Great Reading: Bookmark It!

Volume 31, Number 5, June 2004

Kate Houston Mitchoff

Money

Ch-Ching
This fun game teaches kids how to make correct change. Playing either easy or hard levels, players decide how many of each bill and coin to give in change.

H.I.P. pocket change
This site from the US Mint features a memory game, puzzle, crossword, a make change game, quiz and glossary. Cartoons show how coins are made and compare US money to that of other countries. Coin Camp discusses the metals coins are made of and provides information on becoming a coin collector.

Secrets of making money
Everyone uses money all the time, but who knows what the printing process entails? This NOVA companion site dissects the anatomy of bills, detailing the engraving process, the ink and paper used and why the watermark and hidden thread are so important. With their new knowledge, students can detect features proving a counterfeit bill is fake.

What is a dollar worth?
This site from the Federal Reserve Bank connects users to the Consumer Price Index and inflation rates from 1913 to the present. (The site also provides consumer price estimates from 1800 to 1913.) Students can fill out forms to find out what the value of a 2003 dollar would have been in 1930.

The current value of old money
An immense amount of resources help students understand purchasing power, historical wages, 17th century prices, inflation, cost of living and typical prices for goods in high demand during the California Gold Rush.

Kate Houston Mitchoff: School Corps Librarian, Multnomah County Library, Portland, OR.
E-mail Kate.