Lesson Plan: The End of the Penny

Essential Questions:

• What gives money its value?
• Why do the prices of products and services change? 

Preview Text Features (10 minutes)

Guide students to locate the article in their magazines or at Action Online. Preview the text features by asking the following questions:

• Read the article’s title and subtitle (the text below the title). Make a prediction to answer the question in the subtitle: What will the end of the penny mean for you? Answers will vary. Sample answer: The end of the penny might mean the beginning of a cash-free nation. It might mean we’ll all soon be paying for things only with apps and cards.
• Read the image caption labeled “Build Knowledge: The U.S. Treasury.” What does it tell you about the Treasury? The caption tells you that the Treasury is the government department that handles all our nation’s money. It includes the U.S. Mint (which makes the nation’s coins), and it also collects taxes, pays the government’s bills, and prints paper money. 

Preview Vocabulary (10 minutes)

• Point out the vocabulary box. Read the terms (production, phased out, manufacturing, circulation, low-income) aloud and discuss their definitions.
• Play the Vocabulary Slideshow. 

Make a Plan for Reading

Before students start to read, walk them through a reading plan:

• Set a purpose for reading by telling students that the article explains why the U.S. government will soon stop making pennies and how that change might affect people. 
• Direct students’ attention to the Pause and Think boxes. Tell students they can check their understanding of what they’ve read by answering these questions.
• Point out the activity at the end of the article and let students know they’ll be expected to complete it after reading.  

Read the article. (Higher- and lower-Lexile versions are available on the Story page at Action Online. Click Presentation View to access an audio read-aloud.) Then discuss the following close-reading and critical-thinking questions.

Close-Reading Questions (15 minutes)

• The author begins the article by asking the reader a direct question. What might her reason be for starting this way? (author’s craft) By asking you when you last used pennies to pay for something, the author gets you to think about how useful pennies are in your daily life. This prepares you to think about the larger questions of why pennies will no longer be made and how this change will affect people. 
• Based on the article, what are two things you could buy for a penny in 1793? (detail) The article says you could buy a candle or a biscuit for a penny in 1793. 
• How much does it cost the U.S. Mint to make a nickel? (detail) It costs 13.8 cents to make a nickel. 

Critical-Thinking Question (5 minutes)

• If coins can cost more to make than they’re actually worth, should the U.S. government stop making all coins? Why or why not? Answers may vary. Some students might say that making coins is a poor use of the government’s money, because there are ways to pay for things that don’t involve coins. Others might say that making coins is still important, because not everyone has the ability to pay for things with apps or cards. 

• Have students work in pairs to complete the Spotlight Skill activity at the end of the article.
• Go further: Assign students to work independently on our Summarizing activity. (Click here to view all your Skill Builders for this article.)
• Writing Prompt: Do you think the U.S. government should stop making nickels next? Why or why not? Write a paragraph stating and explaining your opinion. Include details from the article as well as from other sources.