If you’ve ever taught a unit on money, you know the struggle is real. One day, a student perfectly identifies a quarter; the next day, they’re insisting it’s a nickel. Money is one of those “functional math” skills that requires constant practice and you guessed it… Progress Monitoring.

The Challenge of Teaching Money

Unlike basic addition, money requires students to juggle multiple skills at once:

  • Visual Discrimination: Telling the difference between a dime and a nickel (especially when the sizes and ridges are so similar!).
  • Skip Counting: Switching from counting by 10s to 5s to 1s in a single set.
  • Abstract Value: Understanding that a smaller coin (dime) is worth more than a larger coin (nickel).

Because there are so many layers, a “one and done” test at the end of the chapter doesn’t give us the full picture. We need to see the growth over time.

Start with the Basics: Coin Identification Freebie!

Before a student can add coins, they have to be able to identify them by sight and that includes knowing them from every side! To help you get started with your data tracking, I’m offering a Coin Identification (Mixed Heads & Tails) Progress Monitoring Freebie.

This quick-check tool helps you see if students can identify pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters. It includes 6 weeks of data collection for mixed heads and tails!

Streamline Your Data: The Money Progress Monitoring Bundle

If you are ready for a simple, effective, & no prep way to track money progress with your students, I’ve developed a comprehensive Money Progress Monitoring Bundle.

These sets are designed to take only a few minutes a week and provide a wealth of data for RTI, IEP goals, or report cards!

What’s Included in This Bundle: This massive resource combines 12 individual progress monitoring sets into one organized system:

  • Coin Identification– Penny, Nickel, Dime, & Quarter 
    • 3 Sets: Heads, Tails, and Mixed Heads & Tails
  • Like-Coin Addition 
    • 4 Sets: Pennies, Nickels, Dimes, and Quarters
  • Mixed Coin Addition 
    • 5 Sets: N+P, D+P, D+N, D+N+P, and Q+D+N+P
  • 6 Weeks of Data Collection per set: Six unique sheets per set with coin identification, like coin addition, or mixed coin addition problems with totals staying under $1.00.
  • Student Pages: 6 student pages per set. Perfect for a quick “desk check” or formal assessment.
  • Teacher Data Collection Page: A streamlined data sheet per set to track all 6 weeks of progress on a single page. Perfect for IEP binders and RTI meetings!
  • Answer Key: Printed directly on the teacher sheet for quick, efficient scoring.

Hi there!

Hi! I’m an elementary special education teacher with 12+ years of experience who knows the importance of having the right tools at the right time. I love creating resources that make teaching easier, learning more meaningful, and (of course) save time! Here, you’ll find ideas for literacy, math, progress monitoring, and social-emotional learning to help every student succeed. Let’s keep filling our toolboxes together!

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