Counting Money and Making Amounts
A 45-minute Grade 2 lesson on counting mixed coins, where the rule that makes it work is to sort by value and start with the largest.
Counting Money and Making Amounts is a free 45-minute Grade 2 maths lesson plan for Common Core standard 2.MD.C.8 — count money and solve money problems. It is timed across 5 sections, gives the exact wording to use where the wording carries the mathematics, names 3 misconceptions with the teaching move that addresses each, and ends with an exit ticket and a printable worksheet with its answer key.
- Grade:
- Grade 2
- Length:
- 45 minutes
- Standard:
- 2.MD.C.8
Grade 2 · Measurement & Data
2.MD.C.8
Solve word problems involving dollar bills, quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies, using $ and ¢ symbols appropriately.
Objective
Students will be able to count a mixed collection of coins and make a given amount in more than one way.
Students are successful when they can
- Sorts coins by value before counting.
- Counts on from the largest coin rather than starting at the smallest.
- Makes a given amount two different ways.
What you need
- Plastic coins — pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters
- Sorting trays
- Price cards for a class shop
- The printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan
The lesson
Warm-up — what is each one worth?
5 min- Hold up each coin and take its value. Note that size does not predict value — the nickel is bigger than the dime.
- Skip count by fives, tens and twenty-fives as a set, since those are the counts the lesson runs on.
Teach — largest first
13 min- Pour out a mixed handful and count it in the order it landed, deliberately jumping between values. Get it wrong.
- Ask what made that hard. Changing the skip count every coin is the answer.
- Sort into piles by value. Count the quarters first, then dimes, then nickels, then pennies, keeping a running total.
- Write the total with the correct symbol — cents or dollars — and say why both notations exist.
- Now the reverse: make 47 cents. Take the largest coin that fits, then repeat.
- Make 47 cents a second, different way, and note both are correct while one uses fewer coins.
“Sort before you count. Every time the coin changes value you have to change how you are counting, and that is where the mistakes come from.”
Guided practice — shop and check
12 min- Pairs take a price card and make the amount with coins, then remake it a different way.
- Partner counts the pile back to check it matches.
- For pairs who are ready, add change: pay with a larger coin and work out what comes back.
Independent practice
12 min- Students complete a counting money page.
- Totals that are close but wrong usually mean the running total was restarted at a new coin value.
Close
3 min- Show three coins and ask for the total, then ask for the same amount using different coins.
- Two answers for one amount is the idea to leave them with.
What goes wrong, and why
Each of these is a reasoning error rather than carelessness. The fix addresses the reasoning.
Counts every coin as one, giving five coins as five cents.
Why: Counting has always meant one number per object. A coin whose value is not one breaks that, and nothing has yet made value distinct from count.
Fix: Exchange each coin for its worth in pennies. Five pennies for a nickel, physically, makes the value a quantity rather than a label.
Says the nickel is worth more than the dime because it is bigger.
Why: Size has predicted value everywhere else in the pupil's experience, and for these two coins it is simply wrong.
Fix: Trade both for pennies and line the pennies up. The dime's row is twice as long, and the coin's size stops being evidence.
Loses count when the coin value changes mid-pile.
Why: The running total requires switching skip-count patterns while holding a number, which is two demands at once.
Fix: Sort first, always. Counting one value at a time means one pattern at a time, and the running total is the only thing being held.
If they are not there yet
- Work with two coin values at a time — dimes and pennies — where the counting is by tens then ones.
- Provide a sorting tray with labelled sections so the sorting step happens without being remembered.
If they finish early
- Make an amount with the fewest possible coins, and prove it is the fewest.
- Work out change from a dollar.
- Solve a two-step money problem: buy two items and find the change.
Exit ticket
Count: 1 quarter, 2 dimes, 1 nickel, 3 pennies. Then make 30 cents in two different ways.
What to look for: 53 cents, and two valid combinations. A total of 7 means the coins were counted as objects; a total near 53 but wrong usually means the running total restarted.
Printable practice for 2.MD.C.8
Free to print and copy, answer key included. Each sheet can generate a fresh set of problems for a retake.
- Count CoinsHow much altogether?
- Count Mixed CoinsHow much altogether?
Questions about Counting Money and Making Amounts
How long does the Counting Money and Making Amounts lesson take?
45 minutes, split across 5 timed sections: warm-up 5 min, teach 13 min, guided practice 12 min, independent practice 12 min, close 3 min. The minutes are stated per section and add up to the stated length, so the plan can be cut or extended at a section boundary rather than abandoned halfway.
Which standard does Counting Money and Making Amounts teach?
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.2.MD.C.8 — 2.MD.C.8, Measurement & Data for Grade 2: “Solve word problems involving dollar bills, quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies, using $ and ¢ symbols appropriately.” In plain terms, count money and solve money problems.
What do I need to teach this lesson?
Plastic coins — pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, sorting trays, price cards for a class shop and the printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan. Everything listed is either ordinary classroom equipment or a free printable from this site — there is nothing to buy and nothing to prepare beyond photocopying.
What mistakes should I expect in this lesson?
Three, each a reasoning error rather than carelessness: counts every coin as one, giving five coins as five cents; says the nickel is worth more than the dime because it is bigger and loses count when the coin value changes mid-pile. The plan gives the thinking behind each one and the teaching move that addresses the thinking rather than the symptom.
How do I know whether the lesson worked?
The exit ticket asks: “Count: 1 quarter, 2 dimes, 1 nickel, 3 pennies. Then make 30 cents in two different ways.” 53 cents, and two valid combinations. A total of 7 means the coins were counted as objects; a total near 53 but wrong usually means the running total restarted. That tells you whether the class needs a reteach or a thirty-second conversation before you plan tomorrow.
Is there a worksheet to go with Counting Money and Making Amounts?
Yes — 2 printable 2.MD.C.8 worksheets, linked at the end of the plan and free like the rest of the site. Each one comes with an answer key and 25 versions, so the practice after the lesson can be a different paper on every desk.
Is Counting Money and Making Amounts free to use?
Yes. The plan, its printables and their answer keys are free to read, print and photocopy for your own class, with no account and no email capture. It was last reviewed on 5 September 2026. Please do not resell it or republish it as your own.
Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to 2.MD.C.8 of the Common Core State Standards for mathematics.