Fifth Grade's Creative Classroom Economy
At Tualatin Valley Academy, Kimberly Clifton has found an effective way to motivate her fifth grade students and enforce classroom management through what she calls “Clifton Cash.” Clifton found the idea of creating a classroom economy with play money online in 2018, but has adapted it over the past few years to fit her style.
Clifton has job assignments for each of her students that rotate each month–jobs like teacher assistant, lunchroom table washer, whiteboard cleaners, etc. She has her students fill out job applications at the end of each month with their top three choices for the upcoming month and an argument for why they would be good at those jobs. The pay scale ranges from $60 to $100 depending on the frequency the job must be completed.
Once she assigns students to their jobs, she gives them their pay. Then they have to use some of their money to pay monthly rent for their desks. Clifton utilizes this as an opportunity to have her students practice writing checks. She has them pay their rent in the form of a check (along with the physical Clifton cash). And she explains terms to them like “deposit” and “withdrawal.” She also asks the students to maintain a check register they keep in the plastic wallet she gives them to store their money. Keeping a check register is valuable since students have to draw on their math skills.
While students can earn money through their jobs and, also, random bonuses Clifton distributes at times, they can incur fees. There are penalties for late rent, no name on paper, a messy desk, or for not adhering to classroom rules even after receiving a warning. Clifton shares that this method of enforcing consequences is “so motivating to them since they don’t want to lose their Clifton Cash.”
Students can choose to save their money for a class auction at the end of the year or spend it on items like jolly ranchers or stickers. She even has some “top tier” experiences they could buy such as a movie day or a popcorn party.
Students in the lower grades have heard about Clifton Cash and begun to anticipate using it in fifth grade. Clifton comments, “It’s been so nice because…the fourth graders somehow know about it and it’s motivating to them.” This makes it easier to set up the classroom economy each school year. TVA is fortunate to have a teacher like Clifton who engages and instructs the students in a creative manner!
