Dana Wolinski

Literary Prop Box Plan

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Literary Prop Box Plan: A Banker
If you wanted to create a literary prop box for your classroom, one interesting role
you could focus on is a banker. Teaching children about the value of saving money and
learning appropriate ways to handle it at an early age is very important. Understanding
the reasons to have this prop box is the first priority because teachers should believe in
the curriculum they are providing. Then, teachers could encourage students to turn to the
prop box for vocabulary, materials, questions, extension activities, songs, and books that
relate to the occupation and help further explain the role of a banker.
Objectives:
Students will use the vocabulary to describe the role
Students will use the books when they want more information about the role
Students will learn about the role through play
Vocabulary:
Bank
Cash
Check
Checkbook
Credit
Credit/debit card
Debt
Deposit
Customer service
Overdraft

Safe deposit box

Loan
Savings account
Checking account
Withdraw
Teller
ATM
Interest rate
Bank statement

Materials:
Coins: can be pretend or real depending on the situation
Paper money: preferably laminated so it cannot tear
Checks: again laminated so they cannot tear; also children could write on them
with dry erase markers
Cash register: applies to banking or doing transactions
Credit/debit cards: the fake ones you receive in the mail or pretend
Questions:
How many accounts have you opened today?
o What do you have to do when you open an account?
I want to order more checks, can you show me how?
Can you explain to me how to use the ATM?
I would like to make a deposit, what do I need to do?
Do you have a limit on how much money you can keep in your drawer? Why?
Extension Activities:
Students could create a bank in the classroom and come up with a system where
they pay money (use other forms of payment) to buy items
o In my elementary school we collected beans of different colors, each with
their own assigned value. We earned them for good behavior or grades,
and every few weeks the bank would open and we could buy supplies or
fun items that we all brought in from home to sell
Students could engage in an activity where they have to practice the act of
depositing money and/or withdrawing with a partner. They could assess each
other (the customer or banker) based on the vocabulary they use throughout
the transaction. After they have done this, a class discussion about what happened,
what they learned, and what they would want to do in this real life scenario could
take place
Students could be given scenarios after learning about the various ways you can
make payments. Each situation would provide students with an opportunity to talk
about what kind of payment (cash, check, credit/debit card) would be appropriate
and why.
o This is obviously more advanced, so it would be better for older students.
If this is being done in a younger class, the teacher could go through the
scenarios with the class as a whole rather than asking for groups to come
up with the answers (http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/docs/pfl/educators/
resources/secondary/supplement/banking.pdf)
Songs:
Coins in a Dollar by Kathleen Wiley
o http://www.songsforteaching.com/themeunits/moneytheme.htm
Book List:

The Value of Saving: The Story of Benjamin Franklin by Spencer Johnson, M.D.

Johnson, S., & Pileggi, S. (1978). The Value of Saving: The Story of
Benjamin Franklin. La Jolla, CA: Value Communications.
How Banks Work by Gillian Houghton
Houghton, G. (2009). How Banks Work. New York: PowerKids Press.
One Cent, Two Cent, Old Cent, New Cent by Bonnie Worth

Worth, B., Ruiz, A., & Mathieu, J. (2008). One Cent, Two Cent, Old Cent,
New Cent. New York: Random House.
National Geographic Kids Everything Money: A Wealth of Facts, Photos, and
Fun! By Kathy Furgang

Furgang, K. (2013). National Geographic Kids Everything Money A

Wealth of Facts, Photos, and Fun! Paw Prints.
See this website for a few more in addition to those listed above:
https://www.unionsavings.com/education/kids/books