Lesson 2

Title: Recognizing a Nickel

Lesson Overview: In order to be able to combine coin values, students need to be able to

visually identify the nickel.

Resources or Materials Needed

1 Large Brown Paper Bag

Brown Paper Bags (enough for 1 for every 2 students).

Enlarged picture of the front and back of a nickel.

Real coins, 20 nickels and a handful of pennies and dimes.

Plastic coins

Nickel Grab bag recording sheet

Orange/brown, and gray crayons

Penny poem poster

Nickel poem poster

SmartNotebook file, Penny and Nickel Sort

Lesson Objectives: Given a nickel, students will verbally identify the name of the coin with

100% accuracy.
Time: 1 hour.

Step 1: Pre-instructional activities: Assemble the large paper bag with the real coins, folding the

bag over so students cant see in. Create grab bags, enough for students to share with a partner,

with a mix of the plastic coins. Make copies, enough for all students, of the Nickel Grab Bag

recording sheet.

Read the Penny poem to the class. Discuss what the students learned in the previous lesson.

Step 2: Content presentation Have students move to a big circle. Show them the enlarged

pictures of the nickel. Talk with students about the name of the coin and how much it is worth,

have them repeat the name of the coin, nickel, multiple times. Explain that they are going to

play a game, where they close their eyes and reach into the bag. They pull out a coin and have to

say if it is a nickel (reference the enlarged picture) or not a nickel, then return the coin to the bag.

Walk around the circle, having students reach in and choose a coin. Students will identify

whether the coin is a nickel or not a nickel. Ask students, How do you know? To have them

explain their thinking, look for responses such as, it is medium, so it is a nickel or it is small

and silver so it isnt a nickel. Clarify incorrect thinking, for example, if a student says a dime is

a nickel.

Step 3: Learner Participation: Divide the class into two groups. One group will be sorting coins

using the SmartNotebook file. Students will take turns moving a coin into the different circles

labeled, Nickel and Penny and explaining their thinking to the teacher. The teacher will
facilitate, asking them why they put the coins in that particular circle. If needed, explain how the

coins go together in those groups.

The other group will be playing a game called, nickel grab bag. Students will work in pairs,

taking turns pulling a coin out of the bag. If it is a nickel, they place it on the nickel part of their

recording sheet. If it is not a nickel, they place it in the bottom box. Continue until all the coins

are sorted. When finished, students will draw (or trace) the coins that they sorted.
Bring the class back to the carpet and read the Nickel poem. Have them choral read the poem

with you a few times. Afterwards, ask students to reflect and share what they learned in todays

lesson.
Step 4: Assessment:

After the coin name lessons are given the instructor will give the checklist assessment below

(Table 2). Students will be given one of each (real) coin and asked to identify the name of the

coin.

Table 2:

Coins Nickel Penny

Student NOTES NOTES

Name Name: Name:

Penny and Nickel Assessment

Coins: Penny and Nickel

Name: Name: Name: Name: Name:

Identifies the Identifies the Identifies the Identifies the Identifies the

penny. penny. penny. penny. penny.

Identifies the Identifies the Identifies the Identifies the Identifies the

nickel. nickel. nickel. nickel. nickel.

Name: Name: Name: Name: Name:

Identifies the Identifies the Identifies the Identifies the Identifies the

penny. penny. penny. penny. penny.

Identifies the Identifies the Identifies the Identifies the Identifies the

nickel. nickel. nickel. nickel. nickel.

Name: Name: Name: Name: Name:

Identifies the Identifies the Identifies the Identifies the Identifies the

penny. penny. penny. penny. penny.

Identifies the Identifies the Identifies the Identifies the Identifies the

nickel. nickel. nickel. nickel. nickel.

Step 5: Follow-through activities:

Kindergarten students do not often have opportunities to use the knowledge of money. However,

students will use their knowledge of coins and their values to buy items from a class store.

Later in life, students will be required to use this knowledge in many other ways.