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1. Before beginning the unit, the teacher should preview the "Birth of a Coin" and "Design a Coin" web pages at the U.S. Mint web site at: note: the "Birth of a Coin" animated tour requires Macromedia Flash Player, which can be downloaded from the US mint site at no charge.
2. Teacher should prepare cards with the following questions and place them at the computer center(s):

What is the U.S. Mint?
How many mints are there in the U.S., and what states are they located in?
What materials are used in the "pre-coin" process? What happens to the leftover metal?
What does a riddler do?
Using your own words and/or pictures, describe the process followed in creating a coin.

3. Coins are distributed to student groups, one coin per group, and students analyze the features of their coin.
4. Students hypothesize about how a coin is made.
5. Students log on to "Birth of a Coin." . After a quick preview of the questions that will be discussed at the end of the viewing, students view the "Birth of a Coin" animated tour.
6. Following a discussion of the animated tour, students log on to "Making Change" and follow the online instructions to design and print their own coin design.
7. Students compare and contrast the features of 1) the U.S. coin their group analyzed 2) the coin they designed, 3) a coin from another country.

Center for Technology and Teacher Education, University of Virginia. This module was created by Marie Rodgers, University of South Florida. Contact Michael J. Berson, Ph.D., University of South Florida