Games for Elementary Students Related to Money

Saving Money

• Clip enough coupons to give each student at least five. Give each student fake coins and money. Hand each student five coupons face down. When you say "Start saving," the students flip their coupons over and begin counting them. The students must count the total of the coupons and put out the correct amount of fake money showing that total. The first student to show the correct amount of money wins the game. For a variation, play the game in teams.

Money Dice

• Have all the children sit in a circle and place a large jar of coins in the middle. Hand one player a pair of dice. She must roll the dice and collect the same amount of money from the jar. For example, if she rolls an eight, she must go collect eight pennies or a nickel and three pennies from the jar. Each player does the same thing. The first player to earn at least $2 wins the game. Tell the players they can trade in their smaller coin amounts for larger coin amounts as their money stack grows bigger. For example, a player trades in 18 pennies for three nickels and three pennies. For another idea, include dollars and do not name a winner until someone reaches $5.

Coin Roll

• Mark a starting line on a flat, hard surface and have all the students line up along the line. Give each player a penny and have him practice rolling the penny in a straight line. When you say "Roll that coin," students roll their pennies, one at a time, as far as they can from the starting line. Put a marker down where every student's penny stops. The player who rolls his coin the farthest distance wins the game. Other ideas include using quarters or nickels instead of pennies. For a variation, have the students spin the coin to see who can make his coin spin the longest.

Money Bags

• Place coins in several plastic bags, making sure there is at least one bag for each child. Hand each student a bag of coins. When you say "Count," the students dump their coins on their desks and start counting them. The first player to count his coins correctly wins the game. Play this game in teams with large bags of money and with bills, too.