Counting money for second graders is really fun for them. Who doesn’t like money? They love the real world aspect to these lessons. Parents have told me that after we’ve had our counting money lessons in class, their child has come home and started counting money to practice. As I have taught my counting money for second graders lessons, I’ve learned some tips and tricks that help students master this standard quickly.

 

 

In this blog post, I’ll be focusing on how to teach counting money with dollar bills. If you want to learn tips about teaching how to count coins, check out this blog post here.

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So, let’s get into my best counting money for second graders tips.

 

Counting Money for Second Graders

 

Tip 1: Teach How to Count Dollar Bills First

 

The Common Core State Standard for 2nd grade says, “solve word problems involving dollar bills, quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies.”

 

This standard wants students to solve word problems. But you can’t just jump into word problems. Students first need to know how to count up dollar bills.

 

That’s why my first tip is to teach how to count dollar bills first, then teach how to solve dollar bill word problems.

 

My second tip will involve more about counting up dollar bills, so first let’s look at some tips for teaching dollar bill word problems.

 

I start by teaching students with dollar bill word problems that just list out the dollar bills. Here’s an example of what these dollar bill word problems look like. “David has four $1 bills, two $10 bills, and one $5 bill. How much money does David have in total?”

 

 

To help students, I have them draw out the dollar bills. This helps them visualize the bills and makes it easier to count them. Students draw a simple rectangle and just label the amount inside. Then they can easily count up all the dollar bills to solve the word problems.

 

These word problems involving dollar bills are pretty simple, but there are some more complex ones.

 

Some dollar bill word problems have students add or subtract to solve. Let’s look at one of those as an example. “Hannah has $48. She spends $23 on a board game. How much money does Hannah have left after buying the game?”

 

I like to help students reason through this by asking if she is spending money on a game, is she getting more money or less money. Students say less. Then I ask if we should add or subtract? They will subtract, write their equation, and solve.

 

Let’s look at another counting money for 2nd graders word problem. “Ariana has a $20 bill, a $5 bill, and three $1 bills. She spends $10 on a movie ticket. How much money does Ariana have after buying the ticket?”

 

This is actually a two-step word problem. Students need to first count up all her dollar bills and then subtract the $10 she spends on a movie ticket.

 

For help teaching two-step word problems, read this blog post here.

 

When teaching these dollar bill word problems, I like to project example problems we can do together as a class. This prepares students for when I get them their own practice with worksheets and other activities. Find all the materials I use here.

 

Counting Money Printable Worksheets

 

Tip 2: Start With The Biggest Bill

 

Remember, before students solve dollar bill word problems, they need to know how to count dollar bills.

 

My best tip for this is to help students start with the biggest bill.

 

If you are trying to count up a $20 bill, a $10, a $5, and three $1 bills, it is easier to think, “10 more than 20 is 30. 30+5=35, and 3 more is $38” than to think “3+10=13+20=33+5=38.”

 

I first have students start with practice problems where the bills are arranged from biggest value to smallest value. Then I move on to practice problems where they have to find the biggest bill and count up from there.

I also have students complete worksheets where it gives them an amount, and they have to draw the dollar bills to match that amount. This helps to prepare them for the dollar bill word problems where they need to draw out dollar bills to solve.

 

 

I have other worksheets that challenge them a little bit more. It gives them an amount and they have to draw 2 ways to make that amount.

 

Find all of these worksheets here.

 

Counting Money For 2nd Graders Games and Activities

 

Tip 3: Make Counting Money Practice Fun

 

I love using the worksheets I mentioned before as initial practice of counting dollar bills. They are scaffolded and work students up to harder problems.

 

After my students get the hang of counting dollar bills. I want to get them some fun counting money practice.

One way I do this is to have my students do a scoot activity. This is where I have task cards taped up around the classroom. Students get a recording sheet and walk around to all the different problems and solve them with a partner. I have 3 different scoot activities I use in my class. One where students count up the pictures of dollar bills, one where they solve easier word problems, and one where they solve harder word problems.

 

 

My students love these scoot activities because it gets them up out of their seats and moving. It’s a simple way to bring in some fun into your counting money for second graders lessons. Find the scoot activities I use here.

 

Another way I bring in some fun, is to have my students complete counting money puzzles. Students work with a partner to match the pieces of the puzzle. As they do so, they are counting up dollar bills or solving dollar bill word problems.

 

I also have 3 versions of these puzzles. One has students match the dollar bills with their amount. Another has students match the word problem, with the dollar bills, and with its total amount. And the last one has students match the word problem with the equation to solve and its answer.

 

 

Students love these because they are not the norm. Students are usually at their desk, using a pencil to solve, but with puzzles they are not! I let students pick anywhere in the classroom to do these puzzles. They love finding a spot on the floor and spreading out all their pieces. It’s engaging to have something new. Find these puzzles here.

I also like to have my 2nd grade students play a dollar bill counting game. I call it Dollar Bill War. The cards have different amounts of dollar bills. A small group of students play together. They pass out all the cards. Then on the count of 3, students flip over their top card. Each student counts up the amount of money. The student with the highest amount takes that rounds cards and puts them at the bottom of their stack. Then this continues. The player at the end with the most cards wins.

 

 

I like to set this game out as a fast finisher activity. This helps students get practice with counting dollar bills for the rest of the school year. Find this Dollar Bill War game here.

 

Read my full list of fun fast finisher activities I have my students do in this blog post here.

 

I hope these counting money for second graders tips have been helpful. Remember to teach how to count dollar bills first before moving on to word problems. When students are counting dollar bills, remind them to start with the largest valued bill. And then get students fun practice with counting money so that they can master this important standard.

 

Find all of my counting dollar bill resources here.

 

Need help teaching how to count coins. Find my counting coins materials here.

Students do best with counting dollar bills when they understand place value. Read this blog post for more tips teaching place value here.