Count up to make change: a 2nd grade number line money game
What it is: a 2nd grade math game where students make change the way many cashiers do: they start at the price and count up to the amount paid. A tape number line on the floor from 0 to 100 cents turns each hop into a coin, so students see why a dollar minus 65 cents leaves 35 cents.
Time: about 25 minutes. Grade: 2nd grade.
Materials: painter's tape, a marker, cards with 0, 5, 10 and so on up to 100 placed along the tape, price cards under $1 (35, 45, 60, 65, 80 and 85 cents), and a handful of real or play coins.
- Lay the number line along the floor. Mark every 5 cents and circle the tens.
- Model 65 cents paid with $1. Stand on 65. Hop to 70 and hand over a nickel. Hop to 80, 90 and 100, a dime each time. Count the change: 5, 15, 25, 35 cents.
- A student draws a price card, stands on the price and hops up to 100 while a partner hands out the matching coins.
- The class counts the change out loud and checks it with subtraction on the board.
- Switch roles after each turn: buyer, cashier, hopper.
- Finish with two prices on the board. Pairs count up on paper number lines.
Safety: tape the line flat, in a space without furniture, so students can hop safely.
Differentiation: students who need support use prices that end in 0. Students who are ready pay with $2 and count up to 200. English learners can use the frame "The price is ___. Your change is ___."
Quick check: give a student a price of 45 cents paid with $1 and ask for the change.
Save this activity to your library so it is ready when you need it.
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About this resource
- Shared by
- @UpOnlyLearning · Curriculum team
- Posted
- Oct 31, 2026
- Type
- Lesson plan
- Grade
- Grades K–2
- Subject
- Math, Life skills & money
- Language
- English
- License
- Free for classroom, co-op and tutoring use. Please don't resell.