Classroom Economies

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Mad Money
Our classroom economy last year was called 'Mad Money'.  I don't really care for the name, but it was a pretty smooth running operation.  I'm very low-maintence in the classroom, and the thought of having to keep track of one more thing makes my head hurt.  So this economy pretty much ran it's self.

Each student would get paid $5 for the week if they were at school everyday, and $5 a week if they did their job everyday.  You could pro-rate for absences if you want.  They each had a check balance register that they were responsible for keeping track of.  If they lost it, they started over with their money.  At the end of the week, I would collect the registers and enter in $10 and sign the amount.  Never let students enter their own money-that's just asking for trouble.  We then had a bulletin board that advertised items they could buy with their money (dollar store finds, free time, etc.)

If you want to pass out checks to pay students for their work, or have students write YOU checks when buying items or paying debts, modify these checks with your information and cut them out. I kept a stack back by the writing center, and if a student needed to use the bathroom or make a locker trip, they filled one out and gave it to me. I would hold on to all the checks until Friday, and then subtract them from their check registers.

Explorer's Class Cash- Created by Maureen Isenegger, this list encourages the class to earn money and then pool it to choose rewards as a team.  You could also have the class earn money as a team after choosing the reward.

Laura Candler's Classroom Economy PowerPack

Ms. Bunyi's Classroom Economy website

Mrs. Newingham's Classroom Economy website

Ms. Camponi's Classroom Economy website

Mrs. Newingham's Bank website

Mrs. Newingham's Store website