I used classroom money for the last 13 years I taught elementary. I think it is a great motivator for students, and it teaches them responsibility of keeping track of their money. Although the money isn't real, it is real to the students because they get to use the money to purchase things on "Gilchrist Gold Day".
At the beginning of the year, and after each Gold Day, my students made a construction paper wallet and decorated it. They wrote their name on the back of their Gold to keep others from finding it and keeping it.
Gilchrist Gold Day is a shopping day. My mom usually came and helped. I hold it about the last hour of the day and usually only about seven times a year. On this day, I put out tons of toys, games, school supplies, action figures, McDonald's toys, etc.... I usually bought all my items at garage sales and have stocked up each year so I always have enough. I also took donations from parents and the community.
At the beginning of the year, I had Gilchrist Gold Day on the second Friday of the school year. I did it so quickly because I wanted students to know what they were earning their money for. They saw quickly that they didn’t want to miss out and they really strived for good behavior so they could earn a bunch for the next shopping day. After the first Gold Day, I usually held shopping days every five to six weeks.
Important things about how my system worked to be truly effective:
- I never tell the students when the shopping day will be and they have to be in attendance to shop - or they miss out! (Attendance is important - they need to be at school everyday!)
- I never let the students save their money throughout the year. If a student is really good at the beginning of the year, but then their behavior does a 360, they should not get a reward for it. I feel that this would just reward the negative behavior and I never do that in my classroom.
- I change the way my money looks every Gilchrist Gold period. This keeps the students from keeping the same money and carrying it over from one Gilchrist Gold day to another.
- I charge for EXTRA restroom and drink breaks. If you are teaching a lower grade, such as kindergarten and 1st, I wouldn't recommend this. I had frequent flyers in third that wanted to constantly go to the bathroom and get a drink. I charged them $5.00 or $10.00 (depending on the time of year). Many would only spend their money on the restroom and drink before they really knew what the shopping day was like. When shopping day came and those kids had hardly any money, I would hear other students say, "You spent all your money on the bathroom." They seem to learn pretty quickly to save it for Gold Day, rather than the bathroom and drinks.
- NO TRADING OR SHARING OF MONEY IS ALLOWED! This is strictly prohibited in my classroom. Students are not allowed to share their money or purchase items for others. Again, this is a reward system for behavior and following directions. It's not fair for a student who didn't earn enough money to be rewarded for negative behavior.
- When Gilchrist Gold Day comes, the person with the highest amount of money shops first. All of the names are written on chart paper and I write their names and their Gilchrist Gold amount on the chart. The students are called to shop in order from greatest to least, so they get the first pick of the items. Sometimes I have parent volunteers to help out on this day, but my mom always came and helped out with shopping day too.
This was my behavior chart. I used electrical tape on my whiteboard (it peels off easily and doesn't damage the board). It is sectioned off into 25 rows (one for each student). To the very left of the strips I have speed signs that start at 5 and go up to 100. (They are in increments of five). At the bottom of each row is an airplane with a student’s name on it. When they exhibit good behavior they move their airplane up one notch or 5 miles. Their goal is to reach the top.
Each week I had a class meeting and students were given their prizes for how many miles they moved. Below is my prize sheet that shows what students earn as they move up the chart for positive behavior.
What about negative behavior is the question you are probably asking about now, right?
- Unfortunately it does occur in all classrooms. To the left of the words behavior chart. There are 6 spaces. These are for negative behaviors.
Underneath their airplanes I put a stop sign with each student's name. These were laminated and on magnets like the airplanes. (They weren’t in the picture yet, so you can't see them in the pic) but they are placed underneath each student's airplane.
If a student exhibited negative behaviors, their stop sign was placed on the top negative space. They couldn’t move their airplane up the positive chart for the day because they had to move their stop sign to the consequences side. On the next day they could move their airplane up again if they exhibited positive and/or good behaviors. Below are the road signs with the negative consequences.
- 1. WARNING - (nothing happens to the student here, except they can't move their airplane up any more for the day. They don't get a note in planner, it is just a warning for them.
- 2. NOTE IN PLANNER/MISS 5 MINUTES OF RECESS - This is their second negative behavior. They get a note in planner and miss 5 minutes of recess.
- 3. REFOCUS AREA - this is a secluded (sort of) place in the room, or separate area where students can go to calm down or to work quietly away from others. Sometimes when they go to this area I had them reflect about their area
- 4. BUDDY ROOM - I use another classroom as a buddy room. When and if the student moves their stop sign to this location, they go to another room to reflect, calm down, and get away from the situation.
- 5. CALL HOME - When and if a student still exhibited the negative behaviors after returning from the buddy room, I would make a call home. I also let the parent know that if the child's behaviors continue, they will be given an office referral.
- 6. OFFICE REFERRAL - When and if a student still exhibits the negative behavior, an office referral would be written and they will have the consequence from our school code of conduct book. Most likely, if it is their first offense they will have one or 2 hours of detention. It’s important that your school administrator support you if a child’s behavior gets to this point.
WAYS FOR STUDENTS TO EARN CLASSROOM MONEY
Students could earn classroom money for all different reasons. They included, but weren’t limited to:
Working constructively on an activity when they finished their classwork
Following directions the first time they are given
Showing respect and random acts of kindness to others
Walking in the hallway quietly and in line basics
Working quietly or cooperatively in groups
Moving up the positive behavior chart
Writing goals in their goal journals
Turning in homework on time
Helping out in the classroom
Below are close up pictures of the airplanes I made and the stop signs I use for my grid chart.
These are the airplanes where students move up the mileage chart and earn prizes for good behavior.
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These are the stop signs that I laminated. These go underneath each student's airplane. If they displayed a negative behavior, the stop sign would get placed on the negative consequences chart.
Well, hopefully you were able to stick with me through this incredibly long blog post, but I've had teachers ask about the system I used so I thought I would share in detail and perhaps you can find it useful to use in your classroom this year!
