Data Collection

Part One: The assessment took place in my second placement in a first-grade class at Atlantic

Shores Christian School. The class consisted of twenty-two students, thirteen girls and nine boys.

I created a pre-assessment on money because the students were getting ready to start a unit on

money. “The Purpose of pre-assessment of readiness is to find out what the students know and

don’t know to help plan your lessons to your specific students each year” (Lind, n.d.). I designed

my pre-assessment to align with math standards: 1.8 The student will: a) identify the number of

pennies equivalent to a nickel, a dime, and a quarter. b) determine the value of a collection of

pennies, nickels, and dimes whose total value is 100 cents or less. I also added the students will

be able to identify the front and the back of a penny, nickel, and dime and identify the value of

each. Overall, the students did very well. Half of the students scored 100%. Two students could

not identify the back of the dime and the nickel. Three students had trouble counting the value of

a collection of pennies, nickels, and dimes whose total value is 100 cents or less. Two students

could not identify the number of pennies equal to a quarter and had trouble counting the value of

a collection of pennies, nickels, and dimes whose total value is 100 cents or less. Four students

could not do all three standards.

1
 First Grade Pre-Assessment on Coins

Name______________________________________________________________________

Circle the correct answer:

1. 2. 3.

a. penny a. penny a. penny

b. nickel b. nickel b. nickel
c. dime c. dime c. dime

4. 5. 6.

a. penny a. penny
a. penny
b. nickel b. nickel
b. nickel
c. dime c. dime
c. dime

7. 8. 9.

a. 1¢ a. 1¢ a. 1¢
b. 5¢ b. 5¢ b. 5¢
c. 10¢

2
 c. 10¢ c. 10¢

10. 11. 12.

a. 1¢ a. 1¢
a. 1¢
b. 5¢ b. 5¢
b. 5¢
c. 10¢ c. 10¢
c. 10¢

Draw pennies to match the value of the coin.

13.

14.

15.

Count the pennies, nickels, and dimes. Circle the correct amount.

16.

3
 17.

18.

19.

20.

4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Part Two: I started the first lesson by teaching the students a rhyming coin poem to help them

remember the attributes and value of the penny, nickel, dime, and quarter. I gave each student a

bag that contained a penny, a nickel, a dime, and a quarter. I had students take out a penny and

look at it. I had students assist me make an anchor chart for the attributes of the penny (the front,

back, edges, and value). I pulled popsicle sticks and had students tape a picture of the front and

the back of a penny on the anchor chart. I repeated this process for each coin. The students were

able to feel and look closely at each coin as I asked questions and filled out the anchor charts.

For guided practice, I helped students complete two pages in their workbooks on identifying the

front and back of a penny, nickel, and dime, and identifying the value of each.

For the second lesson, I used a manipulative. “Evidence suggests if manipulatives are

utilized constructively, they have a significant outcome on a student’s math skills” (Lange, 2021,

p. 11). I gave each student a bag that contained twenty pennies, four nickels, and two dimes. I

also gave each student two ten frames and told them to place one on top of the other on their

desk. I used a document camera to display the ten frames on the whiteboard so students could

see. I put five pennies on the top ten frame and told students to do the same making sure they

started at the top left of the ten frame. I asked the students how to count pennies, and we counted

by 1s together to five. I asked what coin has a value of five cents? Then, I put one nickel next to

the row of five pennies and had students do the same. I asked why I put the nickel next to the

five pennies. The students said because one nickel equals five pennies or five cents. I repeated

the process until both ten frames were full of pennies and each ten frame had two nickels and one

dime next the pennies to show equivalence. For guided practice, I helped the students complete

two workbook pages on counting and matching the value of a group of pennies, nickels, and

dimes.

11
 The third lesson, I showed students the video story of A Dollar for Penny by Dr. Julie

Glass. The story was about adding coins to reach a dollar. I taught students how to play a coin

trading game called Race to a Dollar. The game was about trading coins that are equal just like

we did with the ten frames in the last lesson. I put five pennies under the document camera and

asked students how much to which they replied five cents. I asked what coin I could trade the

five pennies for to which they said a nickel. I showed examples of trades such as five pennies

and one nickel for a dime, two nickels for a dime, and ten pennies for two nickels then one dime.

The students were given a bag of coins that contained twenty pennies, five nickels, and ten

dimes. The students were also given a coin trading mat and a spinner. I put the coin trading mat

under the document camera so the students could see it on the whiteboard. I pulled popsicle

sticks and students come up and spin the spinner put the number of pennies spun on the coin

trading mat and determine if they could trade. Then I had students play with a partner. I took the

four students who struggled with counting coins and showing equivalence on the pre-assessment

and had them play at the table with me so I could help them. The students took turns spinning a

spinner, collecting the number of pennies shown on the spinner and putting them on the coin

exchange mat to visualize the penny-nickel-dime exchanges. If the student had at least five

pennies, they could trade for a nickel. If a player had either a nickel and five pennies or two

nickels, they could trade for a dime. The game ended when a player can exchange ten dimes for a

dollar.

12
 The fourth lesson to review coin values, I had the students play White Board Wipe Out.

Every student was given a whiteboard and they each had a dry erase marker and a sock. I told

students I was going to put coins under the document camera so they could see on the

whiteboard. They had to count the coins and write the total value on their whiteboards. They

were not to show the amount until I told them to hold up their whiteboards. First, I put two dimes

and five pennies under the document camera. After I said 1-2-3 hold your boards up. The

students held their boards up and we counted the amount together to check (10¢- 20¢ -21¢- 22¢-

23¢- 24¢- 25¢). I repeated this process for five dimes and one penny (51¢), two dimes, two

nickels, and four pennies (34¢), and a challenge of nine dimes and nine pennies (99¢). I asked

how much more was needed to make a dollar or 100 cents to which a student said one penny. For

guided practiced, I helped the students complete two workbook pages on counting a set of dimes

and pennies to determine the value and if they had enough money to buy an item.

The fifth lesson I dumped a pile of two dimes, three nickels, and four pennies under the

document camera. I asked students what they had to do first to determine the value of the pile of

coins. A student said first you must sort the coins by dimes, nickels, and pennies, then you can

count them. I pulled popsicle sticks and had a student come up to sort and count the coins (39¢).

I had students at their seat put their thumbs up if the coins were counted correctly and their

13
thumbs down if they were not counted correctly. I repeated this process for a pile of three dimes,

four nickels, and two pennies (52¢), a pile of two dimes, six nickels, and ten pennies (60¢). Then

I had the materials manager give each student a bag of twenty pennies, four nickels, and two

dimes. I told students to open their bag of coins and to make ten cents as many ways as they can.

I ended up telling the student there were four ways. Almost all the students were able to make

ten cents four ways. The one way some students missed was one nickel and five pennies. For

guided practice, I helped students complete two workbook pages on counting coin values and

determining if they have enough money to buy an item.

The last lesson I did was a review lesson. I hung items with price tags around the room

and placed a card face down on each student’s desk with assorted coins on them. I placed the

cards by each student’s ability. I had students count the value of their coin card and stand next to

the item that matched their card value. I did one as an example before sending students off on

their own. I told them I would help anyone that needed help counting their coins. Once everyone

was by an item they could buy, I called them up one at a time, had them put their card under the

document camera so all the students could see it on the whiteboard, and had them count. I asked

the class to put their thumbs up if the amount counted was correct and their thumbs down if t was

not correct. For guided practice, I helped students complete two review pages in their workbook

on identifying the value of a penny, nickel, and dime, on counting pennies, nickels, and dimes,

and counting a set of coins and determining if they have enough money to buy an item.

Part Three: For the post assessment I gave the student’s the same test as the pre-assessment to

see what progress they made. I was going to use the end of the chapter test on money from their

workbooks, but it did not line up with the standard of identifying the number of pennies

14
equivalent to a nickel, a dime, and a quarter. Several students could not identify the number of

pennies equal to a quarter and one could not identify the number of pennies equal to a nickel.

The first six questions on the post assessment required students to identify the front and the back

of a penny, nickel, and dime. The next six questions required students to identify the value of a

penny, nickel, and dime. These twelve questions line up with the standard of students the

students will be able to identify the front and the back of a penny, nickel, and dime and identify

the value of each. The next three questions required students to draw pennies to match the value

of a nickel, dime, and quarter. These questions aligned with standard 1.8 a) the student will

identify the number of pennies equivalent to a nickel, a dime, and a quarter. The last five

questions required students to add a collection of pennies, nickels, and dimes and write the total

value of each set. This aligns with the standard 1.8 b) the students will determine the value of a

collection of pennies, nickels, and dimes whose total value is 100 cents or less.

15
 First Grade Post Assessment on Coins

Name______________________________________________________________________

Circle the correct answer:

1. 2. 3.

d. penny d. penny d. penny

e. nickel e. nickel e. nickel
f. dime f. dime f. dime

4. 5. 6.

d. penny d. penny
d. penny
e. nickel e. nickel
e. nickel
f. dime f. dime
f. dime

7. 8. 9.

d. 1¢ d. 1¢ d. 1¢
e. 5¢ e. 5¢ e. 5¢
f. 10¢ f. 10¢ f. 10¢

16
 10. 11. 12.

d. 1¢ d. 1¢
d. 1¢
e. 5¢ e. 5¢
e. 5¢
f. 10¢ f. 10¢
f. 10¢

Draw pennies to match the value of the coin.

13.

14.

15.

Count the pennies, nickels, and dimes. Circle the correct amount.

16.

17.

17
 =

18.

19.

20.

18
 Pre-Assessment

Post Assessment

19
20
 Pre and Post Assessment Comparison Charts

The top chart is the results of the pre-assessment for six students. I highlighted the areas

where the students did not meet the standards. As indicated in the top chart, a significant number

of students had difficulty recognizing some coins and their relative value to each other. Based on

the data from the pre-assessment, I constructed my activities so students would be able to

recognize different coins, identify individual coin value, and calculate related values, i.e.,

twenty-five pennies in a quarter as well as determine the value of a collection of pennies, nickels,

and dimes whose total value is 100 cents or less.

The first lesson I taught aligned with the standard, the students will be able to identify the

front and the back of a penny, nickel, and dime and identify the value of each. It went well. The

students liked the coin poem, and it helped them remember the value of the coins. Giving each

student a penny, nickel, dime, and quarter was also beneficial because they could look at the

coins closely at each coin as they helped me fill out an anchor chart for each coin. Next time for

students that struggled with this standard, I would do a small group activity. I would have

students put together coin puzzles. The puzzles would have the front and back of the coin and the

21
value of the coin. Another small group activity I would use would be find that coin. I would have

a pile of real coins and would call out different attributes of a coin for the students to find. For

example, everyone find the back of a nickel, everyone find the coin that is worth ten cents, etc.

The second lesson I had students use real coins and ten frames to show coin equivalence.

This activity aligned with the standard 1.8 The student will: a) identify the number of pennies

equivalent to a nickel, a dime, and a quarter. It worked well. Next time I would do the same

activity but in a small group for students that struggled with this standard. The third lesson I

taught where students played the game Race to a Dollar also aligns with standard 1.8 The student

will: a) identify the number of pennies equivalent to a nickel, a dime, and a quarter. The students

enjoyed playing the game. I did pull the students that struggled with this standard to my table so

I could help them play the game. The game mat was beneficial because it showed the students

the trades using pictures of the coins. I called a few students up to take a turn and show the class

under the document camera so they could see on the whiteboard. Next time, when giving the

whole group instruction, I would have all the students do the practice rounds together rather then

watch one student.

In my fourth lesson students played White Board Wipe Out. Students had to count a

collection of coins and write the total value on a whiteboard. This aligns with standard 1.8 The

student will: b) determine the value of a collection of pennies, nickels, and dimes whose total

value is 100 cents or less. This went well and almost all students were able to count the coins

correctly. Next time I would do the same activity but in a small group for students that struggled

with this standard. My fifth lesson also aligned with this standard. I dumped a pile of coins and

had students sort and count the total value. Next time I would do the same activity but in a small

group for students that struggled with this standard. Another small group activity I would do

22
would be to have students pick a coin out of a bag and write the amount on a whiteboard. I

would continue having students pull a coin from a bag, add it to the previous coin amount, and

write the new amount on the whiteboard. I would have students continue until someone reached

a dollar. In my fifth lesson, I also gave students a bag of coins and had each student make ten

cents four ways. Almost all the students were able to make ten cents four ways. The students that

could not make ten cents four ways, missed one nickel and five pennies.

The last lesson I did, the students were given coin cards. The students had to add the value

of the coins on their card and find an item hanging in the room that they could buy because it

matched their coin value. I gave students coin cards that matched their ability. This lesson also

aligns with standard 1.8 The student will: b) determine the value of a collection of pennies,

nickels, and dimes whose total value is 100 cents or less. This activity was very engaging and

tied in a real-world activity – shopping. More importantly, as Attard (2017) noted, “Teaching

children about money through mathematics helps children learn.”

I think the lesson activities I taught were good. I would do them again except next time, I

would do them in small groups. I would also challenge my higher groups, the students who

received a 100 on the pre-assessment. I would do a small group activity having them count coins

and shop for items, but the items would not match the total coin amount. The students would

use subtraction to make change for items they want to buy.

By using actual coins, students were able to gain a real-world understanding of money and

its basic value as well as its relationship to itself. This was hugely beneficial, as is evidenced in

the post-assessment chart on bottom, because students improved nearly one hundred percent. In

terms of remediation, the data indicates none is required.

23
 References

Attard, C. (2017). Teaching kids about maths using money can set them up for Financial

Security. The Conversation. Retrieved from, https://theconversation.com/teaching-kids-

about-maths-using-money-can-set-them-up-for-financial-security-85327 

Lange, J. (2021). The importance of using manipulatives in math class. Northwestern college.

Retrieved from, https://nwcommons.nwciowa.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?

article=1291&context=education_masters 

Lind, K. (n.d.). Pre-Assessment. Teachingonpurpose.org. Retrieved from,

https://www.assessmentnetwork.net/2015/07/pre-assessment-where-teaching-and-

learning-begins/ 

24