Classroom Economy System

My inbox was overflowing with questions about my classroom store, so I thought it would be helpful to write a post going into a little more detail about my class economy system and answer some of your frequently asked questions.

Before school starts, I print-off $1, $5, and $10 class cash bills on green paper. Then, I prep my classroom cash reward coupons and place them in this case that I found on MAJOR sale at Michael’s.

I roll out my classroom economy system Day 1 of school. I explain to students how they can earn class cash. Here are some examples: following directions, standing quietly in line, being extra helpful, turning in their homework, transitioning quickly from an activity, cleaning up food in the lunch room that’s not even theirs, having a growth mindset, keeping their desk clean, listening and looking to the teacher, standing up for a friend if they’re being bullied, following our classroom promise…and the list goes on.

I’m usually overly generous the first couple weeks of school to ensure that students are getting lots of positive reinforcements for how I want our classroom to run.

How do students keep track of their money? On the first day of school I pass out envelopes that we refer to as wallets, and students keep their money inside of them. We spend time decorating and labeling them the first day.

Students are in charge of their wallets and keeping them in a safe spot. I tell them that if they lost their wallet in the real world it would be “too bad so sad”. Your money doesn’t get replaced. You would have to start back at the beginning. I also tell them they should not bring their classroom cash home because again, it might go missing. After 8 years of running a classroom economy system only one student has lost their wallet.

If students find class cash on the ground they are to bring it to me. Just like in the real world. If you find money in a store, you bring it to the sales clerk so they can try to find out whose it is.

Do students have enough money to buy something each week? I would say about half of the class will buy something and the other half will ask to save up to use their money the following week.

How do you determine who gets to buy something? I usually pick 3 sticks at a time and call them over to either buy something from the store or to turn in their $1s into $5s or $10s.

When is the store open? I usually open up the store every Friday or every other Friday. There are years where I put other students in charge of the classroom store if they are trustworthy and good with math. I always enjoy seeing if there is someone in the room who is willing and able to take on the challenge.

How to do you help students buy into the system all year long? I continually add items to the classroom store. I usually start the year with a handful of reward coupons and as the year goes on, I’ll add a couple more coupons each month. It keeps kids excited about coming to the store and seeing if there’s anything new.

Do you ever take away classroom cash? If I do take away classroom cash it’s only $1 or $2 in a day. I only use taking away classroom cash as a warning before a more serious consequence. My goal is for ALL students, to buy things from the classroom store a couple times a month, so I try my hardest to look for the good in all students.

Here are the links for my CLASS STORE and CLASSROOM CASH