How to Start a Student-Led Classroom Economy: Teaching Financial Literacy

In Kindergarten through Grade 3, the best way to teach financial literacy is through pretend play. Students need to interact with coins and bills and have real and pretend interactions using money. Children also need repeated exposures in order to remember the coins and bills and their names and values. A classroom economy helps kids learn all these skills and more!

 

 

This article will outline, in depth, how I have run a year-long, student-led classroom economy in Kindergarten and Grades 1-3. It’s designed to be almost completely run by students so there is little time and effort required once students have learned the routine. It also is easy to connect with classroom management strategies and other areas of the curriculum.

I’ve used this classroom economy with multiple classes in multiple grades and have worked through some of the challenges you might encounter, such as what to do about students who are absent.

This is how one of my students explained our Classroom Economy to parents in one of our class newsletters:

“Our classmates do jobs and get paid so they can get surprises like pajama day. And we do it every day. We do it so that when we’re older we know how to count money and when we’re older we know how to do jobs.” – Grade 2 Student

 

What did students learn from our classroom economy?

• Persuasive writing
• Financial Literacy
• Names and values of coins
• Counting by 5s, 10s, 15s, 20s
• Making change
• Adding money
• Working hard pays off
• Not working means less money for fun rewards
• Delayed gratification pays off (Some of my students saved for weeks to buy rewards.)
• Saving vs. Spending
• Wants vs. Needs
• Not everyone makes the same amount of money in real life
• You have to save enough money to pay for your expenses before spending for rewards

 

What other benefits did I see?

• Easy classroom management that is led by students
• Kids looking out for other kids (A student put another student’s shoes away so he wouldn’t be fined.)
• Students made connections to real life (e.g. What happens when you can’t pay rent?)
• Students taking responsibility and caring for classroom materials

 

Set-Up and Materials

The best part of this system is once you’ve set it up, it takes very little time and effort to keep it running. You don’t have to constantly stock a store or photocopy pages.

You’ll need:

• Bank
• Money
• List of Fines and Rewards
• Bank accounts/wallets for students
• Popsicle sticks labelled with class jobs
• Recording sheets/bank books (*optional)
• Class List

Here are some ideas for what you might use. You probably already have a lot of these items at your school!

 

Bank

• I use a small, plastic index file. It had enough sections for each denomination.
• Money tray with Canadian coins and bills
• Toy cash register. This is the best teaching cash register on the planet with Canadian money. I can’t recommend it enough. It has a hefty price tag but it’s worth it! It has games for naming coins, adding money amounts, making change, and it has the most realistic functions of any toy cash register I’ve ever found, including charging to a credit card and using coupons.

 

 

Money

• I bought play money from Dollarama because it looks like Canadian money and it is small enough to fit in the index file.
• Print your own (see link to my free printables for your classroom economy at the bottom of the page)
• Monopoly money

 

Bank Accounts

• I use a hanging shoe organizer. Each student has a pocket with their name on it. They keep their popsicle stick with their class job title and their money inside. I like that it’s not in students’ desks to get lost or played with.
• Pencil case
• Recipe card file
• Envelope
• Zippered plastic bag

 

Bank Books

• We use these to record credits and debits, very simply, using two columns with a plus on one side and a minus on the other.
• I used mini notebooks from the dollar store.
• Print a recording sheet to be kept in a binder or duotang.
• The back pages of a math journal.

 

Class Jobs

I write each job on a popsicle stick. Then I can either randomly assign jobs to students, or have students apply for the jobs (see job application below). The popsicle stick can be kept in the student’s bank account, a pocket chart, or a library card pocket to show who is in charge of each job.

I create enough jobs so each student in the class has one. Sometimes I have two kids for a job, such as Sweeper, so I write Sweeper on two popsicle sticks.

My students do their jobs during Nutrition Break (lunch or snack), if they’re finished their snacks, or in the last 10 minutes of each day. We usually spend more time on Friday afternoons doing a good tidy of the room so it’s ready for the next week.

 

 

Job Postings

Manager – checks that all jobs have been done well and checks their names off on a class list.

Banker – takes class list from Manager and pays students who have done their jobs.

Agenda Manager – glues any notices into students’ agendas and helps keep them organized.

Sweeper – sweeps the classroom at the end of the day and in between when necessary.

Supply Manager – checks that everything in supply bins is in the right place, with lids on the glue and markers

Librarian (Fiction Specialist) – checks that all books are kept organized and checks for damaged books. Helps return Daily 5 books to correct bins at the end of the week.

Librarian (Non-fiction Specialist) – checks that all books are kept organized and checks for damaged books. Helps return Daily 5 books to correct bins at the end of the week.

Listening Centre Technician – helps students learn how to operate the CD and tape player and tidies the area at the end of the day.

Pencil Sharpener – sharpens all pencils at the end of the day.

Server – helps serve milk and special lunches.

Table Washer – wipes desks at the end of every day.

Botanist – waters plants at the end of every day.

Chalkboard Washer – wipes and washes the chalkboard at the end of every day.

Hand Washer – squirts hand sanitizer on the hands of all classmates at lunch.

Math Shelf Helper – checks that all math activities are in the right places and are organized.

Substitute Helper – does jobs of children who are absent and makes sure they get all handouts that were missed.

Attendance Secretary – takes attendance in the morning and after lunch recess and reports to the teacher.

Teacher’s Assistant – helps Teacher with any jobs that need to be done.

Coat Hook Monitor – makes sure all outdoor shoes are lined up against the wall and coats and backpacks are neatly hung up.

Carpet Manager – keeps mini-carpets organized.

Handout Helper – helps teachers with papers that need to be handed out.

Language Shelf Helper – checks that all language activities are in the right places and are organized.

Line Leader – walks at the front of the line.

Caboose – walks at the back of the line, turns lights off, closes doors, etc.

 

 

 

Job Applications

At the beginning of each month, I collect the popsicle sticks from students. We use the Daily 5 Language program with independent work centres. I provide the Job Application forms to students to complete during their Work on Writing rotation.

They hand them in, and I circle the job I assign them. We talk about how the person who convinces me best will get the job, and that they might not always get their first choice.

Usually there are enough jobs that only a few students will not get one of their 3 choices. In this case, I tell them I have a special assignment for them that I think they would be good at, and assign them another job.

If a Job Application form is not complete, or handed in, I assign a job that was leftover.

I announce students’ new jobs the following morning, during our morning meeting. I ask if anyone is not sure how to do their job, and buddy them up with the person who last did it so they can be a mentor.

Variation:

Randomly assign jobs using the popsicle sticks. Sometimes the jobs need to be shaken up a bit, so I do this. It’s quick and easy to do, so you could do it weekly or even daily.

 

Curriculum Applications

I used Job Applications right away in September in my Grade 2/3 class as a writing diagnostic assessment. Persuasive Writing was a major text type for both grades, and by the time I introduced the unit in April, my students had a good grasp of words like “convince” and “persuade”, and knew they had to give reasons and proof in their writing.

We then learned to write paragraphs using the four square method:

 

 

September example: “I want to be Table Washer because I’m good at it.” – Grade 2 student

May example: “I will be the best Chalkboard Washer in the whole school. I never forget to do my class job because I’m good at remembering. I know where the bucket is and where to get water and cloths. I am tall so I can even reach the very top. If you choose me to be the Chalkboard Washer, I will never let you down!” – Grade 2 student

 

Rewards and Special Occasions

Give coupons or gift certificates on holidays: ½ off any reward, $25 for any reward, one free homework pass, etc.

I prefer to reward students with activities, rather than objects because a) I don’t want to have to keep a “store” stocked, and b) kids value objects differently based on their home lives.

I do not allow students to pool their resources to buy larger items because I want them to have to save their money. I also don’t want to have 8 pajama days in a row! If our class needs a pick-me-up, or on special occasions, I might allow them to collaborate for one day only.

 

First Lessons to Introduce Your Classroom Economy

 

Part 1: What prior knowledge do they have?

Brainstorm what the word “economy” might mean. Record all answers. Have a student look up “economy” in a dictionary. Figure out, together, what the definition means. For younger students, you might ask, “What do you know about how grown-ups use money?”

Post one or more of the following questions on the board and have students turn and talk to a neighbour or small group.

• When have you used money?
• Do you earn an allowance?
• Do you have a bank account?

 

Bring students’ attention back to the whole group, and tell them you’ll be starting a Classroom Economy.

 

Part 2: How It Works

Show a list of your class jobs, or create one together based on what students feel is necessary in the classroom.

Have students vote on a monetary value for each job – high, medium, or low – depending on how hard or important the job is. These will become the daily or weekly pay rates for your class jobs. (Example: high = $30, medium = $25, low = $20). Record the salaries on the chart. This can be incorporated into a graphing lesson in math, or it can be completed in 5 minutes or so.

Depending on the grade level, you could have students write job descriptions for each job.

Post your list of Fees and Fines (see below for ideas) and discuss how these relate to real life situations. Listen to kids’ ideas – they have a lot of background knowledge and questions about this part!

Talk about when you’ll collect the fees (e.g. Friday afternoon) and fines (e.g. immediately, payable to the banker).

 

Part 3: Get Started!

Have students apply for jobs, assign jobs, and have students do jobs. Check that the jobs are being done correctly.

If you decide to have students record their earnings, model how to do this the first time they get paid.

Discuss: When is a good time to buy rewards? I allow students to do this during their second Nutrition Break.

I don’t talk very much about saving – I like to let students learn through experience that if they always buy the smaller items, they may not be able to save enough for larger rewards. For younger students, I might hint at it by saying: “Pajama Day costs $300. Do you think you’d be able to save that much in one week?”

 

Absences

If a student is absent for a day, I pay them the minimum amount (so they’ll be able to pay the fees at the end of the week). If a student is away for a longer period of time, they will not be paid or be expected to pay the fees for that period of time.

 

Dealing with Stealing

I tell students on the first day of our classroom economy that touching other people’s money/bank accounts is unacceptable. We talk about how, in the real world, if you steal money from someone, it’s against the law. I tell my students that I think they will really enjoy being able to be a part of this game and that I know I can trust them to be responsible, honest, classroom citizens.

If I do find that someone has been stealing, they will not be able to participate for a certain amount of time and should right their wrongs.

 

Printable Resources for Your Classroom Economy

 

You’re on your way to financial literacy, classroom management, and experiential learning through a classroom economy. Let me help you get started now!

Scroll to the bottom for FREE printables and more information about how to use a classroom economy in your class now. No sign-up required! Here’s a list of what’s included:

 

1. Classroom Job Postings

After discussing these jobs with my students, I post this list in my writing centre so students can fill out a job application.

 

2. Job Applications

Three variations of job applications are designed to meet the needs of every learner.

 

3. Rewards

A sample list of rewards is included. You might change and add your own.

 

4. How Much Money Should We Use?

Three different scenarios are outlined with suggestions for different grades. There are also two blank templates for printable money. Print one copy for each denomination and have a student design the money. Then copy the money and cut.

 

5. Coupons

A sample coupon (50% off) and a sample reward (homework pass) are provided. A blank template for creating your own coupons is also included.

 

 

 

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