United States Mint Helps Teachers Prepare For School

While some among us view the coming of September merely as the end of summer, a welcome relief from the awful humidity of August, there are those who know better.

While some among us view the coming of September merely as the end of summer, a welcome relief from the awful humidity of August, there are those who know better. The children know. They see on the horizon the flicker of something that most of us have forgotten - the end of summer vacation.

Gone are the weeks of endless Saturdays and gone is the indescribable beauty of a firefly cupped and aglow in the palm of your hand. It is a universally accepted truth that a pencil will never feel as good as a Louisville Slugger in your hands.

For schoolchildren around the world, there is something both powerful and thrilling in the words "Back to School Sale."
Often painted in big, bold letters four feet high and hung in every window of every store on every street, these are the signs of a great new adventure, signs that say the end is really a beginning.

Of course it isn't only students for whom the year begins in autumn. Teachers, most of whom enjoy the summer just as much, must also prepare their classrooms for the first day of another new school year. And that's where the United States Mint can help.

The United States Mint H.I.P. Pocket Change Web site offers its first set of free downloadable lesson plans built around the new Westward Journey Nickel Series. To complement the new nickels, the United States Mint will offer K-6 educators a set of free lesson plans based on each new design as it is released. Resource recommendations for K through 12 teachers will be available as well to support their teaching of the Louisiana Purchase and the Lewis and Clark Expedition - a great opportunity to connect history with the coins in the pockets of their students.

At the end of the year more comprehensive secondary education lesson plans will be released covering both 2004 nickels. All lesson plans and educational resources are available for free from the United States Mint H.I.P. Pocket Change Web site at www.usmint.gov/kids.

Earlier this year, the United States Mint released its 2004 set of quarter-based lesson plans featuring the Michigan, Florida, Texas, Iowa, and Wisconsin quarter designs from the popular 50 State Quarters Program. Drawing upon the new quarter reverse designs helps inspire students to learn about the culture, geography, and unique heritage of our states. Because of the success of these plans, the original set for grades K through 6 have been expanded with additional plans for grades 7 through 12, where students gain exposure to an advanced set of concepts in history.

"Coins serve as a terrific way to help students learn about our states and our Nation,"
says United States Mint Director Henrietta Holsman Fore. "These well-written lesson plans help make learning fun in the classroom, while students gain important academic skills."
The various lesson plans in both the quarter series and the nickel series - created and reviewed by teachers to meet curricular goals - focus on mathematics, geography, history, language, art, science, financial literacy, and more.

The plans blend clear instructions with student-friendly reproducible worksheets, background information, and answer keys to help make instruction easier for educators.

For more information, other educational resources, games, quarter-based lesson plans from previous years, and the new nickel-based plans, be sure to visit www.usmint.gov/kids.

Courtesy of ARA Content
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