Use the power of the almighty dollar to introduce decimal notation to your fourth graders in this two-page worksheet, 12-page slide presentation and BONUS poster! This scaffolded practice activity visually walks students through converting monetary amounts from cents to dollars. Clear diagrams help students make the connection between cents to parts of a dollar and provide a foundation for the concepts in the fourth grade Common Core decimal standards.

This two-page practice activity starts by inviting students to figure out how many of a certain coin would you need in order to make one dollar, if all the coins had to be the same type. Students are given room to reason through the idea that the number of coins becomes the fraction denominator, and each coin is a unit fraction (i.e. if you need four quarters to make one dollar, each quarter equals ¼ of a dollar). Amounts are shown visually as coins but also as an equal part of a dollar bill. On the second page, students are introduced to a place value chart detailing tenths and hundredths in addition to the places they already know to the left of the decimal point (hundreds, tens and ones). At the end of the activity, students are asked to look at eight different groups of coins and a) determine how many cents the group represents, then convert this amount to dollars (i.e. a decimal number).

The 12-page slide presentation is a perfect complement to this activity and makes teaching this concept easy with visuals matching the student handout. The slide deck begins with stated learning outcomes, then walks your learners step-by-step through the teaching of the concept as they follow along and complete the activity.

Use the first page and a half for a whole-group discussion and interactive lesson, then have students work independently or in small groups on the second half of page 2. Concepts covered include using existing knowledge of coin values to reason about the sizes of quantities represented in decimal form, converting from cents to dollars, and introducing decimal notation for tenths and hundredths.

After teaching, use the BONUS poster to recall knowledge and help keep concepts front of mind for students throughout your decimal unit.

Provides a foundation for the concepts in CCSS 4.NF.C.7, but can be used to reteach and remediate in other grades or situations, like special education classrooms. Full answer key included. Error-free money-back guarantee!

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