Money is a HUGE part of the math curriculum for 2nd graders!  It can be a pretty abstract concept for many kids, but I love using hands on, real world money activities for 2nd grade and money games to bring counting money to life.  Let’s take a closer look at a few of my favorite money games and money activities for 2nd grade.

(NOTE: These money activities for 2nd grade assume that your kids already know the names of all of the coins and their values. In our state, we work on that in kindergarten and first grade so that kids are ready to starting counting a collection of mixed coins in second grade!)

Alexander, Who Used to be Rich…

I love Alexander, Who Used to Be Rich Last Sunday so much because it’s funny and relatable for kids.  But honestly, I just love Alexander no matter what book he’s in!

Plus, using children’s books in math is…. *chef’s kiss*, isn’t it? And as a side note on Children’s books or texts about money, “Smart,” by Shel Silverstein is another *excellent* poem to act out with kids. In that poem, a boy gets a dollar from his dad and goes and trades ONE dollar for TWO quarters! He keeps trading until he gets down to 5 pennies. And with each trade, he thinks he got the better end of the deal because he thinks two is more than one. 🙂 It’s a super fun poem to act out and prove why the little boy’s thinking is incorrect.

Okay…back on track!

Alexander Who Used To Be Rich Last Sunday is perfect for walking through a real world example of using money and counting coins.  Because our goal for this lesson is identifying the value of coins, that is what I really focus on for each slide of the story.

Money Games for 2nd Grade

Then, we play Roll A Dollar. In this money game, kids roll a die and add that many pennies to their stash. As they add more pennies, they mark through the value on the money hundreds chart. This game is super helpful to let kids practice adding pennies up to one dollar! Plus, they practice writing equations with money by recording how many pennies they add to their total each time.

They can play on their own or take turns rolling with a partner. Or they can also each have their own mats and race to see who gets to a dollar first by taking turns rolling the tie and adding in pennies.

This game is just like race to one hundred game we play on the hundredth day of school in first grade… but with money!

Counting Collections of Coins

Making money realistic and relating it to the real world is so important!  This Name the Price digital game does just that!  In these money activities for 2nd grade, we go through these PDF slides together and count the collection of coins to write the price on the tag.

Once we practice counting collections of coins together, kids get in partners and grab 10 coins from their prepared bag and count their own collection of coins!

For my friends who need additional support, I teach them to sort their coins by type first. Then add the quarters, then dimes, then nickels, then pennies.

Building a Collection of Coins

Who doesn’t want to help Granny with her fruit stand?  I love this activity because it can be digital or printable.  Plus, depending on the group’s decision, there are so many ways to work through Granny’s fruit stand!

Where Can I Find These Money Activities for 2nd Grade?

You can find all of the money activities and lesson plans for 2nd grade math in my Guided Math Workshop Lesson Plans.