I wanted to implement PBIS into my classroom while teaching life skills so we started a classroom store. The students were given a banking log to keep track of their money. Each month the students had to pay bills such as electricity, rent(desk/seat), and groceries. The students also got paid in regular intervals for good test scores, excellent contributions to class discussions, and recall of previous content that connects with current content. They could earn bonuses as well for various tasks such as practicing a skill to a higher percentage than required, tutoring a peer, or completing additional practice with high accuracy. It was a slow start but the kids started to pick up on it and we saw kids doing more math and willingly helping each other out. They could spend their classroom money on food items, such as Grandma’s Cookies or fruit snacks, on material items like tech decks, or they could use it for assistance on a test. The Grandma’s Cookies were incredibly popular and quick to go. The kids got “paid” and would log their money and a teacher would sign off each time. Of course should the need arise for a pencil or inappropriate behavior occur, their account would be charged a fee. These were our two biggest distractions in class and losing money for them made the students become responsible.
On Fridays, kids with money in the bank would participate in an investment activity and earn interest on that money. This made teaching simple interest easy and fun. The students who participated had to calculate their new totals and if correct, they earned that money.
Money Mondays were an exclusive invite only event for students with excellent behavior the previous week. The wheel they spin has very high percentages which often resulted in their bank accounts at least doubling if they did the correct calculations. The Money Mondays were a quick hit and the students would ask about the invitations. When they didn’t receive an invitation they asked why and we explained what behavior needed to be corrected and when they did get invited they held onto the ticket like it was gold. The classroom environment started to change quickly as students became more and more invested. The level of participation quickly rose and oftentimes students got upset if they didn’t get called on.
You may be thinking that this sounds like a lot of work and money but after setting it up it was easy and I didn’t spend a dime. I printed the money on colored paper and I’d suggest you laminated it. I made posters that explained everything to the kids so they knew the prices, fines, and rewards. I funded ALL of this through a grant. If you want to implement this or something similar in your classroom and need help let me know.
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