The Classroom Economy So Easy That Even Your Grandma Can Work It
And here is where I introduce my star performer, Class Dojo. Let me tell you why it works: because kids LOVE earning things. And I know you all know the Jolly Rancher or Starburst trick, whatever floats your boat. But this is even better and saves you a lot of cash. Dojo gives positive praise for specific behaviors, but also diminishes negative behavior.
I have many categories of how students can earn points in my classroom.
Usually, these are behaviors I’m trying to target, or rewards. My biggest point-giver is “following directions the first time” because that is something my middle schoolers STRUGGLE with. And I know what you’re thinking... What can they lose points for? Well, any number of behaviors.
When setting this up, make your positive and negative points match your classroom expectations.
What do they do with these points? Well, like any sort of debit card/ bank account, there’s no reason for the points to stay in the Dojo island forever. We hold a classroom store on Fridays, where every student has the opportunity to spend their points. After using this for 2 years, here are a few tips I’ve learned with this system.
Do: Let students shop once per week
Don’t: Let students shop every day.
Otherwise, you’ll be glued to your computer redeeming Dojo points all day long. Trust me, you don’t want that.
Do: Have non-tangible items in your store
A few of my favorite examples are: Lunch with the teacher, sitting in the “teacher chair”, printing a coloring page of their choice, getting to pick their classroom job (usually it’s assigned to them by their manager-AKA me), a homework/ assignment pass, and for me to laminate something for them. All of these items cost me $0, and they love it.
Don’t: Load the store up with candy
Now, let’s talk about some items that DO cost me money. I buy the value pack of chips at either Costco or Aldi, whatever small candies are cheap, laptop stickers on Amazon (you have to sift through them though, and make sure they’re school appropriate), and occasionally Little Debbies. Now, I recently got a Keurig in my classroom and I let them buy either a cup of hot chocolate or coffee as well. I write them a pass on Fridays that is redeemable on Monday morning for a cup.
Do: Make your prices reasonable
No child is going to work hard all week for one piece of candy, let’s be real here. My individual candy pieces are 10 points each.
Don’t: Make your store so cheap that you are going broke
If I had a bag of chips being 15 points, I’d be at the store every single week loading up. For a bag of chips, it’s going to cost them 50 points, which they typically have at the end of the week. It’s a great reward system for students, but you need to make it reasonable for your budget.
Here is a picture of my Dojo store. It’s posted in my classroom so my students know exactly what they are working for!
Happy Dojo-ing!
Emma
