Time and Money Together

Overview

Lesson 13 of 19 in Creation, Community, and Calling. Students apply practical mathematics by reading time to five-minute intervals and using coins and bills to plan a purchase within a budget, practicing careful stewardship and service in a community setting.

Learning intentions

• Students will be able to read time to the nearest five minutes.
• Students will be able to count mixed coins and bills accurately.
• Students will be able to use counting on or an equation to solve a purchase problem.
• Students will be able to explain how they checked that an answer is reasonable.

Success criteria

• I can read four clock faces to the nearest five minutes.
• I can count mixed coins and bills accurately.
• I can plan a purchase within a budget.
• I can explain my strategy for finding the total or change.

Curriculum links

• Read and write time to the nearest five minutes using a.m. and p.m.
• Solve one- and two-step addition and subtraction problems involving money.
• Count, compare, and compose combinations of coins and dollar amounts.
• Represent and explain mathematical thinking using drawings, objects, equations, and words.

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 0–5 minutes – Warm-up: clock-hand arms

Open with the hook and warm-up slides. Ask, “How can two hands help us know when it is time to serve or help someone?” Students use one arm as the hour hand and one as the minute hand. Practice counting by fives around an imaginary clock: 5, 10, 15, and so on. Briefly connect accurate timekeeping with being prepared to serve others.

2. 5–15 minutes – Explicit teaching: model the strategies

Use the time and money teaching slides and a demonstration clock. Color-code the hands: short olive hand for the hour and long gold hand for the minutes. Model times such as 2:15, 4:30, and 7:55, emphasizing that the hour hand moves toward the next hour but has not reached it.

Display play coins and bills. Review values, then model counting on from the greatest value: “One dollar, one dollar and 25 cents, one dollar and 50 cents.” Model checking reasonableness by estimating before calculating. Show how elapsed time within one hour can be found by counting forward in five-minute jumps.

3. 15–30 minutes – Guided partner practice

Distribute the time and money practice sheet and mini-clocks, coins, and number lines. Read each question aloud, and invite partners to solve using concrete materials before recording an answer.

Alternate between time and money examples. Partners set a time, identify it aloud, and explain how the minute hand shows the minutes. For money, one student builds a total and the other counts it, then they switch roles. Pause after each example to ask, “How do you know?” and “Is your answer reasonable?”

4. 30–50 minutes – Community café or supply table

Use the café activity instruction slides to introduce the pretend community café or supply table. Set out price tags, play coins, bills, task cards, and number lines. Each student receives a budget and chooses items that fit within it. Students record the item names, an addition equation, and their total on the worksheet.

Students should explain their strategy to a partner: counting on, grouping coins, drawing a number line, or writing an equation. If the purchase does not use the whole budget, students may find the amount remaining or change with teacher support. Invite students to connect responsible spending with caring for a community.

5. 50–55 minutes – Individual assessment

Conduct a brief one-to-one check while the other students quietly complete a final worksheet problem. Show each student four clock faces and ask them to read the times. Give a small group of mixed coins and ask the student to count the total and explain the strategy used.

6. 55–60 minutes – Support, challenge, and closing reflection

Provide extra practice for students who need it using a coin mat, whole-dollar amounts, and orally read task cards. Students ready for a challenge solve a change problem or an elapsed-time problem that crosses several five-minute intervals.

Close with the review and reflection slides. Ask each student to complete the sentence, “I can use time or money to help my community by…” and share one strategy for checking an answer.

Resources

• the complete time-and-money lesson deck
• the time and money practice sheet
• Demonstration clock
• Six mini-clocks
• Play coins and dollar bills
• Price tags and task cards
• Number lines
• Coin mats
• Pencils and colored pencils
• Small baskets or trays for the café or supply table

Assessment

• Observe partner work for accurate clock reading, coin counting, and use of mathematical language.
• Review the worksheet for four correct clock readings, an accurate mixed-coin total, and a recorded purchase equation.
• Use the individual check to identify students needing continued support with minute-hand counting, coin values, or explaining their reasoning.

Differentiation

• Support developing readers and students with dyslexia by reading task cards aloud, using short directions, large clear print, color-coded clock hands, uncluttered worksheet design, and oral response options.
• Provide concrete coins, a coin mat, a number line, and whole-dollar purchases before introducing mixed cents or change.
• Pair students strategically and assign the roles of “builder” and “checker,” switching roles during practice.
• Extend confident students with multiple purchases, finding change from a dollar amount, or explaining two different ways to solve the same problem.