Howdy from a Texas gal excited for the opportunity to share with you on this AMAZING blog! My name is Cassi Noack, and I am a passionate person who finds her greatest joy in teaching. I hope I can teach you something today or at least give you the extra boost you’ve been needing to start your own financial literacy program in your class!
Money.
Is it the root of all evil or the savior of the civilized world? Regardless of
how we interpret the theory of this evolved bartering system, there is no
arguing the fact that money is an integral part of our everyday lives and that
learning how to make it, manage it, and invest it should be an essential part
of our education system. Let’s face it: We see example after example of people
who manage to make a fortune, only to end up ruined after a few years. Or, we
see examples of people who grind away year after year, only to live paycheck to
paycheck and never get ahead.
how we interpret the theory of this evolved bartering system, there is no
arguing the fact that money is an integral part of our everyday lives and that
learning how to make it, manage it, and invest it should be an essential part
of our education system. Let’s face it: We see example after example of people
who manage to make a fortune, only to end up ruined after a few years. Or, we
see examples of people who grind away year after year, only to live paycheck to
paycheck and never get ahead.
Not
every one of our students will become doctors, lawyers, or engineers. In fact,
not all of our students will even go to college. But one thing they will
all definitely encounter as they progress in life is the need to manage money.
I believe that this is the single most important way we as teachers can make an
impact on our students’ lives.
every one of our students will become doctors, lawyers, or engineers. In fact,
not all of our students will even go to college. But one thing they will
all definitely encounter as they progress in life is the need to manage money.
I believe that this is the single most important way we as teachers can make an
impact on our students’ lives.
So
how can we make a difference?
By integrating financial literacy into our
classrooms!
Yes!
I know our days are filled with PLC meetings, paperwork, ARDs (i.e. IEP meetings), test prep, and
the like. There is little time for a bathroom break or a decent lunch, much
less time to fit in an extra program. But I will tell you from experience that there is NOTHING more rewarding than knowing that you have possibly altered the
trajectory of a life by simply dedicating a few moments of your day to helping
students discover what it means to become financially successful.
In the next sections of this blog post, I’m going to share with
you how I’ve found success in my own financial literacy program, and then I’ll
lay out a week-by-week schedule to help you run your classroom economy without
getting overwhelmed in the process! You can use all your own thoughts and materials, or you can check out everything I use in my classroom in my EDU-ENTERPRISES Financial Literacy Program at my TpT store. DISCLAIMER: There is no clear right or
wrong way to invest in your students, and these are just the ways I’ve found that work for me.
you how I’ve found success in my own financial literacy program, and then I’ll
lay out a week-by-week schedule to help you run your classroom economy without
getting overwhelmed in the process! You can use all your own thoughts and materials, or you can check out everything I use in my classroom in my EDU-ENTERPRISES Financial Literacy Program at my TpT store. DISCLAIMER: There is no clear right or
wrong way to invest in your students, and these are just the ways I’ve found that work for me.
My students must EARN every dollar
they get! They can sometimes receive “bonuses” by going above and beyond in
their work or actions (great for classroom management!), but the majority of their income—well, at least before
they begin investing–comes from their job. In my class, I limit the number of
jobs available. This forces the students to become competitive in their
application process and ensures that if they fail to complete the job to
the boss’s (MY) expectations, there will be someone waiting to snatch up their
position. As the year progresses, students can make more money by investing into
businesses, but more on that later.
they get! They can sometimes receive “bonuses” by going above and beyond in
their work or actions (great for classroom management!), but the majority of their income—well, at least before
they begin investing–comes from their job. In my class, I limit the number of
jobs available. This forces the students to become competitive in their
application process and ensures that if they fail to complete the job to
the boss’s (MY) expectations, there will be someone waiting to snatch up their
position. As the year progresses, students can make more money by investing into
businesses, but more on that later.
In the beginning of the year, I
always pay my students with some sort of paper currency. Here’s a link to my FREE printable currency. Some kids hold on to it tightly, while others’
cash goes missing to loss, bad trades, or (SADLY) theft. I don’t feel
bad for them, though. I secretly hope some of these misfortunes occur among the
students so that they create real understanding of the importance of keeping their
money safe. Some of these students find a sudden interest in opening a bank
account. I offer my students two banking plan options: one with a monthly fee
and one with a minimum balance, and I use a simple Excel spreadsheet to keep
track of their accounts. I also print debit cards (I don’t use credit
because my students are a little younger) and require the students to have their
debit card before completing any transactions.
always pay my students with some sort of paper currency. Here’s a link to my FREE printable currency. Some kids hold on to it tightly, while others’
cash goes missing to loss, bad trades, or (SADLY) theft. I don’t feel
bad for them, though. I secretly hope some of these misfortunes occur among the
students so that they create real understanding of the importance of keeping their
money safe. Some of these students find a sudden interest in opening a bank
account. I offer my students two banking plan options: one with a monthly fee
and one with a minimum balance, and I use a simple Excel spreadsheet to keep
track of their accounts. I also print debit cards (I don’t use credit
because my students are a little younger) and require the students to have their
debit card before completing any transactions.
In keeping to the real-life focus
of my program, I require my students to pay monthly expenses, such as a desk
rental fee, and I never just give them replacement supplies for free. It’s no fun for
the students to see their money go, but that’s life!
of my program, I require my students to pay monthly expenses, such as a desk
rental fee, and I never just give them replacement supplies for free. It’s no fun for
the students to see their money go, but that’s life!
Some students find their true
money-making abilities in entrepreneurship. Three times a year, I open up the classroom
as a Market. Half the students are producers, and half are consumers. I walk the
producers through the process of planning, marketing, and running a successful
business. It’s amazing how the students develop business sense so organically. One Market Day, a sweet little girl decided to provide brown paper sacks to her
customers when they purchased her bracelets. The other businesses had not had
the same foresight as she had. As the
customers loaded up on all their new purchases, they quickly realized that it
was difficult to handle all their loot.
Before long, I heard a boy say that he was going to buy a bracelet just to
get the brown paper bag. By the end of the sale, the little girl was out of bracelets
and every single customer had a brown paper sack. Not surprisingly, when the
next Market Day rolled around, almost every producer offered some sort of bag
to their customers. An important lesson was learned by all of the students, and
no direct teaching was required.
Follow my Market Days Pinterest Board for ideas for your students!
 |
| I share my pins with my students to help inspire them! |
Implementing a quality financial
literacy plan takes all year, but it doesn’t have to take all day. In just a few minutes each week, your class can
become a thriving economy. Here’s a week-by-week
schedule that can help you avoid getting overwhelmed in the process:
literacy plan takes all year, but it doesn’t have to take all day. In just a few minutes each week, your class can
become a thriving economy. Here’s a week-by-week
schedule that can help you avoid getting overwhelmed in the process:
Before you get started, you will need to:
- Think about what class jobs you’d like.
- Think about what expenses your students will have to
pay each month. - Decide which currencies you’d like to have in your
classroom. Think about creating a spreadsheet in Excel to use as your classroom
bank, or research other digital products that you can use. There are many cool
resources available at low or no cost.
If your students have easy access to electronic devices, check out Bankaroo–it’s free! I’ve personally spoken with the owner of the application and am very
excited to help educators discover this product. You’ll also need to decide
when your bank will be open. It can be a small amount of time each day or each
week. - Decide how many Market Day experiences you’d like to
have during the year. I usually do three
sales per year so that the students have the opportunity to see their
businesses grow as they use what they’ve learned to tweak their business practices. You
can split your class into two groups and allow them to take turns being
producers and consumers at the Market Day.
Still feeling overwhelmed? Check out my EDU-ENTERPRISES Financial Literacy Program.
It has everything you need so you’ll be ready to go!
Implementing Your Program Week by Week
|
Week
|
Making Money
|
Managing Money
|
Investing Money
|
|
FIRST QUARTER
|
|||
|
1
|
Introduce your class jobs and begin accepting applications.
|
||
|
2
|
Select your new employees.
|
Introduce bank accounts and begin accepting
applications. |
|
|
5
|
Begin accepting new job applications.
|
Have students pay their bills.
|
|
|
6
|
PAY DAY! Announce employee of the month! Select
your new employees. |
||
|
7
|
Introduce Market Day. Allow students to begin
planning their business relationships and business plans. |
||
|
8
|
Prepare consumers for Market Day by teaching them
about writing checks, using debit cards, and keeping track of expenses. |
||
|
9
|
Hold your first Market Day!
|
||
|
SECOND QUARTER
|
|||
|
Week
|
Making Money
|
Managing Money
|
Investing Money
|
|
10
|
Begin accepting new job applications.
|
Have students pay their bills.
|
Have students reflect on what went well and what
went poorly with their business. |
|
11
|
PAY DAY! Announce employee of the month! Select
your new employees. |
||
|
14
|
Begin accepting new job applications.
|
Have students pay their bills.
|
|
|
15
|
PAY DAY! Announce employee of the month! Select
your new employees |
||
|
16
|
Allow students to begin planning their business relationships
and business plans for the next Market Day. If the student was a consumer on the last Market Day, I assign them producer for this one. |
||
|
17
|
Prepare consumers for Market Day by teaching them
about writing checks, using debit cards, and keeping track of expenses. |
||
|
18
|
Hold second Market Day.
|
||
|
THIRD QUARTER
|
|||
|
Week
|
Making Money
|
Managing Money
|
Investing Money
|
|
19
|
Begin accepting new job applications.
|
Have students pay their bills.
|
Have students reflect on what went well and what
went poorly with their business. |
|
20
|
PAY DAY! Announce employee of the month! Select
your new employees. |
||
|
23
|
Begin accepting new job applications.
|
Have students pay their bills.
|
|
|
24
|
PAY DAY! Announce employee of the month! Select
your new employees. |
||
|
25
|
Allow students to begin planning their business relationships
and business plans for the next Market Day. By now, all students should have experienced being both a producer and a consumer. I allow them to pick which role they’d like to have for our final Market Day. |
||
|
26
|
Prepare consumers for Market Day by reviewing
writing checks, using debit cards, and keeping track of expenses. |
||
|
27
|
Hold final Market Day.
|
||
|
FOURTH QUARTER
|
|||
|
Week
|
Making Money
|
Managing Money
|
Investing Money
|
|
28
|
Begin accepting new job applications.
|
Have students pay their bills.
|
Have students reflect on what went well and what
went poorly with their business. |
|
29
|
PAY DAY! Announce employee of the month! Select
your new employees. |
||
|
32
|
Begin accepting new job applications.
|
Have students pay their bills.
|
|
|
33
|
PAYDAY! Announce employee of the month! Select
your new employees. |
||
|
36
|
Have an end-of-year auction so students can spend
all their money. I usually have students donate items to the auction. It teaches charity and saves the teacher from having to buy things to auction off. |
||
Still have questions about starting your own classroom economy? Feel free to contact me at [email protected] You can also visit my blog at cassinoackteach.blogspot.com or my store at Cassi Noack Teach.
Cassi Noack is a wife, mother, and teacher from Tomball, Texas. With over a decade of teaching experience, she couples her creativity with what she’s learned along her journey to help her students find success in the classroom. Cassi currently teaches a 4th grade self-contained class full of the best kids in Texas.
Wow! That looks like so much fun and what a great way to teach students about money! I love the idea of sharing ideas on Pinterest — so smart! Thanks!
Great blog post! Thanks for sharing, I really look forward to trying this with my students!!!
This is amazing. I teach a high school Consumer Math class to seniors who often have trouble, at first, even distinguishing between a debit and a credit and when to add and subtract. If they had been part of a class like yours that integrated money management into the daily routine, I'd have so much less to teach 🙂
You are so right about the importance of teaching financial literacy to our young students. Perhaps we would all be better off if we had learned these important life skills in school. I do have to disagree on one point, however…..and that's the part about having the best kids in Texas. Okay, it might be a tie.