In the center of the board were five sentences needing correction. Written in black dry-erase marker, one sentence read ‘we went to doras house this morning at 1000 to play ball’ and another read ‘we drinked some juice at lunch and we haven’t had none since then.’ Next to the sentences, the day’s schedule was clearly written, including a reading workshop in the classroom next door. Most of the morning would be spent working on math.

Sitting at a cluster of desks, Keppel worked with students to explain the Dollar Dice game. Using a die, plastic coins of pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters, and a set of handouts, the students put their multiplication skills to work.

For each roll of the die, the students had to refer to a handout to create an equation, and then figure out how much money the equation valued to determine its amount in coins. At the end of the handout, the totals are added together.

“You guys can help each other out. If you have questions, just ask,” Keppel said.

Working one-on-one with a student, Keppel asked “Four times two equals what?”

“Eight,” the student replied.

“How much money is that in quarters?”

“Two dollars,” the student said, then reached for a basket of plastic coins.

“Good,” Keppel replied.

Across the room, students worked in pairs to challenge each other with math flash cards. A high school student serving as a volunteer tutor to earn hours for the Missouri A+ Schools Program quizzed the students to help with the challenge.

“Using the flash cards helps with reinforcement of basic math facts,” explained Keppel. “The math game will help reinforce basic money skills, including multiplying and adding coin and dollar amounts. It all helps as they prepare to go to fourth-grade.”

The class is noticeably small.