second Grade can feel overwhelming. Young learners need clear visuals and hands on routines to understand how coins work. In addition, they benefit from repeated practice that connects money to real world math. Total Math makes teaching money simple. The lessons engage students, support any curriculum, and build strong early financial literacy.
The good news is that teaching coins does not have to be stressful or time consuming. Total Math includes complete Money and Finance units for Kindergarten, First Grade, and Second Grade that make daily instruction simple for you and meaningful for your students. Each unit is organized, print ready, and packed with interactive resources that support any curriculum.
If you are looking for a way to teach money with clarity, consistency, and confidence, this post highlights how the Total Math approach builds understanding across all three grade levels.
Building Money Sense in Kindergarten
Learning coins in kindergarten begins with exploration. Before students can identify values, they need repeated opportunities to notice details, sort attributes, and compare sizes. The Total Math Kindergarten Unit for Coins and Finance introduces money through simple routines and visual supports that build this foundation. As a result, students gain confidence before counting begins. This early foundation prepares them for more complex money skills in later grades.
Inside this unit students learn to:
- Identify pennies nickels dimes and quarters
- Compare coin attributes
- Match coins to their names
- Practice counting with pennies
- Build early financial concepts like wants and needs
The activities are hands-on and intentionally short to match early attention spans. Students sort coins on math mats, practice vocabulary during whole group slides, and use journals to show what they know with quick checks that build ownership. Because everything follows a simple consistent format, teachers can focus on modeling strong math talk instead of prepping materials.
First Grade Coins and Money Lessons That Make Sense
First Grade students build on earlier money knowledge. They now connect coin names to their values. In addition, they learn to count mixed sets of coins. The First Grade Total Math Coins and Finance Unit lessons help students understand how coins money and finance work together. As students practice, their confidence grows. Interactive teaching slides engage students in whole group lessons together to learn each new concept.
The Total Math First Grade Coins and Finance Unit was designed to make this transition more successful. The progression moves from coin identification to counting sets of coins using visuals, consistent routines, and scaffolded practice.
Students build fluency with:
- Coin names
- Coin values
- Counting mixed sets
- Counting by fives and tens
- Relating coins to place value concepts
This unit is filled with warm ups, number fluency practice, whole group slides, small group activities, application pages, and learning logs that support every part of your math block. Everything is predictable for students and simple for teachers to implement.
Total Math lessons were created to enhance any curriculum and give teachers more flexibility. Whether students need reteaching or enrichment, each component helps you meet learners where they are without adding hours of prep time.
Link to the First Grade Unit
Second Grade Coins and Finance that Connect to Real World Math
In Second Grade, students begin applying money skills in real world situations. They count dollars and coins, write amounts, and solve simple word problems. As a result, they deepen their understanding of coins money and finance. The lessons move from guided practice to independent application.
The Total Math Second Grade Coins Money and Finance Unit provides a complete path for building these skills with:
- Counting mixed sets of coins
- Counting dollars and coins
- Writing amounts in standard form
- Adding and subtracting money
- Using number lines to model money
- Solving real world money word problems
Students move from guided examples during whole group teaching to partner practice on math mats and independent work during the application pages. Small group teacher led materials give you targeted practice that mirrors the strategies from whole group instruction. The unit finishes with assessments and learning logs to help you monitor progress and celebrate growth.
Everything is designed to match the conceptual visuals students need at this level.
Total Math for Teaching Coins, Money, and Finance
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Across all three grade levels you will find:
• Predictable lesson routines that lower cognitive load
• Visual supports that strengthen coin recognition
• Whole group small group and independent practice for every lesson
• Math mats for hands-on learning
• Learning logs to monitor progress
• Real world application tasks
• Activities that support any curriculum and fit into any math block
Because each unit follows the same structure, teachers can plan quickly and differentiate with confidence. Students know what to expect which allows them to focus on the math instead of the directions.
Make Teaching Money Simple and Engaging
Whether you teach Kindergarten First Grade or Second Grade the Total Math Coins Money and Finance units give you everything you need to teach money concepts with clarity. Students learn to recognize coins understand values count with confidence and connect money to real world math.
Most importantly the lessons save you time and energy. With warm ups number fluency practice whole group slides small group instruction math mats application pages journals and assessments already created you can focus on teaching rather than prepping.
If teaching money has ever felt overwhelming these units will make a noticeable difference in your day.
Explore the complete units here
More Total Math Lessons to Explore
We want you to love teaching math and for it to be a subject your students feel confident and excited to do each day. Here is another post about our Total Math Line of Resources.
