Our Classroom Economy
Students will:
- Participate in a classroom economy designed to mimic real world economic activity
- Compare economic systems over time and history
- Evaluate the importance of classroom jobs and daily responsibilities
- Perform classroom jobs to earn daily salaries
- Budget their money and balance their "checking accounts"
- Use a decision making model to make consumer decisions
- Reflect on the importance of saving money
- Discover that every decision has an opportunity cost
- Observe consumer behavior to understand the law of demand
- Discover how inflation works and the effect it can have on the classroom economy
- Study economic trends in the classroom economy
Baseball Bank Teller
A baseball bank teller keeps records for half of the students in the class. This student must be good at arithmetic and a person of the highest integrity. The bank teller takes deposits and money from the bank customers and coordinates accounts with the other bank tellers. There are usually four bankers in my class.
Grounds Crew
A member of the grounds crew is given a specific area of the room to keep orderly. They are paid highly because I want a neat and tidy room. Thanks to the grounds crew, I do not clean my own room. There are usually four grounds crew members in the classroom.
Club House Attendant
The club house attendant takes attendance sheet to the office for subs and any notes to the office. This person also takes up lunch money/lunch count to the cafeteria. They must also return corrected work to the students in a timely manner. They must be honest and to be able to read other students' handwriting. There can be up to two club house attendants per classroom.
General Manager/Assist. General Manager
Students will lead or complete the line in the hallways. They will be expected to know and follow the rules of the hallway, as well as be respectful to others. The assistant general manager will also turn off the lights as we leave the room.
Bat Boy/Girl
The bat boy/girl will need to make sure that we have plenty of sharpened pencils at the beginning of each day. Pencils are sharpened before 8:00 and students will need to make sure that they have enough pencils to last for the day.
Team Publicist
The team publicist designs and creates all posters for Frogtastic-Rock-star of the Month and any cards that come from our classroom. They may be asked to do other posters or signs for the class. This person must have artistic talent and be willing to share this with others.This person will need to be able to write creatively because they will help with my newsletter to the parents.
Reading Dugout Captain
The reading dugout captain will check returned books in the classroom library . They will also place books in the appropriate box. These students must understand genre and how to code books. There will be one reading dugout captain per classroom.
Equipment Manager
The equipment manager will put papers in number order when they have been handed in. They will then staple these together so I see who has handed in their work on time. These students will be asked to collect papers, help with absent students, and take out the ball bucket for recess. There will be two equipment managers per class. Preference will be given to students who arrive at school around 7:30am
Security Officer
A security officer has several duties. If a student breaks any of the class rules, the officer keeps a record of the infraction. The officer helps me collect all the fines that students pay for breaking rules. They are also in charge of monitoring the bathrooms during wash time. There will be two police officers (one male and one female) in the class.
Scorekeeper
The scorekeeper will be responsible for recording Class Dojo points. They will need to be very honest and recorded accurately.
Insurance Officer
These students will be responsible for helping after disasters occur, such as spills or tornadoes that go through people's desks. There will be two insurance officers.
Payroll
The students who help with payroll compute the credits and debits on the ledgers at the end of a week. They will also help with paychecks if needed.
Computer Coach
The computer coach turns on the computer at the beginning of the day and puts in lunch choices so that students are able to make a lunch choice using the wireless mouse or mimio pen. At the end of the day, the computer tech. is in charge of shutting down the computers in the room and on the mobile cart. This person must be technology savy and either a 2nd load bus rider or car rider.
Trainer
This person stocks Kleenex, antibacterial soap, hand sanitizer and any other supplies we run low on.
Announcer
This student is responsible for leading the class in the pledge each morning. This person must be a good leader and must be able to recite the pledge. They must also use a respectable voice level.
Relief Pitcher
The relief pitcher's job is to substitute for anyone who is absent. They will need to know how to do everyone's job; therefore, they need to be a well-rounded and patient student.
Rent
The children must work because they have to pay rent to sit at their desks. Rent is $500 per month.
Pay day
Pay day is the last Friday of each month. Each student receives a set of checks at the beginning of the year. I teach students how to fill out a check and how to deposit and withdraw money from their account. If a student can not pay rent, they are evicted from their seat and have to sit at a table of my choosing. They are able to save enough money through bonus money they can receive.
Banking on Good Behavior
Bonus Money
Students can earn bonus money in many ways. They can earn money by doing well in class, displaying outstanding citizenship, participating in optional activities and completing in class/at home assignments.
Fines
Conversely, to bonus money, our "security officers" will fine students if rules are broken. Following are a list of fines levied on any student who does not "toe the line".
Banking on Good Behavior
This year, we will utilize a “classroom economy” to teach the concept of “economics”, positively reinforce appropriate behaviors,and provide consequences for inappropriate behaviors.
This is a fun and authentic way to teach the economics portion of the Social Studies curriculum. Below is a list of “credits” and“debits” that will be
utilized in our classroom this year.
- Teacher discretion – students may be debited or credited at for items not listed above at the teacher’s discretion. Paychecks are given out at the end of the month.
- Teacher discretion debits and credits are given immediately.
- Debit and Credits will be paid at the end of the week.
- The classroom auction will be done after rent is paid at the end of the month.
- If you are absent during the auction, you will have to wait until the following month to make a purchase.
- You may save your money to purchase more expensive items or to own your “condo” desk. You are not required to spend your earnings each pay period.
- The fun really begins now! At any time a student may purchase his/her seat and call it a condominium. To do this, they must pay the bank three times the amount of his/her rent. For example, if the rent is $1000, the student would need to write a check for $3000 to the bank and that makes the student the "official" owner of his/her seat. From that time on, the student no longer has to pay rent each month. This teaches the students how to save their money and the adantages of owning property rather than renting.
Students may also purchase another students rented seat and become a landlord. If a student buys another person's seat, then the student renting the seat must pay the landlord each month. They learn that the rich get richer when they save their money and plan ahead.
Auctions
At the end of the month, after rent has been paid and paychecks have been given out, we will have an auction in the class. School supplies, books, art materials, models and many other things are sold. We will gladly accept donations to this great learning experience, as well. The students will learn so much from this opportunity. Some children will spend all of their money on buying things, others hold off because they are saving to purchase their condominiums. Still others hold off on purchasing because I will keep some of the greatest items until the end of the school year. The students will learn about saving, planning, and delayed gratification.
Thank you to Beth Newingham of MI, Mrs. Hillman of IA and Laura Candler of NC for all of the great ideas to help incorporate economics into the elementary classroom.