Counting Canadian Coins: Pennies and Nickels!

Math Grades 1st Grade 4:59 Video
Print Lesson Plan Watch Video

Lesson Description

Let's learn how to count Canadian pennies and nickels! We'll practice identifying them and counting their value to understand how much money we have.

Video Resource

Grade 1: Lesson #101 Counting Canadian Nickels and Pennies

The Eagle's Nest - Our Online Classroom

Duration: 4:59
Watch on YouTube

Key Concepts

  • Identifying Canadian pennies and nickels
  • The value of a penny (1 cent)
  • The value of a nickel (5 cents)
  • Skip counting by 5s (for nickels)
  • Counting on by 1s (for pennies)
  • Organizing coins for easier counting

Learning Objectives

  • Students will be able to identify Canadian pennies and nickels.
  • Students will be able to state the value of a penny and a nickel.
  • Students will be able to count a group of pennies and nickels to determine the total value.

Educator Instructions

  • Introduction (5 mins)
    Begin by reviewing what money is and why we use it. Ask students if they have ever used money to buy something. Introduce the learning goal: 'I can count pennies and nickels.'
  • Penny and Nickel Review (5 mins)
    Show a Canadian penny and nickel. Ask students to identify each coin. Review that a penny is worth 1 cent and a nickel is worth 5 cents. Show the maple leaf on the penny and the beaver on the nickel.
  • Counting Practice (10 mins)
    Watch the provided video. Pause the video at each counting example and have students count along. Emphasize counting by 5s for nickels and then counting on by 1s for pennies. Model the strategy of moving the coins slightly as they are counted.
  • Guided Practice (10 mins)
    Provide students with sets of Canadian pennies and nickels (real or play money). Guide them through counting the coins, emphasizing the importance of separating the coins and organizing them in lines. Have students explain their counting process.
  • Independent Practice (10 mins)
    Give students a worksheet with various combinations of Canadian pennies and nickels to count. Students should write the total value for each set of coins.
  • Wrap-up (5 mins)
    Review the learning goal. Ask students to share what they learned about counting pennies and nickels. Discuss real-life scenarios where they might need to count money.

Interactive Exercises

  • Coin Sorting Game
    Provide a mixed pile of pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters. Have students sort out only the pennies and nickels. Then, have them count the sorted coins. This activity reinforces identification and counting skills.
  • Money Matching
    Create cards with pictures of different combinations of pennies and nickels on some cards, and the corresponding monetary value on other cards. Students match the coin combinations to their correct values.

Discussion Questions

  • Why is it important to know how to count money?
  • What are some strategies that make counting coins easier?
  • Where have you seen people use money in real life?

Skills Developed

  • Coin identification
  • Skip counting (by 5s)
  • Counting on
  • Problem-solving
  • Fine motor skills (manipulating coins)

Multiple Choice Questions

Question 1:

Which coin has a beaver on it?

Correct Answer: Nickel

Question 2:

How much is a penny worth?

Correct Answer: 1 cent

Question 3:

How much is a nickel worth?

Correct Answer: 5 cents

Question 4:

If you have 2 nickels, how many cents do you have?

Correct Answer: 10 cents

Question 5:

If you have 3 pennies, how many cents do you have?

Correct Answer: 3 cents

Question 6:

Which coin has a maple leaf on it?

Correct Answer: Penny

Question 7:

You have 1 nickel and 1 penny. How much money do you have?

Correct Answer: 6 cents

Question 8:

What do we count by when we count nickels?

Correct Answer: Fives

Question 9:

Which of these is worth the most?

Correct Answer: 1 Nickel

Question 10:

You have 2 nickels and 2 pennies. How much money do you have?

Correct Answer: 12 cents

Fill in the Blank Questions

Question 1:

A penny is worth _____ cent.

Correct Answer: one

Question 2:

A nickel is worth _____ cents.

Correct Answer: five

Question 3:

Pennies have a _____ leaf on them.

Correct Answer: maple

Question 4:

Nickels have a _____ on them.

Correct Answer: beaver

Question 5:

When counting nickels, we count by _____.

Correct Answer: fives

Question 6:

When counting pennies, we count by _____.

Correct Answer: ones

Question 7:

Five cents is the same as one ______.

Correct Answer: nickel

Question 8:

The coin with the smaller value is the ______.

Correct Answer: penny

Question 9:

A nickel has more ______ than a penny.

Correct Answer: value

Question 10:

Ten pennies is the same value as two ________.

Correct Answer: nickels

Educational Standards

CCSS.Math.Content.1.NBT.A.1:Count to 120, starting at any number less than 120. In this range, read and write numerals and represent a number of objects with a written numeral. CCSS.Math.Content.1.OA.C.5:Relate counting to addition and subtraction (e.g., by counting on 2 to add 2). CCSS.Math.Content.1.OA.A.1:Use addition and subtraction within 20 to solve word problems involving situations of adding to, taking from, putting together, taking apart, and comparing, with unknowns in all positions, e.g., by using objects, drawings, and equations with a symbol for the unknown number to represent the problem.

Teaching Materials

Download ready-to-use materials for this lesson:

Student Worksheet Classroom Slides Assessment Quiz Export to Google Docs
Add to Google Classroom

User Actions

Sign in to save this lesson plan to your favorites.

Sign In

Share This Lesson

Related Lesson Plans