If there’s one thing I’ve learned after years of teaching, it’s this: kids understand math better when they can see it, touch it, and connect it to their real lives. And what’s more real to them than money?

Today, I’m excited to walk you through one of my favorite ways to teach money and decimals — and you’ll find a free printable anchor chart and pieces you can grab below if you want to make it even easier.

Why Teach Money and Decimals Together?

Money gives students a real-world reason to care about decimals.

When you talk about tenths and hundredths abstractly, it can sound like another random “math thing” they have to memorize. But when you show them that $0.10 is a tenth of a dollar — or that $0.25 is 25 hundredths — suddenly decimals have a purpose.

It’s no longer just “numbers after a dot.” It’s quarters, dimes, and pennies. It’s buying things at the school store. It’s saving up for a toy.

When kids see decimals through the lens of money, they build a concrete foundation that makes fractions, place value, and later math so much easier to understand.

How I Teach It: Step-by-Step

1. Start with Real Coins and Bills

Before you even show a decimal point, start with what kids already know: coins and dollars.

✅ Hold up a quarter and ask:
“How many cents is this worth?” (25¢)

✅ Then ask:
“How much of a dollar is this?” (One-fourth, 25 out of 100)

✅ Finally, connect it:
“When we write it as a decimal, it looks like this: $0.25.”

Simple, natural, and low-stress.

Pro Tip: Always start with what they know (money) and slowly lead into what’s new (decimals).

2. Connect Coins to Place Value

This is where our anchor chart comes in!

On the chart, I show that:

A dollar is 1 whole ($1.00)
A dime is 1 tenth ($0.10)
A penny is 1 hundredth ($0.01)
A quarter is 25 hundredths ($0.25)

When kids see that the dime lines up with the tenths place, and the penny with the hundredths place, it’s a total aha! moment.

💬 I like to say:
“Dimes hang out in the tenths place. Pennies party in the hundredths place.”

Silly? Sure.
Memorable? Absolutely.

Grab the Free Printable Anchor Chart + Pieces

If you want to save a little prep time, I put together a printable version of the anchor chart and all the little coin pieces too.

You can download it for free right here:
👉 Decimals and Money Printable Pieces
👉 Decimals and Money Mini Chart
👉 Decimals and Money Student Fill- In Chart
👉 Decimals and Money Full Chart (members only)

3. Practice Reading and Writing Decimals with Money

After introducing the visual connections, we practice reading and writing money amounts as decimals.

I show something like:

25¢ → $0.25
3 dimes and 4 pennies → $0.34
2 dollars, 1 quarter, and 3 pennies → $2.28

We do it out loud and in writing.

Because hearing themselves say “twenty-five hundredths” out loud makes it stick so much faster.

4. Make It Hands-On and Visual

We use printable money mats, cut-out coins, whiteboards, and lots of partner games.

The more hands-on, the better.

Example partner game:
🪙 One student grabs 3 random coins.
🪙 They tell their partner the total, but in decimal form.
🪙 The partner has to guess the coins!

Simply click the image below to GET ALL OF OUR ANCHOR CHARTS!