Classroom Economy

Starting the first week of school, your child will participate in a year-long economy unit in which students earn credits and debits while maintaining a class bank and store. Each week (pay period), students earn 50 credits for classroom jobs, completing homework and classwork, coming to school on time and following rules. Debits are given to students who break classroom rules (laws) in our community of learners. At the end of each week, students add up their credits and subtract their debits to calculate their weekly total.

Every student has their own credit and debit account book. It is a mini steno book with a new credit and debit log glued into the book after every pay period. The teacher is the only person in the classroom who adds tallies and debits to the log during the week. I write paychecks to all students at the end of the week reflecting the amount earned after balancing their credits and debits.

Students cash their checks at the Scarborough classroom bank on Fridays to recieve play money that they have earned. Each week, a student who has no missing assignments or homework is chosen to be the banker. The play money can be used to purchase items at our classroom store every other Friday. Students with no missing assignments are chosen to be the cashiers. These students help consumers total their items and make change if necessary. The class store is ultimately used to teach economic real world concepts in math that include decision making, supply and demand, spending etc... Students can of course chose to save their money and purchase a more expensive item from the store at a later date. As students shop, they use shopping logs to keep track of what they buy. They record the item, quantity, and the cost before totaling their final bill. The cashiers double check the shopping log, and the shopping log becomes the receipt.

A student economist is chosen weekly to study the behavior of student shoppers, Using an excel spreadsheet, the economist keeps track of how much students earn each week and how much they spend at the store, including which items are most and least popular. The class can make graphs to compare the two amounts in order to analyze the spending in our classroom. The economist also keeps track of high and low demand store items to share with the class, and suggest low demand items go on sale and high demand items that may need a higher price.

Banker: cashes weekly checks at Scarborough Bank

Cashier: collects money from students at the store, double checks the student shopping logs

Librarian: keeps classroom library orderly and clean, rotates names on classroom job chart on Friday

Homework Checker: checks off homework for every student during morning exercises

Line Leader: stops at designated points in hallway and turns lights on when entering the classroom

Lunchbox Carrier: carries lunchbox basket to lunchroom and back to classroom

Caboose Leader: turns off lights, shuts classroom door and makes sure no student is left in the classroom before exiting

Equipment Manager: gathers recess equipment and learning materials in classroom

Nurse: passes out band-aids, fills out nurse pass and accompanies student to the nurse's office

Homework Distributor: collects homework out of folders and places homework in homework folders

Messenger: delivers papers and items in and out of the classroom

Team Manager: encourages team spirit and logs disruptive behavior

Social Committee: distribution and clean up during snack time and parties

Substitute: fills in for the jobs of absent students