Dear parent or guardian: This is a summary of the key ideas your child is learning in mathematics.

You can use this summary as background as you support your child’s work. Some suggestions for
simple activities you can do with your child are also included.

Counting Money
1
The $50 and $100 Bills
Students were introduced to all the coins and to the $5, $10, and $20 bills in Grade 1.
They are now meeting the $50 bill and the $100 bill.

The $50 bill, usually red, has the number 50 on it.

It has the same value as 50 loonies.
The picture on the bill is of former Canadian prime minister William Lyon Mackenzie King.

The $100 bill, usually brown, has the number 100 on it.
It has the same value as 100 loonies.
The picture on the bill is of Sir Robert Borden, also a former prime minister of Canada.

Counting Money Using Coins or Bills of One Type

When you count pennies or loonies, you count by 1s.

1¢ 1¢ 1¢ 1¢

1, 2, 3, 4, …

1, 2, 3, 4, …

When you count toonies, you count by 2s.

2, 4, 6, 8, …

© 2021 Rubicon Publishing Inc. Grade 2 • Money 1

 1 Counting Money (continued)

Counting Money Using Coins or Bills of One Type (continued)

When you count nickels or $5 bills, you count by 5s.

5, 10, 15, 20, …

5, 10, 15, 20, …

When you count dimes or $10 bills, you count by 10s.

10, 20, 30, 40, …

10, 20, 30, 40, …

When you count $20 bills, you count by 20s.

20, 40, 60, 80, …

When you count quarters, you count by 25s.

25, 50, 75, 100, …

When you count $50 bills, you count by 50s.

50, 100, 150, 200, …

© 2021 Rubicon Publishing Inc. Grade 2 • Money 2

 1 Counting Money (continued)

Counting Money Using Coins or Bills of One Type (continued)

When you count $100 bills, you count by 100s.

100, 200, …

Counting Money Using More Than One Type of Coin or Bill

When you count a mixed collection of coins or bills, you can count in whatever order
you like. You can make the task easier by developing strategies to keep calculations
or skip counting as simple as possible.

In most cases, people start counting with the largest coins and then work their way
down to the smallest coins.

1¢
Two quarters: 25, 50 ...
Three dimes: 60, 70, 80 ...
Two nickels: 85, 90 ...
Two pennies: 91, 92 ...
1¢

If you were to count the same coins in a different order, it would be more difficult
to keep track since you would be adding less friendly numbers. For example, if you
counted the dimes and nickels before counting the quarters and then counted the
pennies, you might say:

1¢
Three dimes: 10, 20, 30 ...
Two nickels: 35, 40 …
Two quarters: 65, 90 …
Two pennies: 91, 92.
1¢

Notice that counting the quarters becomes more difficult.

© 2021 Rubicon Publishing Inc. Grade 2 • Money 3

 1 Counting Money (continued)

Counting Money Using More Than One Type of Coin or Bill

(continued)
Similarly, when counting dollar amounts, you might want to start counting with the
largest bill and then work your way down to the smallest bill or coin.

One $50 bill: 50 ...

Three $20 bills: 70, 90, 110 ...
One $5 bill: 115 ...
One toonie: 117 ...
Two loonies: 118, 119 ...

Helping Your Child

Set out a few each of pennies (if you have them), nickels, dimes, and quarters.

Create two piles of coins, and have your child count the number of coins and then
count the amount of money. Repeat with different combinations of coins to ensure
that your child realizes that just because there are more coins, the value of the coins
may not be greater.

You might do the same using bills or toonies and loonies.

Find everyday opportunities for your child to practise counting the value of coins
or bills. They could count coins in a piggy bank, coins given for allowance, coins paid
for a chore, bills in your wallet, or bills needed for a payment.

© 2021 Rubicon Publishing Inc. Grade 2 • Money 4

 1 Counting Money (continued)

Notes
Even though Canadians do not use pennies anymore when purchasing items, 1¢
values are included in pricing in stores. Also, children might see pennies when
dealing with American money and will benefit from knowing what we mean by 1¢.

Commemorative coins or bills look different from standard ones, so it is important

not to overemphasize the idea that all dimes look the same, all quarters look the
same, and so on.

Definitions
cent: (¢) a measurement unit for counting money; the value of one penny

dollar: ($) a measurement unit for counting money; the value of one loonie

penny: a 1¢ coin

nickel: a 5¢ coin

dime: a 10¢ coin

quarter: a 25¢ coin

loonie: a $1 coin

toonie: a $2 coin

© 2021 Rubicon Publishing Inc. Grade 2 • Money 5