September · Month 1 of the money year

Money and Value

“What is money — and what makes something valuable?”

By the end of the month, pupils can explain money as a way to pay, compare prices and keep purchasing power for later; connect earning to useful work; recognise unpaid contributions; compose coin amounts; calculate and check a small purchase; and explain why a price and a person's value are not the same. Money does not measure a person's worth.

Ages 8–11 · 4 lessons + a classroom mission · 45 min each

🖨️ Print the pupil workbook Browse in the Lesson Finder

📖 Also in the printable year workbook (PDF), pupil pp. 5–21

The month's teaching plan

Four 45-minute lessons in this order, then the classroom mission.

The journey of a €10 note

Penny · 45 min

Goal: Explain that money can pay for goods and services, show prices, and be kept for later.

moneyexchangepricevalue

You need: paper €10 token, picture cards for a baker, bread and customer, board.

Lesson plan (45 min) + what pupils do+

Scenario

A baker makes bread. A customer wants one loaf. The shop price is €3. The customer pays with a €10 note. Draw the people, work, bread and payment in order.

45-minute flow

5m show the token and ask what it could do; 8m model the baker/customer exchange and three jobs of money; 20m pairs arrange four cards (work → bread → price → payment) and invent a second example; 8m discuss why a drawing or shell might be harder to use as payment; 4m exit: write one useful job of money.

What pupils do

Draw arrows between baker, bread, customer and €3 price.
The customer has €10 and buys bread for €3. How much remains?
Circle one: money is useful because everyone must want the same swap / it can be accepted in payment.
Name something valuable that is not bought or sold.

Who made this possible?

Tally · 45 min

Goal: Connect earning to work that helps someone, while distinguishing paid work, gifts and unpaid care.

earnincomeservicecontribution

You need: cards: baker, bus driver, librarian, carer, birthday gift, volunteer.

Lesson plan (45 min) + what pupils do+

Scenario

Match: a baker makes bread; a bus driver provides a journey; a librarian helps people find books. Now sort three other events: a worker receives wages, a child receives €5 as a birthday gift, and a neighbour helps for free.

45-minute flow

5m ask who helped a library book reach the shelf; 8m model a baker earning income for bread while a volunteer may contribute without pay; 20m groups build a “value chain” for a school lunch or book; 8m compare paid, unpaid and gift examples without ranking people; 4m exit sentence: “A person may earn money when…”

What pupils do

Match baker → bread, driver → journey, librarian → book access.
Sort: wages for a shift, birthday €5, helping a neighbour for free.
Write how a cleaner or carer helps other people.
Why is “unpaid” not the same as “unimportant”?

Make the amount

Penny · 45 min

Goal: Recognise fictional coins and notes and combine them to make and check a small amount.

coinnoteamounttotal

You need: paper token set (5c, 10c, 20c, 50c, €1, €2), three price cards, board.

Lesson plan (45 min) + what pupils do+

Scenario

Tokens available: 5c, 10c, 20c, 50c, €1 and €2. Make €1.75 in two different ways, add €2 + 50c + 20c, and show one exact way to pay €1.30.

45-minute flow

5m show a mixed pile of tokens and ask how much there is altogether; 8m model making €1.75 in two different ways by counting up; 20m pairs make three target amounts several ways and check each other's totals; 8m discuss why the same amount can be paid with different coins; 4m exit: make €2.30 and list the tokens used.

What pupils do

Make €1.75 using two different sets of tokens.
You hold €2, €0.50 and €0.20. What is the total?
A pencil costs €1.30. Show one way to pay it exactly.
Why can two different piles of coins be worth the same amount?

Price and change detective

Penny · 45 min

Goal: Read a price, compare two prices and calculate change.

pricecostchangecompare

You need: fictional shop cards: notebook €3.50, pencil €1.25, sticker sheet €2.75; paper €10 token.

Lesson plan (45 min) + what pupils do+

Scenario

Notebook €3.50. Pencil €1.25. Sticker sheet €2.75. You have €10. Compare notebook+pencil with notebook+stickers, and calculate the change for one purchase.

45-minute flow

5m reveal a €10 token and the three shop cards; 8m model “amount paid − price = change”; 20m pairs run a fictional shop, swapping roles and checking receipts; 8m discuss whether cheapest always means best for a purpose; 4m exit: calculate one change amount.

What pupils do

Buy notebook and pencil. What is the total?
Pay €10. What change?
Buy notebook and sticker sheet instead. Which pair costs more and by how much?
Name one non-price question before buying a notebook.

Final mission

The Money Hero classroom market

Penny and Tally · 45 min · independent, after rehearsal

Goal: Explain earning and exchange, make an amount, calculate a total and change, and distinguish price from value.

Lesson plan (45 min) + what pupils do+

Scenario

Alex earns €10 for an agreed task at a fictional shop. Alex buys a notebook for €3.50 and a pencil for €1.25. A friend helps Alex carry the books for free. All money and people in this story are fictional.

45-minute flow

5m retrieve what money can do; 8m model a different example: €2 + €1 = €3, paid with €5 gives €2 change; 20m pairs alternate customer and cashier, then complete the mission independently; 8m compare reasoning about unpaid help and price; 4m complete the reflection and collect evidence.

What pupils do

How did Alex earn the €10, and how is earning different from a gift?
What is the total price of the notebook and pencil?
Show coins that could pay that total exactly.
What change should Alex receive from €10? Check by adding total and change.
Does the friend’s unpaid help have value? Explain.
Are stickers automatically more useful than a pencil because they cost more? Give a reason.

Optional extensions

Extra lessons for classes that move faster — invitations, not compulsory homework.

The swap problem

Tally · 45 min

Explain why direct swapping is hard and how a money everyone accepts makes exchange easier.

Same thing, different value

Penny · 45 min

Show that a fixed price and a person's value can differ, because value depends on who needs something and when.

Estimate before you pay

Penny · 45 min

Estimate a total by rounding prices and check whether a fixed amount is enough before working out the exact cost.

The faces of money

Tally · 45 min

Describe how money has taken different forms and why a useful money is widely accepted, lasting and easy to count.

Value without a price

Penny · 45 min

Recognise valuable things that are not bought or sold, and that money measures price, not a person's worth.

Practise it — free games & tools

The same ideas as a game or tool a child does themselves — for a station, quiet time or home.

Save · Spend · Share Make Change till Money Hero Academy

For the teacher

Prepare once

Print the core workbook pages (cover through the mission, plus reflection and tokens); extensions are optional, not compulsory homework. Print the token page once per pair. Draw the baker, bread and customer on the board, and write six job/event cards (baker, driver, librarian, a paid shift, a birthday gift, helping for free). Pencils, scrap paper and envelopes are enough — no real money, accounts, shopping or family financial details.

Adapt for your class

For ages 6–8: use whole euros and 50-cent tokens, read tasks aloud, and accept drawings or spoken answers. For ages 9–12: keep the cents, ask for more than one coin combination, and require a change check. Offer a scribe, large print, paired rehearsal and vocabulary pictures as needed. Don't equate arithmetic speed with financial understanding — stretch tasks are invitations, not a second compulsory programme.

Assess the mission

Run the final mission independently, after paired rehearsal. Mark five strands as Developing (needs a model), Secure (correct independently) or Extending (explains and transfers): earning vs gift (Q1); total and exact payment (Q2–3); change and reverse check (Q4); unpaid contribution (Q5); price vs usefulness (Q6). A maths slip with sound reasoning needs number practice; treating a gift as wages needs an exchange example; treating price as human worth needs a respectful contribution discussion. Revisit only the uncertain strand with a fresh example — never rank pupils by wealth.

The pupil workbook

Print-ready A4 pages: cover, diagnostic, every lesson with writing space, the mission, reflection and cut-out coins. Open and print (or save as PDF).

Open the workbook →

Next month: October — Choices

Education only — not financial advice. All shops, prices and people in the scenarios are fictional.

Money and Value

“What is money — and what makes something valuable?”

Ages 8–11 · 4 lessons + a classroom mission · 45 min each

📖 Also in the printable year workbook (PDF), pupil pp. 5–21

💶 Money and Value

The month's teaching plan

The journey of a €10 note

Who made this possible?

Make the amount

Price and change detective

The Money Hero classroom market

Optional extensions

The swap problem

Same thing, different value

Estimate before you pay

The faces of money

Value without a price

Practise it — free games & tools

For the teacher

Prepare once

Adapt for your class

Assess the mission

The pupil workbook

💶 Money and Value

The month's teaching plan

The journey of a €10 note

Who made this possible?

Make the amount

Price and change detective

The Money Hero classroom market

Optional extensions

The swap problem

Same thing, different value

Estimate before you pay

The faces of money

Value without a price

Practise it — free games & tools

For the teacher

Prepare once

Adapt for your class

Assess the mission

The pupil workbook

Money and Value

Money and Value