Using a Classroom Economy to Promote Positive Behavior

Use a classroom economy in your classroom to promote a positive behavior system — Use a classroom economy in your classroom

I gave up on the clip chart. It was super hard, however, I read an image from Brian Mendler’s Instagram. He said that a Clip Chart is nobody else’s business. It really stuck in my head, and I knew I needed to do something different. I wanted to build a classroom economy. I wanted my classroom economy to match what I believed in.

When I decided to build my classroom economy, I knew that it had to revolve around positivity. You should know that I completely believe in Positive Behavior Support. (Drank the kool-aid and all) I used the color chart which led to the students getting a sticker on their Super Improver Wall. Honestly, I could talk about how I did this in an entirely different post! You can hear all about how I promote positivity in my podcast!

I did this (the clip chart) for 8 years. Here we are in year 9, and I finally needed something new. I looked at my standards (#rigor) and realized that on my Social Studies standards, there was economy. I wanted to dive in more to it and create a climate that uses money!

Launching a Classroom Economy

When you start launching a classroom economy, you have to start with the end in mind. I like to keep in mind that this is a positive, uplifting economy. I want them to be able to cash in for some prizes. My prizes are all free. I stopped spending money on prizes many years ago and this is no exception.

Don't buy things to reward students! Make free rewards! — Don’t buy things to reward students! Make free rewards!

As someone who promotes organization, I decided to build on this even further. I needed to think about EXACTLY how I wanted the students to cash in cash. There was no way that the students were going to walk up to me at random times to give me their “cash” or give me their tickets.

Nooooo way. I have set rules for this one.

Classroom Economy Cash In Rules

They can only cash out on Fridays.
They will get the Cash Out paper (I would like to purchase paper) when they walk in on Friday. It is due to me when they leave for lunch.
When they walk in on Monday, they will receive their tickets.
This one is HUGE…If they want to use their ticket that day, they must turn it in by 8:05. Our day starts at 7:45 so they have 20 minutes to turn in their tickets.
These tickets are valuable. They are told to put it somewhere safe.

How do the students earn money?

We have the prizes, but how do they earn those awesome prizes? By working for it of course! I like to give money as if it is going out of style. I will give it out for a week of homework, getting 100% on tests, and working. Yes…I said working. The students already do so much in order for our classroom to be a supportive room that we can do just a little more by offering “money” for doing their job. For example, why not pay the students for being a line leader, a door holder, or even passing out papers?

The Jobs

Start by choosing jobs that you will actually use. Some of my favorites are “hiring” the homework checker and the agenda checker. These take so much pressure off of me because I am no longer worried about checking homework every single day. Work smarter, not harder. When you sit down to do this, think of the realistic jobs.

Only create jobs that you will really use. Don't choose jobs that make no sense for you. — Only create jobs that you will really use. Don’t choose jobs that make no sense for you.

Once I create the jobs, I let them apply for the job. It’s super easy for them to apply. They just need to write down why they would want that specific job. Don’t make this harder than it has to be.

Let the students apply for something that they genuinely want and don't just pick jobs randomly — Let the students apply for something that they genuinely want and don’t just pick jobs randomly

Make it exciting when they are chosen for a job. Write a letter to say YAY!!!! You did it! You are going to be earning some money in the classroom! WOOHOO!

Try to keep track of what the students applied for. Keep it very simple and easy when they are applying for something. Write it down! Trust me, you won’t regret that.

Just write down exactly who applied for what job to keep it easy for you!

How do the students get paid?

One of the jobs you need to have is a banker and payroll officer. The banker will keep track of all money coming and going. The payroll officer will be keeping track of everyone’s job. I actually hire 2 payroll officers. They need to be able to communicate with each other to discuss if the students completed their daily job. Some jobs are super simple and some are a little more extensive. The students have a check list with everyone’s name and job on it. They check off each day and then at the end of the week they turn the payroll paperwork in to the banker. The banker will then be able to give each employee the cash that they earned.

Need a way to monitor the student jobs? Leave it up to the Payroll Officers.

Allow students to keep track of their weekly payroll (so you don't have to) — Allow students to keep track of their weekly payroll (so you don’t have to)

Implementation

Implementing a classroom economy is not a hard process. It will allow you to hold students more accountable while letting them become a thousand times more responsible. I have given you all of the tools to create your own economy in your classroom. In case you don’t have time to create your own system, I created one for you!

In case you need some more help- Check out some of my friends blog posts about Classroom Management- Teaching Dunn Simply