Samuel Has a Dollar to Spend

This book is about a boy named Samuel who makes a series of money trades. It can be used to learn about the value of one-dollar bills and coins (quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies) at a more concrete level. It may be used to accommodate for specific needs and learning styles. It provides a model to represent coin values proportionally, which teachers, tutors, and parents will find very useful in helping kids learn about coin values, and problem solving. The proportional coin kit can be used with this book and other coin activities, with or without regular coins. You can make four copies of the coin kit (in color if possible) on cardboard and have your own proportional coin set for a dollar. Students’ drawings may be used to support the use of the proportional coins at the representational level. Mathematical sentences or equations may accompany learning activities to help them make connection with the abstract level. Eventually, the students will not need to use the proportional coins anymore.