Auction and Rent

Wow! What a great way to end the first month of this classroom based economy! The auction was a huge success! So many students were getting involved! They were trying to get their peers to bid higher to make them spend more of their money. It was fun, entertaining, and exciting. Their excitement was so contagious, that they had both me and my paraprofessional laughing so hard. It was worth all the stress the first month of implementing the economy gave me!

After the auction the students had to pay rent the following Monday. They were sad to see their bank accounts lose that much money. Some even said I don't really want to pay rent. I explained to them that in life adults don't want to pay rent/mortgage either, but if we want a place to live with our family, we have to. I explained that you will be able to earn money back just by showing up to class.

I did have two students pay off their desks so they didn't have to pay rent at all. They both earned the deed of ownership after they paid the $3000 for buying out their desk. I heard other students saying that they hope they will be able to earn enough money to buy their desks.

I had to lower the amount of income they earned for the green tokens. Some were earning way too much in a day. Some students noticed saying, darn that is really cheap now. I explained that it's how real life is. You aren't always able to buy the one item you want because rent and other bills are due.

I created a sheet for them to use to add up all their incomes and expenses for the day. It's color coded to help them better understand what they are adding or subtracting. It was a huge help this week, and this up coming week, they will be doing their account balancing independently.

I can't wait to see what the month of October brings!

Auction Period 4/5

Auction Period 4/5, 2 of my students bidding on an item!

Jose with his Desk Deed.

Starting the Year Off Right!

Wow! I've been doing the classroom economy with my students for about 8 days now. It has been going great and the students are really loving it!

The first day of school the students picked whether they wanted to go into a career or college right out of high school. I explained that this decision was permanent. In 2 out of 3 period, most students picked college. The last period was evenly split. They were shocked with the amount rent was going to cost, that they had to pay for utilities, and a school loan if they chose college. I explained that for the first month or two, I would remind them to pay their bills, but after that they would have to look at the calendar to see what was coming up. I also said they could remind each other.

For the first week, we didn't give many red tokens out. It was a honeymoon stage for everyone. We did hand them out this past week, but still let a few minor things go. On Friday, we explained that we aren't going to be as forgiving starting the following week. They know how the classroom runs now, and know how to be on task.

We changed the ping pong balls up because it was taking too long to balance account logs at the end of the period. Now, the green and red chips are numbered 1-143. This allows us to go through the expenses faster because we have the students write the numbers down and then we tell them the amounts. We don't have to wait for them to pick ping pong balls or have them roll off the desks anymore.

We started the year by working one-on-one with each student balancing their account log. Gradually giving the students more independence by giving them the amounts to add up and getting their daily balance on their own. There are still a few that we have to help, but for the most part they have been doing it on their own.

It was so rewarding to hear a student upset because we ran out of time to have them do their account balances on their own. (Had a fire drill near the end of the period) She told me her favorite part of the day was to be able to see how much money she had earned and what her balance is. I told her I am glad that it is her favorite part of class, but we can't have them late to the next class. This is why I started this classroom economy. I feel like I am making a difference and making math class fun!

We also put some blank green tokens. If they receive one of them, they can pick a snack. We are working with adding blank red ones in their too, trying to decide what we want them to be worth.

All students who chose college have to pay their loan payment of $150 on the 20th, I've been reminding them since Monday.  They all paid it on time and were not happy to have their money decrease. I also have been reminding them that the rent is due on the 1st, and in order to be able to participate in the auction which is happening on the 30th, they need to have more than $1000 in their account.

I'm so excited for this week because our first auction is this Friday! I will have goodies up for grabs for each class and it will teach the students that saving is rewarding!

It's rewarding to watch the students' faces as they get a green token in their cup. They are excited and want to earn money. It's even made the students take ownership when they get a red token. They know that they didn't do as they are supposed to and respect that. They try hard to not get red tokens and get mad at themselves when they do. It has even increased the amount of homework I receive on-time because they realize there are consequences.

This whole classroom economy is meant to help them become more responsible with money and learn how to balance their account and pay their bills. It's a way to make them think; "Will I have enough money to participate in the auction? Do I have enough money to pay my rent, loan, and utilities? All thoughts, that as adults, we think of everyday.

Rules

Calendar of Events

Auction Items

Where the student's put their payment slips

End of Summer-Preparing My Classroom Economy

Summer is winding down and I'm excited and nervous to start the new year. I'm starting a whole new chapter in my teaching career moving from special education 9^th grade Algebra and 10^th grade Geometry to Middle School special education 8^th grade math.  I decided to start this blog because I want you to come and visit my classroom from the comfort of your own home. I am hoping I have a great idea that will be FUN and EDUCATIONAL for all my students.

This summer has been busy for me thinking of ways to engage the students I am going to teach. While reading a Chicken Soup for the Soul: Children with Special Needs, I came across a story that briefly discussed a classroom economy. After reading this story, I pulled my laptop out and started a google search for classroom economy. A majority of the results were geared towards elementary school, but I thought to myself, I can do this for my students.

So sit back, relax, and join me in my Real World 8^th Grade Math classroom!

I am going to share everything with you I can, from my successes to my failures. Yes, I will share with you my failures because let’s face it, teachers are not meant to have a 100% success rate. We teach, reteach, and learn from lessons that worked and didn’t work.

Getting my ideas down on paper from my head was rough, but after talking to many family members and friends, I started tweaking and creating. With the help of my husband, we started creating everything for my mini economy, including payment coupons, career agreements, loan agreements, utility agreements, deeds, logs, tax forms, and so much more. We spent hours tweaking, talking, and reviewing. We stuffed folders, or what I’m calling them “starter wallets” with all the necessary items the students will need all year.

What is this classroom economy? Here’s just a sneak peek. Every student will fill out a career form; deciding if they want to go to college or start in a career.  From there, they will sign rent, utility, and loan (if they decide to go to college) agreements. The students will find out what their daily pay rate is and how much all their bills cost.

The students will have bank accounts that their paycheck, income, and expenses will be automatically deposited/withdrawn from. I found a website called www.mykidsbank.org that you can use to create your own bank and add students as the account holders. I will have them keep a register and as long as it’s balanced on Monday after payday (every Friday is payday), they will receive 10% interest on the week’s prior balance.

The students will have many opportunies to earn extra income. If they are doing what they are expected to do (on task, prepared, participating, being generous, etc.), they will receive a green token. If they are not following the rules (on their cell phone, off task, etc.), they will receive a red token. At the end of the period, they will draw numbered ping pong balls for every green and red token they have. The number on the ping pong ball will coincide with a number in my income/expense variables spreadsheet, explaining what they earn or lose money for. An example of the green tokens: You worked and extra 5 hours, earn $50. An example of a red token: Your water heater broke, pay $100.

There is so much more that I am doing with my classroom economy, but you will have to join me next time in the Real World of 8^th Grade Math to find out more!

Variables

Starter Wallet Preparation