Counting money, the way children learn it
In the early years children learn to recognise Australian coins and notes and order them by value, and then to count small collections. The trick that makes counting easier is to start with the coin worth the most and count on, so the coins on every problem are sorted from biggest to smallest value.
Why the $2 coin is smaller than the $1
Size doesn’t tell you value: the gold $2 coin is smaller than the $1, and the silver 50c is the biggest coin of all. That surprises children, which makes it a good conversation. The drawings keep the real proportions so children can notice it themselves.
In the Australian Curriculum
- Year 2Solving practical adding and multiplying problems, including money transactions.
- Year 3Representing money values in different ways, and checking whether calculations are reasonable.
- Year 4Solving financial and other practical problems with number sentences.
Australia has had no 1c or 2c coins since 1992, so cash totals are rounded to the nearest 5 cents at the till. That is why every total on these sheets is a multiple of 5c, and why counting in fives and tens matters so much for money.
A classroom shop with play coins is a good first step. Children buy and pay with real handfuls of coins, then use the sheets to record totals on paper.
Summarised in our own words from the Australian Curriculum: Mathematics, Version 9.0 (ACARA).
