• You take a manilla folder.
• Open it up.
• On the left side draw a tree, or paste on a photocopy.
• On the right side, you have 4 library book pockets (or as many as you need to teach your concept).
• I fill up the tree with little pieces of soft velcro everywhere (on all parts of the branches) and I take pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters (cut outs from a coin ditto and I colored them accordingly).
• I glued them to small construction paper apples, which I then laminated and I placed hard velcro on the back of the "apples". I scattered the coins everywhere so that all the nickels can be separated, all the pennies, etc. So now, the tree is filled with "apples" (all the scattered coins)
• On the pockets, I labeled the values of each: 1¢, 5¢, 10¢ and 25¢.
• Each student is given one of these folders and they have to "pick" the apples from the tree and place them in the correct pocket. For example, a child "picks" a penny, then they place in the pocket that is labeled "1¢"
• After they are done, it is very easy to check this work because all you have to do is empty the pockets and make sure each coin is matched with its appropriate value.
  

I have worked with this activity with all ages - from middle school to elementary and even high school students. They all love to "pick" the apples from the tree. The money tree can be modified for other concepts. Addition and subtraction facts, time-telling, picture-word identification, phonics activities, etc. You can choose pretty much any "concept" to "pick" from the tree.

CONTRIBUTOR: Ms. Jany Mederos, Beginning Teacher, 1st and 2nd grade Autistic, Miami, FL

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