Elementary school math lessons often include coin math lessons and activities for learning to identify coins, which can be challenging for students with low vision who have trouble with recognizing coins. I remember as a young student that I knew all of the visual characteristics of a quarter, including who was on it, what color it was, how large it was, and what it was worth, but when it came time to identify a quarter on a black-and-white worksheet that included small images, it was much harder for me to tell the difference between a quarter and a nickel since the majority of visual characteristics I relied on were now either missing or much harder to see. Here are my tips for adapting coin activities for low vision students and learning to identify coins, part of my Math Problems for Low Vision series that covers topics related to math accessibility.
Why are pictures of coins hard to see?
Even though I have a mental model of what different coins look like, how large they are, and other visual characteristics, it’s still challenging to identify coins from a picture. Printing a worksheet that contains black and white images of different coins makes it impossible for me to identify coins in a way that makes sense for me with low vision- it’s more difficult to see the coin sizes, front/back designs, ridges on the edge, and other characteristics that I rely on to identify coins. Plus, if the image is in a low resolution, I can’t magnify it further without distorting the quality, which can make it even harder to see.
During a classroom observation for another student, they were given an assignment where coins were represented as circles with a number label inside, which was difficult for this student to read since all of the circles were the same size and the font sizes for the labels were not. In this case, the 1-cent label was larger than the 10-cent label, but the 10-cent label’s font size was too small for the student to read, so the student would either ignore the 10-cent labels entirely or assume they also said 1-cent and get the problems wrong.
Related links
Learning to identify coins with low vision
Excerpted from my post “How To Identify Money with Low Vision”, here are examples of strategies for learning to identify coins with low vision based on tactile characteristics:
- Feeling the edge of the coins with a fingernail. Nickels and pennies have smooth edges, while quarters, dimes, and half dollars have ridged edges
- Identifying the sizes of coins. A nickel is larger than a penny, while a quarter is larger than a dime. Half dollars are larger than quarters
- Each coin is a different size, though all coins are the same color with the exception of the penny
- Dollar coins are larger than half dollars, but cannot be consistently identified based on size since they come in more than one size. However, these coins are less common and generally not included in classroom lessons
Another activity for identifying coins is to learn to recognize the sounds they make when they drop or fall on a surface. While throwing money on the floor is not a great way to identify it, it is helpful to learn the different sounds since they relate to the size of the coins.
Related links
- How To Identify Money With Low Vision
- Free Braille Art and Tactile Image Libraries: World Braille Day 2024
Add large print text labels or image descriptions
For classwork and other assignments, adding large print text labels to images of coins, such as labeling a picture of a quarter with “quarter” or adding alt text to an image can provide another way of letting the student know what coin they are looking at, and provide confirmation that they have identified a coin correctly. When I add large print text labels or alt text/image descriptions, I don’t mention that the quarter is 25 cents, since this information isn’t otherwise provided to students and it’s something they are expected to know as part of the assignment.
Related links
- Quick Ways To Improve Accessibility For Virtual Learning Materials
- How To Write Alt Text and Image Descriptions for the Visually Impaired
Incorporate real coins or physical manipulatives into the lesson
Looking at a 2D image can be challenging for some students with low vision, especially if the illustrations are not realistic. In these situations, incorporating real coins or physical manipulatives that serve as realistic replicas can be used in lieu of pictures, so students can more accurately solve coin math problems with low vision.
To make coins easier to see, another strategy can be to place them against a high contrast background or inside a container so that they are less likely to move around. For example, one student I worked with had trouble seeing the copper penny against their brown desk, but this barrier was eliminated when we put a piece of construction paper on their desk that they could place coins on. The construction paper also absorbed the glare from the overhead lights at their desk.
Related links
- Elementary School Classrooms And Low Vision: Designing Accessible Classrooms Series
- Paper Colors And Low Vision
- Environmental Accommodations For Low Vision Students
Use a virtual manipulative with realistic photos or illustrations
Virtual manipulatives use realistic photos or illustrations of money and display them on a screen, such as a tablet or computer. Students can move the manipulatives around the screen, zoom in on them, or use tools such as a backlit display or inverted screen to make coins easier to see.
Most recently, I used the free virtual money manipulatives from OryxLearning with a student, and opened the OryxLearning page in a web browser on their tablet so they could zoom in on the images or select them on their own. OryxLearning uses photos and also uses realistic sizes for images, i.e a penny is smaller than a quarter.
Related links
- Virtual money manipulatives | Oryxlearning
- My Favorite Free Math Websites For Low Vision
- Enabling Temporary Accessibility Settings For iPad
Replace or adapt low-resolution images when possible
Low-resolution images can be challenging for students with low vision to enlarge, because zooming in on an image further can make the image display less clear. In the case of paper-based materials, if the same worksheet was copied over and over again, the images could start to look fuzzy or be printed at an angle if the photocopy wasn’t perfectly straight, or they could even be cut off or missing. Since students might not realize they are missing information or that the page looks distorted, they may not share this information with others and will instead strain their eyes or pressure themselves to read it.
Whenever possible, replace or adapt low-resolution images so that they can be enlarged at a higher resolution. This can include providing digital files of classwork for enlarging instead of a paper copy, using realistic clip art, attaching images of coin math problems as separate files so they can be opened individually, or using an online tool to improve image resolution.
Related links
- How To Create High Resolution Images For Low Vision
- How To Create Accessible Diagrams For Low Vision
- Ten Spooky Inaccessible Assignments and How To Fix Them
Zoom in with a video magnifier
Students who have access to a video magnifier in the classroom will benefit from using it for coin activities, especially when they are first learning to identify coins and their different characteristics. For students that don’t have a video magnifier, another option is to use a phone or tablet camera to zoom in on coins placed on a table, or consider using another type of magnification aid like a bioptic or handheld magnifier. While I didn’t have access to a smartphone as an elementary school student, I used my phone as a video magnifier for a Spanish class activity involving currency from another country, positioning the coins on top of my notebook and zooming in to see the different details, and later used my iPad’s Magnifier app in college for a similar activity.
Related links
- How I Use My Phone As Assistive Technology In Class
- How To Make iPad Accessible for Low Vision
- Magnifying Glasses For Low Vision
More ideas for adapting coin activities and money lessons
- Looking for tips on how to identify paper money, including how to get a free US currency reader? Check out How To Identify Money With Low Vision
- Some teachers feature classroom posters with information about currency that students with low vision may not be able to see. Learn how to make accessible versions of these posters in How To Create Accessible Classroom Posters For Students With Visual Impairments
- Want to read more about low vision math accessibility? Check out my Math Problems for Low Vision Series by browsing the tag Math Problems for Accessibility Archives | Veronica With Four Eyes (veroniiiica.com)
Published February 2, 2024. Updated May 2024