Regardless of the classroom, creating an economy system can be a highly rewarding experience not only for the students, but for parents and you. I’ve used this system is various forms for the past 15 years, from kindergarten to grade nine. And it works for them all!
What is the Purpose of a Classroom Economy System?
Back in the early 2000s, our math curriculum added financial literacy to the large list. Having a background in finances (my first career), I was happy. Financial literacy is a huge life skill and it helps students in all stages of life. I have seen “spenders” become “savers”. Many students come to understand “delayed gratification”. It’s pretty cool to see. You can read more about this in the blog post, Why Financial Literacy is Important.
What Do You Need to Start? Money!
Depending on your grade, you can either find class cash online (Teachers Pay Teachers) or your class can design them. For years I used a freebie I found on TpT and then I told the class that it was time to make our own. The original ones, called “Hoot Loot” are great as I like owls. So the new ones aren’t much of a change.
Don’t Reward Behaviour!
This is a tricky one, but rewarding behaviour can have some bad consequences. I tell my students at the beginning of the year, “We all have a job to do in our class. I have to do my job and the school pays me. You have a job to do and I will pay you.”
What I Pay Students For:
- Doing their weekly job – every Friday is “payday”. If they do their job for the week (and they do), I give them 1 Hoot Loot. If a student is away or students complete extra jobs around the classroom, I pay them an extra Hoot Loot.
- Desk Fairy card – once a week, the desk fairy appears and checks their desks. They leave a card in their desk that reads: You have a clean desk! Students can exchange that card for 1 Hoot Loot
- Something that benefits the school, such as cleaning the grounds
- Assembly performances – I give them a color version!
Ask Students to Design Your Classroom Economy System!
I tried this a few years ago and their ideas were quite good! Some created coins and others created money similar to our hoot loot. But it was a fun activity, nonetheless. I used the same dimensions as the current hoot loot. I like the size as it fits into the pencil boxes inside their desks. This activity took more work on my part to get the students to get them “print worthy”.
Having a classroom economy system has been so worth doing that it is always a “I’m doing it” task every year! Have you tried an economy system in your class? If you need more information, feel free to contact me!
Happy Teaching!
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.