Grades 9 to 10

How My Classroom Economy Works

The classroom economy program is an effective and enjoyable way to teach your students fundamental financial literacy components without altering your curriculum.

Implementing the program is an easy three-step process:

Before the school year starts, you spend a few hours gathering materials and planning how to customize the program for your school and your own classroom.
During the first month of school, you spend some classroom time introducing the program and training the students to complete their tasks.
Throughout the year, you monitor the students' progress and provide support and guidance when necessary.

As they perform their tasks, the students will be helping you manage the classroom and, in the process, learning valuable skills—such as responsibility, the value of saving, and delayed gratification—that they will carry with them throughout life.

The beauty of the program is that you don't need to teach these lessons; rather, your students will experience them and learn for themselves.

Core objectives for students in Grades 9–10

Through My Classroom Economy, students are able to:

Take part in a simulation of real-world economic activity.
Learn the value of earning a paycheck, as they bank the salaries from their jobs.
Learn how to budget their spending, manage a loan, balance a checking account, and make scheduled payments.
Understand the importance of sound recordkeeping.
Discover the importance of saving money for future goals.
Describe the purpose of paying taxes.
Explain the benefits of holding insurance.
Find out that every decision has an opportunity cost.

At these grade levels, students begin to learn more advanced financial concepts. Students now have the options of purchasing certificates of deposit (CDs) and insurance policies. With increased sophistication, more emphasis is put on financial planning and budgeting.

Antes de que comience el año escolar, pasa algunas horas reuniendo materiales y planificando cómo personalizar el programa para su escuela y su propia clase.
Durante el primer mes de clases, pasa un tiempo en la clase presentando el programa y enseñándoles a los estudiantes como completar sus tareas.
Durante todo el año, supervise el progreso de los estudiantes y proporcione apoyo y orientación cuando sea necesario.

Participar en una simulación de la economía del mundo real.
Aprender el valor de ganar su propio sueldo.
Aprender como presupuestar sus gastos, administrar préstamos, equilibrar una cuenta de cheque, y hacer pagos programados.
Comprender la importancia de mantener un presupuesto.
Descubrir la importancia de ahorrar dinero para futuros objetivos.
Describir el propósito de pagar impuestos.
Explicar los beneficios de tener seguros.
Descubrir que cada decisión tiene un precio.

Connections to Financial Literacy Standards

The classroom economy is designed to help students learn about financial literacy from an early age. This page is intended to support you in connecting common financial literacy standards with the experience of the classroom economy.

Our program addresses many of the standards included in the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy's National Standards in K-12 Personal Finance Education.

Standard	My Classroom Economy
Financial responsibility and decision-making Take responsibility for personal financial decisions.	Students earn a salary to pay rent and electricity bills, and they can save their extra money or use it for purchases; alternatively, they may have to pay fines. In this way they learn about the benefits of financial responsibility and the costs of irresponsibility.
Make financial decisions by systematically considering alternatives and consequences.	Students learn to prioritize personal financial goals by determining how to spend or save their earnings surplus. Students can set measurable short- and medium-term financial goals based on the way they spend their salaries. They can choose to earn bonuses and can incur fines for misbehavior, both of which involve assessing alternatives and experiencing consequences.
Develop communication strategies for discussing financial issues.	Students and their families are encouraged through a parent letter to discuss the classroom economy and gain a better understanding of finances.
Income and careers Explore career options.	Students have the opportunity to select various classroom jobs that correlate to real-life jobs. They must have specific skill sets or get recommendations for some of these jobs. Those who want to can start their own businesses.
Identify sources of personal income.	Students earn salaries as their basic source of income. They can receive bonuses by performing well academically and participating in extracurricular activities. Those who want to can start businesses to earn income, and those who don't will see how it works as a source of income.
Describe factors affecting take-home pay.	In addition to paying rent and electricity bills, students can choose to have taxes withheld from their paychecks.
Planning and money management Develop a plan for spending and saving.	Students need to calculate what they will owe for rent, electricity, and income tax, and set aside money to cover these bills. If they want to spend during the classroom auction, they must save for that too. Opportunities also exist for setting long-term goals.
Develop a system for keeping and using financial records.	The classroom economy requires students to keep their own financial records and verify them with a classroom Banker. Students must record income as well as money spent in their bank logs.
Apply coonsumer skills to purchase decisions.	Students can determine the relationship between spending practices and achieving financial goals by choosing whether and how much to bid in the classroom auction, which offers a range of alternatives.
Consider charitable giving.	Students are encouraged to give charitable gifts and are rewarded with tax deductions when they do so.
Saving and investing Discuss how saving contributes to financial well-being.	The classroom economy offers strong incentives to savers. To start, they can buy better things at the classroom auction. If they save enough, they can even purchase their desks–escaping rent payments forever and having still more money to spend. The system provides many opportunities for students to see how saving improves their financial well-being.

Estándar	My Classroom Economy
Responsabilidad financiera y toma de decisiones Asumir la responsabilidad de las decisiones financieras personales.	Los estudiantes ganan un salario para pagar el alquiler y las facturas de electricidad, y pueden ahorrar su dinero extra o usarlo para compras; alternativamente, pueden tener que pagar multas. De esta forma, aprenden sobre los beneficios de la responsabilidad financiera y los costos de la irresponsabilidad.
Tomar decisiones financieras considerando otras alternativas y las consecuencias.	Los estudiantes aprenden a priorizar sus metas financieras personales al determinar cómo gastar o ahorrar sus ganancias excedentes. Los estudiantes pueden establecer metas financieras medibles a corto y mediano plazo basadas en la forma en que gastan sus salarios. Pueden elegir ganar bonos y pueden incurrir multas por mala conducta, que implican evaluar alternativas y experimentar consecuencias.
Desarrollar estrategias de comunicación para discutir asuntos financieros.	Los estudiantes y sus familias son animados a través de una carta para los padres a discutir la economía de la clase y obtener una mejor comprensión de las finanzas.
Ingresos y profesiones Explorar las opciones de diferentes carreras.	Los estudiantes tienen la oportunidad de seleccionar varios trabajos en la clase que se relacionan con trabajos de la vida real. Deben tener conjuntos de habilidades específicas y obtener recomendaciones para algunos de esos trabajos. Aquellos que quieran pueden comenzar sus propios negocios.
Identificar las fuentes de ingresos personales.	Los estudiantes ganan salarios como su fuente de ingresos básica. Ellos pueden recibir bonos al obtener buenos resultados académicos y participar en actividades extracurriculares. Aquellos que quieran pueden comenzar negocios para obtener ingresos, y aquellos que no lo hagan verán cómo funciona como fuente de ingresos.
Describir los factores que afectan el salario neto.	Además de pagar las facturas de alquiler y electricidad, los estudiantes pueden optar por tener impuestos retenidos de sus cheques de pago.
Planificación y administración de dinero Desarrollar un plan para gastar y ahorrar.	Los estudiantes necesitan calcular lo que deben para el alquiler, la electricidad, y el impuesto sobre la renta, y apartar dinero para cubrir estas facturas. Si quieren gastar durante la subasta de clase, deben ahorrar para eso también. También existen oportunidades para establecer metas a largo plazo.
Desarrollar un sistema para mantener y usar registros financieros.	La economía de la clase requiere que los estudiantes mantengan sus propios registros financieros y los verifiquen con un banquero de la clase. Los estudiantes deben registrar los ingresos, y también el dinero gastado en sus registros bancarios.
Aplicar las habilidades del consumidor a las decisiones de compra.	Los estudiantes pueden determinar la relación entre gastar el dinero y poder alcanzar los objetivos financieros. Esto se puede determinar cuándo eligen si quieren gastar en la subasta de la clase y ofrece una variedad de alternativas.
Considere donar a una caridad.	Se les anima a los estudiantes a dar regalos caritativos y se les recompensa con deducciones de impuestos cuando lo hacen.
Como ahorrar e invertir Discuta como el ahorro contribuye al bienestar financiero.	La economía de la clase ofrece fuertes incentivos a los ahorradores de la clase. Para comenzar, pueden comprar mejores cosas en la subasta de la clase. Si ahorran lo suficiente, hasta pueden comprar sus escritorios y no volverían a pagar alquiler. Incluso tendrían más dinero para gastar. El sistema ofrece muchas oportunidades para que los estudiantes puedan ver cómo mejora su bienestar financiero si ahorran.

Program Outline

Planning and preparation

Begin planning your classroom economy before the school year starts.

Choose the jobs and advanced topics you will make available to your students, and customize the syllabus to your classroom.
Prepare the materials you will need for the classroom economy activities. You can download and print the materials or order a free kit.
Start gathering rewards for students to purchase at auctions.

Allow 2 to 3 hours to choose jobs, bonuses, and fines, and an additional 2 to 3 hours to prepare all of the materials.

Introductory activities

On or near the first day of school, briefly introduce your students to the classroom economy program and provide them with your customized syllabus. Instruct the students to read the syllabus as homework, and follow up with a question-and-answer session within the next few days.

Collect job applications from students interested in holding a classroom job (in addition to their job of being an Exemplary Student). Approximately 1 week later, assign jobs to students and provide short training sessions.

A few weeks later, review the advanced topics section of the syllabus and remind the students to be prepared for insurance and investments.

Allot a portion of 3 to 4 class periods to complete these activities. Keep in mind, this time does not all need to be taken from your curriculum schedule, because it can replace some of the time you would otherwise spend explaining your class rules and establishing procedures.

Ongoing activities

Every month students earn paychecks and bonus money. They also pay fines, rent for their desks, and electricity bills, and they purchase prizes at auctions—all with classroom economy currency. They also have the opportunity to invest expendable income and purchase insurance policies.

Although students may need more time and guidance at the beginning of the school year, they typically will become more efficient at banking as the year progresses. To avoid interfering with the curriculum, we encourage you to have students perform classroom economy tasks during transition periods, such as at the beginning and end of the class period. You might also allow students to work on classroom economy activities if they finish curriculum materials early.

Tax Day

Once a year, around April 15—the tax filing deadline for their parents—the students file an income tax return based on the taxes they've paid throughout the year. Students may need to pay additional taxes at this time, or they may receive a refund check. Encourage students to earn tax credits throughout the year through charitable giving.

Year-end wrap-up

Bring the classroom economy program to an end by encouraging a group discussion and giving students a chance to reflect. Distribute certificates to highlight student successes, and provide opportunities for classroom celebrations.

Allow approximately 1 class period for the year-end wrap-up.

Escoja los trabajos y temas avanzados que pondrá a disposición de sus estudiantes, y personalice el programa de estudios en su clase.
Prepare los materiales que necesitará para las actividades de la economía de la clase. Puede descargar e imprimir los materiales o solicitar un kit gratuito.
Comience a reunir recompensas que los estudiantes puedan comprar en las subastas.

Establishing Your Economic System

Estableciendo su Sistema Económico

To start the classroom economy program, you'll need to select:

A set of student jobs.
A level of monthly rent.
A list of opportunities for bonus money.
A list of fines for violating class rules.
The advanced topics you wish to include, such as investing and insurance.

Your selections for bonuses and fines can be drawn from the lists we've provided or based on your own classroom rules. As an option, you may choose to involve your students in creating the bonus and fine lists.

Once the lists are ready, use them to create a customized syllabus to distribute during the first few days of the program.

You'll also want to familiarize yourself with how taxes are handled in the classroom economy.

Un conjunto de trabajos estudiantiles.
Un nivel de alquiler mensual.
Una lista de oportunidades para obtener bonos.
Una lista de multas por romper las reglas de la clase.
Los temas avanzados que desee incluir, como invertir y los seguros.

Everyone in the class has the job of being an "Exemplary Student." But to earn enough classroom economy money to meet all expenses and participate in the auction, students will need to earn bonuses or hold additional classroom jobs.

Certain jobs are crucial to the program, because otherwise too much work would fall on your shoulders. Other jobs are completely optional and are up to you and the students.

The four core jobs we recommend you include are: Auditor, Bonus/Fine Administrator, Auctioneer, and Electrician.

If you are including insurance, investments, and loans in your classroom economy, we recommend that you also hire at least one Investment Banker, Insurance Agent, and Loan Officer.

Each job needs an appropriate salary. The highest pay should go to the position with the most responsibility. In general, the more jobs you offer and the more students who have jobs, the better it is for the classroom economy.

This list shows suggested duties and monthly pay for some of the more common jobs.

Jobs	Job Description	Monthly Salary
Trabajos	Descripción del Trabajo	Salario Mensual
Exemplary Student Everyone in the class	Arrive in class on time with all needed materials. Complete all classroom and homework assignments as instructed and deliver the work when it is due. (Note: Students who don't meet these requirements are still paid their salaries but are subject to classroom economy fines.)	$750
Estudiante Ejemplar Todos en la clase	Llega a la clase a tiempo con todos los materiales necesarios. Completa todas las tareas como sea instruido y entrega los trabajos cuando sea debido. (Nota: Los estudiantes que no cumplan estos requisitos se les siguen pagando sus sueldos, pero están sujetos a las multas de la economía de la clase.)	$750
Attendance Monitor 1 per class	Take daily attendance and record absences. Report absences to the teacher. Provide students with makeup materials when they return to class. A student must have a strong attendance record to be considered for this job.	$700
Monitor de ausencias 1 por clase	Tiene que mantener lista diaria y registrar las ausencias. Le tocaría informar las ausencias al profesor. También le tocaría darles a los estudiantes los materiales para ponerse al día con las clases que perdieron. El estudiante debe tener un buen record de asistencia para ser considerado para este trabajo.	$700
Auctioneer 3–5 per class	Poll the class to determine appropriate auction items. Identify ways to obtain the items. Plan and facilitate fund-raising events to sponsor the auction. Manage the auction.	$750
Subastador 3–5 por clase	Averigua con la clase que artículos les gustarían tener en la subasta. Identifica alguna manera de obtener esos artículos. Planea y facilita eventos para recoger fondos para patrocinar la subasta. Se encarga de la subasta.	$750
Auditor 1 for every 5 students	Analyze the bank logs of 4 to 6 students to ensure accuracy and compare with classroom investment and insurance logs. Verify transactions by witnessing them and initialing students' bank logs. Requires a recommendation.	$800
Auditor 1 por cada 5 estudiantes	Analiza los registros bancarios de 4 a 6 estudiantes para garantizar su exactitud y los compara con las inversiones de la clase y registros de seguros. Verifica las transacciones siendo testigo de ellos y firma los registros bancarios de los estudiantes. Requiere una recomendación.	$800
Loan Officer 1–2 per class	Allow students to acquire loans for a set amount. Hand out loan slips and calculate interest. Keep a record of all loans. Work with the Banker to deposit money from the students' accounts.	$750
Oficial de Prestamos 1–2 por clase	Permite que los estudiantes adquieran préstamos por un monto fijo. Entrega los comprobantes de préstamo y calcula el interés. Mantiene un registro de todos los préstamos. Trabaja con el banquero para depositar el dinero de las cuentas bancarias de los estudiantes.	$750
Bonus/Fine Administrator 1–2 per class	Record student bonuses and fines on the bonus/fine log and keep bonus/fine slips in order for ease of auditing. Mark slips as "processed" and store them in the class folder after they are recorded. Requires a recommendation.	$750
Administrador de Bonos y Multas 1–2 por clase	Registre los bonos y las multas de los estudiantes en el registro oficial de bonos y multas. También guarde los tiquetes/recibos de las multas y los bonos para facilitar la auditoria. Marque los tiquetes y los recibos como “procesados” y guárdelos en la carpeta de la clase después de que se hayan registrado. Requiere una recomendación.	$750
Clerk 2–3 per class	Hand out papers and other materials to students. Collect homework and other items from students when asked. Organize the class supply shelves and keep them neat.	$700
Asistente administrativo 2–3 por clase	Entregue papeles y materiales tales como materiales de arte a los estudiantes. Recoga los papeles o las tareas de los estudiantes cuando se le pide. También tienen que organizar los materiales de la clase y mantenerlos limpios.	$700
Economist 1 per class	Monitor spending patterns during the class auction. Report to the teacher and other students about the buying trends observed and how they compared to previous auctions.	$650
Economista 1 por clase	Monitoree los hábitos y tendencias de gasto durante la subasta de la clase. Informe al profesor y a otros estudiantes sobre las tendencias de compra para la subasta y cómo se comparan a las subastas anteriores.	$650
Electrician 1–2 per class	Monitor electricity usage in the classroom. Determine the daily charge and report the monthly total. Creatively present ideas on how to conserve energy and reduce the monthly bill.	$750
Electricista 1–2 por clase	Supervise el uso de electricidad en la clase. Determine el uso diario e informe el total mensual. Creativamente presente ideas sobre cómo ahorrar energía y reducir la factura mensual.	$750
Insurance Agent 1–2 per class	Sell insurance policies to students at their request. Keep a detailed log of who purchased insurance each month, and record the damages that uninsured students must pay. Be able to provide an up-to-date log to the Auditors when required.	$750
Agente de Seguros 1–2 por clase	Venden pólizas de seguro a los estudiantes a petición de ellos. Mantiene un registro detallado de quién compró el seguro cada mes, y anota los daños que los estudiantes no asegurados deben pagar. Tiene que ser capaz de proporcionar un registro actualizado a los auditores cuando sea necesario.	$750
Investment Banker 1–2 per class	Collect investments from students. Keep a detailed log of all investments, and inform students when their investments mature. Be able to provide the log to the Auditors when required.	$750
Banquero de inversiones 1–2 por clase	Reclama las inversiones de los estudiantes. Mantiene un registro detallado de todas las inversiones, e informa a los estudiantes cuando sus inversiones hayan madurado. Tiene que ser capaz de proporcionar el registro para los auditores cuando sea necesario.	$750
Messenger 1–2 per class	Deliver written or spoken messages to people throughout the building. Answer the class phone.	$650
Mensajero 1–2 por clase	Entrega los mensajes escritos o hablados a las personas en todo el edificio. Contesta el teléfono de la clase.	$650
Recyclist 2–3 per class	Monitor the recycling bins and trash cans for appropriate deposits. Increase the school's awareness of the importance of recycling by creating signs and flyers.	$750
Reciclador 2–3 por clase	Supervisa los contenedores de reciclaje y basura para asegurarse que los depósitos estén en los contenedores apropiados. Muestra al colegio la importancia de reciclar creando folletos.	$750
Tutor As needed	Provide one-on-one or small-group tutoring in subjects identified by the teacher. Applicants must be high performers in the subject for which they want to tutor.	$700
Tutor Según sea necesario	Proporciona tutorías uno a uno o en grupos pequeños en temas identificados por el maestro. Los tutores deben entender y poder explicar el tema para que sean elegidos.	$700
Visual Display Artist 2–3 per class	Determine what type of information is presented on the class bulletin boards. Ensure that the bulletin boards are updated with relevant information. Decorate the boards for class events, holidays, and other special occasions.	$650
Artista de presentaciones visuales 2–3 por clase	Determina qué tipo de información se presenta en los tablones de anuncios de la clase.se asegura de que los tableros de anuncios de clase se actualicen con información pertinente. Adorna los tableros con los acontecimientos de la clase, los días de fiesta, y otras ocasiones especiales.	$650
Webmaster 1 per class	Maintain and update the class's or teacher's webpage. Respond to relevant inquiries. Post new information as directed by the teacher.	$700
Administrador del sitio de web 1 por clase	Mantiene y actualiza la página Web de la clase/profesor. Responde las preguntas importantes.	$700
TIPS: Consider creating jobs to match other tasks you normally assign to students. Changing jobs quarterly or in the middle of the year is an option, but it could require a lot of retraining. If you decide to have the students change jobs, consider asking them to train each other. If some of your jobs require a recommendation, consider giving advance notice to your students' previous teachers. Let them know that they can recommend a student by contacting you in person or by email, phone, or letter. The primary purpose of the recommendation is to help you learn which students are capable of performing jobs with increased responsibilities. We believe that a teacher from a prior year is the best person to provide that assessment.
Sugerencias: Considere la posibilidad de crear trabajos para que coincidan con las tareas que normalmente asigna a los estudiantes. Cambiar los empleos cada trimestre o en la mitad del año es una opción, pero podría requerir una gran cantidad de entrenamiento. Si decide que los alumnos cambien de trabajo, considere pedirles que se entrenen entre ellos mismos. Si algunos de sus trabajos requieren una recomendación, considere avisar con anticipación a los maestros anteriores de sus estudiantes. Hágales saber que pueden recomendar a un estudiante poniéndose en contacto con usted en persona o por correo electrónico, teléfono o carta. El propósito principal de la recomendación es ayudarle saber cuáles estudiantes son capaces de realizar los trabajos con mayores responsabilidades. Creemos que el maestro de año anterior es la mejor persona para proporcionar esa evaluación.

The obligation to pay bills is central to the classroom economy. Here are the key concepts:

Students' base salaries should not quite cover these monthly bills (rent and electricity). To make up the difference, they need to earn bonus money or hold an additional job.
Students who do not make their payments should face some loss of privilege within the system.
Those who make their payments and manage to save additional money should reap benefits.

Recommended	Amount
Monthly rent	$800
One-time desk purchase price	$2,400
Monthly electricity bill (before energy savings discounts)	$150
Electricity bills The $150 monthly electricity bill can be reduced through environmentally friendly actions. To keep track of electricity usage, we encourage you to hire an Electrician as one of your classroom jobs so that he or she can motivate the students to conserve energy and reduce the bill. Allow the Electrician to present ideas about how to reduce usage and thus reduce the cost by $1 for each initiative (for example, turning out unneeded lights, reducing the number of bulbs in some fixtures, turning off computers when not in use). The Electrician keeps a classroom energy log of daily energy savings—from $0 to a maximum of $5. By monitoring electricity usage in the classroom, you establish a framework for fruitful discussions about conservation and the environment. Failure to pay bills We recommend that students who miss a rent payment or an electricity bill be excluded from that month's auction. You may choose to have them forfeit other privileges, but please remember that the program is designed to help students learn financial responsibility—it is not to punish them. When students miss payments, it's important to get them back on track as soon as possible. You can take a missed payment as an opportunity for a discussion about making responsible choices, and then encourage the student to earn bonuses so that he or she can catch up on bills and get in on the Auction Day fun. Successful saving Students who make their payments and manage to save additional money can reap rewards: They get to be bidders on Auction Day. They can be recognized in front of their peers during the year-end wrap-up. They have the chance to buy their desks outright and be forever free of rent. They can purchase certificates of deposit (CDs) to generate additional wealth.
Recomendado	Cantidad
Alquiler mensual	$800
Precio de compra de un escritorio	$2,400
Factura mensual de electricidad (antes de descuentos por el ahorro de energía)	$150
Facturas de electricidad Puede cobrar $150 por mes por la electricidad o una tarifa de $5 por día, que se puede reducir a través de los esfuerzos de conservación de electricidad de la clase. Para el proceso del uso diario, le recomendamos que contrate a un electricista como uno de sus puestos de trabajo en la clase para que él o ella puedan motivar a los estudiantes a conservar la energía y reducir la factura. Permita que el electricista presente ideas sobre cómo reducir el consumo y por lo tanto reducir el costo de $ 1 por cada iniciativa (por ejemplo, apagando las luces innecesarias, reduciendo el número de bombillos en algunos accesorios, apagando los computadores cuando no estén en uso). El electricista debe mantener un registro del uso de energía del ahorro diario de la electricidad entre $0 a $5. Poder mantener un registro del uso diario de la electricidad proporciona un marco para las discusiones sobre la conservación de energía y el medio ambiente . falta de pago de facturas Recomendamos que los estudiantes que falten un pago de factura o una factura de electricidad sean excluidos de la subasta de ese mes. Pueden elegir excluirlos de otros privilegios, pero recuerde que el programa está diseñado para ayudar a los estudiantes a aprender la responsabilidad financiera, no para castigarlos. Cuando los estudiantes falten los pagos de los préstamos, es importante ponerlos al día lo más pronto posible. Puede tomar la falta de los pagos como oportunidades para discutir acerca de diferentes opciones, y luego alentar a los estudiantes a ganar bonos para ayudarlos a ponerse al día con los pagos del préstamo y participar en la diversión del Día de la Subasta. éxito en ahorrar Los estudiantes que hacen sus pagos y logran ahorrar dinero adicional pueden adquirir recompensas: Pueden ser licitadores el día de la subasta. Pueden ser reconocidos frente a la clase durante la conclusión del año. Lo más tentador es que tienen la oportunidad de comprar sus escritorios por completo y estar libres de tener que pagar alquiler. Pueden comprar certificados de depósito (CD) para generar la riqueza adicional.

In addition to the salaries students earn from their jobs, they can earn bonus money by performing well academically and participating in extracurricular activities. Students need to earn bonuses to pay bills, to save up for the auction, and to purchase certificates of deposit (CDs) or insurance, as detailed in the syllabus. In addition, bonuses can be useful incentives for your own class goals.

The following bonuses should be included if possible, but you are encouraged to add any other bonus activities you may have offered your students. The dollar amounts listed are simply suggestions.

Activity	Bonus Amount
Earn 100% on a small test or quiz	$50
Earn 100% on a major test	$200
Earn 90% to 99% on any assignment	$100
Complete an optional financial literacy assignment	$100
Get a compliment from another teacher	$200
Join in an extracurricular activity	$100
Bonuses are administered by using our bonus/fine slips. TIPS: You can offer bonuses for specific behavior you want to encourage, as well as for activities important to your school. For example, you might offer bonuses for coming to school early to get academic help, completing all homework assignments for the week, participating in a math competition or science fair, playing a sport, or joining the school orchestra. You can also offer bonuses to teams of students working together. With bonus money, it's far better to give away too much rather than too little. The more bonus opportunities you provide, the more often students will see their extra efforts rewarded. That means they'll be able to participate more fully in the classroom economy, and they'll enjoy it more.
Actividad	Cantidad de Bono
Sacar 100% en un examen pequeño o prueba	$50
Sacar 100% en un examen grande	$200
Sacar 90% a 99% en cualquier tarea	$100
Completar una tarea opcional sobre conceptos financieros	$100
Recibir un reconocimiento de otro maestro	$200
Inscribirse a una actividad extracurricular	$100
Los bonos están administrados al utilizar nuestros recibos/tiquetes para los bonos y las multas. Sugerencias: Puede ofrecer bonos por el comportamiento específico que desea promover, como para actividades importantes del colegio. Por ejemplo, puede ofrecer bonos por asistir temprano a la escuela para obtener ayuda académica, completar todas las tareas de la semana, participar en una competencia de matemáticas o de ciencias, jugar un deporte o unirse a la orquesta de la escuela. También puede ofrecer bonos a los equipos de estudiantes que trabajan juntos. Con dinero de bonos, es mucho mejor regalar demasiado que muy poco. Entre más oportunidades de para obtener bonos, los estudiantes verán que sus esfuerzos adicionales serán recompensados. Eso significa que podrán participar más plenamente en la economía de la clase, y la disfrutarán más.

Fines are a way of ensuring that every student is earning his or her paycheck for the job of "Exemplary Student." Students who don't meet requirements are still paid their salaries but are subject to the classroom economy fines. It is important to position fines as a way of helping students understand costs and consequences—not as a means of punishment.

The list of fines should be short and direct, matching your classroom priorities. Our list is an example.

Rule	Ticket Amount
Dishonesty	$500
Rudeness	$100
Not bringing materials to class	$100
Missing work	$50
Off-task behavior, such as talking during lecture	$50
Tardiness	$50
Fines are delivered at the time of the infraction to help students understand their wrongdoing. Use our bonus/fine slips to make the process easy. TIPS: The list of behaviors that elicit fines should reflect your own standards. As an example, our list allots the steepest fine to dishonesty, reflecting a belief that truthfulness is an essential value for kids to absorb. Make sure the fines you choose fit the culture of your school. For example, promptness may be difficult to enforce in your classroom if it is not a priority in your school.
Regla	Costo por la multa
Deshonestidad	$500
Grosería	$100
No estar listo para la clase	$100
Faltar tareas	$50
Comportamiento no apropiado (ejemplo: hablar durante una presentación)	$50
Impuntualidad	$50
Las multas se entregan en el momento de la infracción para ayudar a los estudiantes a entender sus errores. Utilice nuestros recibos/tiquetes de bonos y multas para facilitar el proceso. Sugerencias: La lista de comportamientos que provocan multas debe reflejar sus propios estándares. Por ejemplo, nuestra lista asigna la multa más alta a la deshonestidad, lo que refleja la creencia de que decir la verdad es un valor esencial. Asegúrese de que las multas que elija se ajusten a la cultura de su escuela. Por ejemplo, ser puntual puede ser difícil de imponer en su clase si no es una prioridad en su colegio.

Loans are available to students through the Loan Officer. Interest for these loans will be front-end loaded. Therefore, there will be no accruing interest. If a student receives a loan for $100 with 20% interest, he or she will have to pay back $120 over a term. Here are the key concepts:

Students have the option to take a loan from the Loan Officer.
Students can take out a loan to receive money for things like rent or auction items.
Students need to pay interest on the loan, as determined by the Loan Officer. We recommend 10% or 20%.
Students pay installments to the Loan Officer over 1 to 3 months. The term is agreed to by the Loan Officer and the student.
Students who do not meet loan minimum payments should face some loss of privilege within the system.

Loan Terms

Principal — The amount borrowed on the loan.
Interest — The amount that a lender (loan officer) charges for lending you money.
Term — The length of time that the borrower has to pay back the loan.
Fixed interest rate — The interest rate does not change for the term of the loan.
Front load — The total interest to be paid is applied at the beginning of the loan.
Minimum payment — Payment amount needed to keep the loan in good standing.

TIPS:

Front load the loans so that students know what they need to pay when they apply for a loan.
Keep the term to no longer than 3 months.
Minimum payments should be equal monthly payments to satisfy paying the loan in full.
We recommend that failure to make a loan payment on time will result in a student not being able to participate in the next auction. Although you may instead choose other privileges to be forfeited, remember that the program is designed to help students learn financial responsibility—it is not to punish them.
When students miss loan payments, it's important to get them back on track as soon as possible. You can take missed payments as opportunities for discussion about choices, and then encourage students to earn bonuses to help catch up on loan payments and get in on the Auction Day fun.

Los préstamos están disponibles para los estudiantes a través del Oficial de Préstamos. El interés de estos préstamos se cargará en el principio. Por lo tanto, no habrá interés acumulado. Si un estudiante recibe un préstamo por $100 con 20% de interés, tendrá que devolver $120 durante un plazo. Aquí están los conceptos claves:

Los estudiantes tienen la opción de tomar un préstamo del Oficial de Préstamo.
Los estudiantes pueden sacar un préstamo para recibir dinero por cosas como alquiler o artículos de subasta.
Los estudiantes deben pagar intereses sobre el préstamo, según lo determine el Oficial de Préstamo. Recomendamos 10% o 20%.
Los estudiantes pagan cuotas al Oficial de Préstamos durante 1 a 3 meses. El término es acordado por el Oficial de Préstamo y el estudiante.
Los estudiantes que no cumplan con los pagos mínimos del préstamo deben enfrentar alguna pérdida dentro del sistema.

Terminos del prestamo

Principal — la cantidad prestada en el préstamo.
Interés — la cantidad que un funcionario de préstamos cobra por prestarle dinero.
Plazo — el tiempo en el que debe pagar el préstamo.
Tasa de interés fija — la tasa de interés no cambia durante el plazo del préstamo.
Carga frontal — el interés total a pagar se aplica al comienzo del préstamo.
Pago mínimo — el pago necesario para mantener el préstamo al día.

Sugerencias:

Cargue los préstamos con el interés para que los estudiantes sepan lo que deben pagar cuando solicitan un préstamo.
Mantenga el plazo no más de 3 meses.
Los pagos mínimos deben ser pagos mensuales iguales para satisfacer el pago total del préstamo.
Recomendamos que no hacer el pago del préstamo a tiempo resultará en que el estudiante no pueda participar en la próxima subasta. Aunque en su lugar puede elegir otros privilegios para perder, recuerde que el programa está diseñado para ayudar a los estudiantes a aprender la responsabilidad financiera, no para castigarlos.
Cuando los estudiantes falten los pagos de los préstamos, es importante ponerlos al día lo más pronto posible. Puede tomar la falta de los pagos como oportunidades para discutir acerca de diferentes opciones, y luego alentar a los estudiantes a ganar bonos para ayudarlos a ponerse al día con los pagos del préstamo y participar en la diversión del Día de la Subasta.

Students are required to pay annual income taxes, which are equal to one month's salary for each job that they hold. Every student automatically holds the job of "Exemplary Student," which pays a salary of $750 a month. Therefore, the minimum each student must pay in income taxes annually is $750. Students who hold an additional job will have to pay income tax on that salary as well—teaching them a rudimentary version of tax brackets.

Students have the option of withholding (paying) taxes from their monthly paychecks or paying the entire lump sum on Tax Day (on or around April 15). Because students can also earn tax deductions for charitable giving or donating items to the auction, some of them may even receive a tax refund on Tax Day.

Students are encouraged to keep track of their tax deductions and charitable giving on the classroom tax record and form, which will also serve as their filing paper on Tax Day.

Your Economic System: Investing

Giving students the opportunity to invest their money is an advanced topic in the classroom economy. You can choose whether or not to include this option in your classroom. But it does deliver an important concept: the time value of money.

At this level, students can purchase certificates of deposit (CDs) that provide flat rates of interest depending on the term, meaning how long the student must leave the money invested.

How it Works
Questions

Students can invest in CDs with various terms. To keep the process simple, each CD pays a flat sum at maturity, instead of a percentage rate of the original investment (accumulated interest). The longer the term, the greater the reward to the investor.

CDs come in terms of 1, 3, 6, or 8 months (with 8 months being a "full-term" CD, ending just before the final auction of the school year). To simplify recordkeeping, students can invest only in $100 increments, and only on Bill Day each month.

Example: $100 invested in a 1-month CD on Bill Day will yield the student $15 at the maturity date, the next Bill Day. This table illustrates the money students can earn by investing $100 for 1, 3, 6, and 8 months:

$100 invested	1 Month	3 Months	6 Months	8 Months*
Earnings at the end of each term	$15	$50	$120	$200
Balance at maturity	$115	$150	$220	$300
$100 invertidos	1 Mes	3 Meses	6 Meses	8 Meses*
Las ganancias al final de cada plazo	$15	$50	$120	$200
Saldo al vencimiento	$115	$150	$220	$300

* Or until just before the final auction for the year.
Note: In the real economy, these earnings would be high for a typical CD. We set them at this level to help the students perceive the trade-off involved: the allure of extra income versus the opportunity cost of tying up their money for the term of the CD—a period in which they won't have it to spend at the auction, for example. As is the case with all time deposits, the longer the student's commitment in term, the larger the reward at maturity.

From the first Bill Day through the second-to-last Bill Day of the year, the students can choose to invest any amount (in $100 increments) in CDs. Initially, terms of 1, 3, or 6 months, or full-term (8 months) are available. However, as time passes, the longer-term CDs naturally become unavailable because they would extend past the end of the school year. For example, you should alert students that the full-term, 8-month CD that pays $200 at maturity is only available for purchase on the first Bill Day. Also, the 6-month CD, which pays $120, won't be available after the third Bill Day.

TIPS:

The Investment Banker should record which students have purchased a CD, the amount invested, the term of the CD (1, 3, 6, or 8 months), and the maturity date and payout (see classroom investment log).

What factors determine how much money I get back in return for my investment?

The main factors that determine CD returns for the classroom economy are the term of the deposit and the size of the deposit:

The term of the deposit. Longer-term CDs have a higher interest rate than shorter-term CDs because banks must compensate lenders for keeping their money longer. Banks want the money because they can use it to earn more than they are paying to the investor. Their earnings come from lending the money out at higher interest rates or putting it in higher-paying investments.
The size of the deposit. Larger deposits (for example, jumbo CDs, which have a minimum deposit of $100,000) pay higher rates. However, to simplify recordkeeping in the classroom economy, we do not increase the payout rate for larger investments. If a student chooses to invest $200 in a 1-month CD, for example, the student will earn $30—as if it were two $100 investments.

What about interest rates?

We have simplified this investment activity by using a flat dollar amount as the return on the investment, but some students may ask about the impact of interest rates.

Students should know that an interest rate is the cost of borrowing money, or the payment for lending money. From the students' perspective as lenders, the rate needs to be high enough to compensate them for the following:

Liquidity preference. Simply put, people want to have access to their money just in case they need it for an immediate purchase or an emergency. For example, if the student is not insured and has incurred damages to his or her desk, he or she needs to be "liquid" to be able to pay for repairs.
Deferred consumption. By investing in a CD for 3 to 6 months, the student is deferring his or her consumption of other goods, such as anything he or she could have bought at Auction Day.
Risk of the investment. In the real economy, a lender incurs the risk of losing money if a borrower defaults on a loan or files for bankruptcy protection. However, traditional CDs are similar to bank savings accounts in that CD purchases of up to $250,000 per depositor are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and thus are virtually risk-free to the buyer.

The concept of compounding can be described as one of the factors contributing to higher returns over time. However in our activity, we do not compound. If the students do the math, they'll notice that a 15% return compounded over 3 months will result in a $152 payout.

What if I need the money? Can I still withdraw it prior to the maturity date?

Withdrawals before maturity are usually subject to a substantial penalty. These penalties reinforce that it is generally not in a CD holder's best interest to withdraw the money before maturity—unless the holder has the opportunity to make another investment with a significantly higher return (which would typically incur more risk and is not an option in the classroom economy) or has a serious need for the money.

Banks typically charge a penalty fee if money is withdrawn from a CD before it matures.

To keep things simple in our investment activity, we do not provide the students the option to withdraw from the CD prior to maturity. However, if you have a situation where a student needs the cash (for example, to pay for damages or rent), you may want to permit an early withdrawal—if the student is willing to pay a penalty. A penalty or fine can be lost interest and/or a small percentage of the principal.

¿Qué factores determinan cuánto dinero me devuelveN a cambio de mi inversión?

Los factores principales que determinan las ganancias del CD para la economía de la clase son el plazo del depósito y el tamaño del depósito:

El plazo del depósito. Los CDs a largo plazo tienen una tasa de interés más alta que los CDs de corto plazo porque los bancos deben compensar a los inversionistas por mantener su dinero más tiempo. Los bancos quieren el dinero porque pueden usarlo para ganar más de lo que le están pagando al inversionista. Sus ingresos provienen de prestar el dinero a tasas de interés más altas o de ponerlo en inversiones de mayor pago.
La cantidad del depósito. Los depósitos más grandes (por ejemplo, los CDs Jumbo, que tienen un depósito mínimo de $100.000) pagan tasas más altas. Sin embargo, para simplificar los registros en la economía de la clase, no aumentamos la tasa de pago para inversiones más grandes. Si un estudiante decide invertir $200 en un CD de 1 mes, por ejemplo, el estudiante ganará $30, como si fuera $2 100 inversiones.

¿Qué pasa con las tasas de interés?

Hemos simplificado esta actividad de inversiones utilizando una cantidad básica de dólares para el retorno de la inversión, pero algunos estudiantes pueden preguntar acerca del impacto de las tasas de interés.

Los estudiantes deberían saber que una tasa de interés es el costo de prestar dinero o el pago por prestar el dinero. Desde el punto de vista de los estudiantes como acreedor, el precio tiene que ser bastante alto para compensarlos para lo siguiente:

Preferencia de liquidez. En pocas palabras, la gente quiere tener acceso a su dinero sólo en caso de que lo necesiten para una compra inmediata o una emergencia. Por ejemplo, si el estudiante no está asegurado y ha incurrido daños a su escritorio, él o ella necesita ser "líquido" para poder pagar las reparaciones.
Consumo diferido. Al invertir en un CD durante 3 a 6 meses, el estudiante está aplazando su consumo de otros bienes, como todo lo que él o ella podría haber comprado en una subasta del día.
Riesgo de la inversion. En la economía real, un acreedor incurre en el riesgo de perder dinero si el prestatario no paga un préstamo o se registra para protección contra quiebra. Sin embargo, CDs tradicionales son similares a las cuentas de ahorros en bancos, en ese tipo de CDs Compras de hasta $250,000 por depositante están asegurados por la Corporación Federal de Seguros de Depósitos (FDIC en inglés) y, por lo tanto, son prácticamente libres de riesgo para el comprador.

El concepto de la composición puede ser descrito como uno de los factores que contribuyen al aumento de rendimientos a lo largo del tiempo. Sin embargo, en nuestra actividad, nosotros no componemos. Si el estudiante hace las matemáticas, notarán que un 15% de retorno sumado a lo largo de 3 meses se traducirá en un pago de $152.

¿Qué pasa si necesito el dinero? Todavía puedo retirarlo antes de la fecha de vencimiento?

Retiros antes del vencimiento generalmente están sujetos a una multa considerable. Estas sanciones refuerzan que en general no está en el mejor interés del titular de un CD retirar el dinero antes de la madurez, a menos que el titular tenga la oportunidad de hacer otra inversión con un rendimiento significativamente mayor (lo que típicamente incurrirá en más riesgo y es no es una opción en la economía de la clase) o tiene una necesidad grave para el dinero.

Los bancos normalmente cobran una multa si se retira el dinero de un CD antes de su vencimiento.

Para mantener las cosas sencillas en nuestra actividad de inversiones, no ofrecemos a los estudiantes la opción de liquidar el CD antes de la madurez. Sin embargo, si usted tiene una situación donde un estudiante necesita el dinero en efectivo (por ejemplo, para pagar los daños o el alquiler), es posible que desee permitir un retiro anticipado — si el estudiante está dispuesto a pagar una multa. Una multa puede perder interés y/o un porcentaje pequeño del principal.

Your Economic System: Insurance

Students have the option of purchasing homeowners insurance to cover the desk they rent or own. Students who buy insurance are protected from the "property damage" that could befall the class each week; uninsured students will need to pay for repairs.

How it Works
Questions

Students can buy insurance on Bill Day. They can pay for it in one of two ways:

With a one-time yearly purchase fee of $1,200.
With a monthly fee of $200.

Accidents are created (or avoided) by our insurance simulator, which uses random-number generation to determine the outcome. To best illustrate a reasonable trade-off between insurance costs and benefits, we recommend using the simulator 30 times during the school year (approximately once a week after the first month of school).

Insurance simulator

How property damage is assessed

The insurance simulator randomly selects a number between 1 and 10. The number determines whether there is damage to the desks and, if so, the degree of severity and cost of repair. Students who own insurance are covered for all expenses, but students without insurance will be billed for repairs and the following amounts will be deducted from their accounts:

No damage: pay $0.
Minor damage: pay $100 for repairs.
Moderate damage: pay $150 for repairs.
Major damage: pay $200 for repairs.

How to manage insurance sales

On Bill Day, the Insurance Agent will ask who wants to purchase insurance. Each purchaser will log the payment in his or her bank log, and the Agent will initial the purchase. The Agent will then record the purchaser's name in the insurance log (see details below).
Throughout the month, the Insurance Agent will run the insurance simulator, keep track of the damages, and record them in the insurance log. At the end of the month, the Agent will determine each student's monthly required payment and record it in the log.

The insurance log

The insurance log helps the Insurance Agent keep a detailed record of the insurance sales and payments of the class. For the Insurance Purchases portion, the Agent lists every student's name, and then each month records whether he or she has purchased insurance. In the Simulation Records section, the Agent records the results of each simulation. The Agent records both the type of damage that was displayed by the insurance simulator and the amount of money that must be paid for damages. The Auditors will receive a copy of these logs from which they will easily be able to determine which students owed repair payments each month.

Additional information

Students who don't see the value of insurance protection will probably soon find themselves owing money for damage repair. These students must deduct the repair payments from their bank logs. They will do so each week on the honor system, but the payments will later be verified when the Auditor cross-references their bank logs with the insurance log.
An uninsured student who changes his or her mind will need to wait until the beginning of the next four-week period to buy insurance. Restricting purchases to four-week intervals (or on the first of each month) not only makes recordkeeping easier but allows the student to experience the potentially costly consequences of skipping insurance coverage.
Students who decide to pay for insurance monthly can opt to let their coverage lapse by not paying for it when the next Bill Day comes. The Insurance Agent updates the insurance log and prepares to verify payments are deducted for weekly damages, if any.
For those interested in the mathematics of this insurance scheme, here are the details: Each simulation has an expected result of $70 in damages; the calculation is [(0.5)($0) + (0.2)($100) + (0.2)($150) + (0.1)($200) = $70]. Assuming that 30 simulations are executed during the school year, students without insurance can expect to pay, on average, $2,100 for damages. Thus, on average, uninsured students will pay $900 more for damages than they would have paid for insurance—a good illustration of how what seems to save money in the short term can actually cost much more in the long run.

Los estudiantes pueden comprar los seguros durante el día de las Facturas. Pueden pagarlo de dos maneras:

Con una cuota de compra anual de $1,200.
Con una cuota mensual de $200.

Los accidentes son creados (o evitados) por nuestro simulador de seguros, que usa la generación del número arbitrario para determinar el resultado. Para ilustrar una mejor compensación razonable entre gastos de seguros y ventajas, recomendamos usar el simulador 30 veces durante el año escolar (aproximadamente una vez por semana después del primer mes de la escuela).

Simulador de seguros

Cómo se evalúa el daño a la propiedad

El simulador de seguros al azar selecciona un número entre 1 y 10. El número determina si hay daño a los escritorios y, de ser así, el nivel de seriedad y el costo de la reparación. Los estudiantes que poseen seguro son cubiertos para todos los gastos, pero los estudiantes sin seguro se les pasara la factura por reparaciones y las cantidades siguientes serán descontadas de sus cuentas:

Ningún daño: paga $0.
Daño mínimo: paga 100$ por reparaciones.
Daño moderado: paga 150$ por reparaciones.
Daño grave: paga 200$ por reparaciones.

Como manejar las ventas de seguros

En el día de la factura, el agente de seguros preguntará quién quiere comprar un seguro. Cada comprador registrará el pago en su registro bancario, y el agente iniciará la compra. A continuación, el agente registrará el nombre del comprador en el registro del seguro (vea los detalles a continuación).
A lo largo del mes, el agente de seguros dirigirá el simulador de seguros, hará un seguimiento de los daños y los registrará en el registro del seguro. Al final del mes, el agente determinará el pago mensual requerido por cada estudiante y lo registrará en el registro.

El registro del seguro

El registro de seguros ayuda al agente de seguros a mantener un registro detallado de las ventas de seguros y pagos de la clase. Para la porción de compras de seguros, el agente enumera el nombre de cada estudiante, y luego cada mes registra si él o ella han comprado un seguro. En la sección registros de simulación, el agente registra los resultados de cada simulación. El agente registra tanto el tipo de daño que fue mostrado por el simulador de seguros y la cantidad de dinero que debe ser pagado por daños. Los auditores recibirán una copia de estos registros de los cuales podrán determinar fácilmente qué estudiantes deben pagar los pagos de reparación cada mes.

Informacion aDicional

Los estudiantes que no ven el valor de tener seguros probablemente pronto se encontrarán debiendo dinero por la reparación de los daños. Estos estudiantes deben deducir los pagos de reparación de sus registros bancarios. Lo harán cada semana en el sistema de honor, pero los pagos se verificarán después cuando el auditor haga referencias cruzadas de sus registros bancarios con el registro del seguro.
Un estudiante sin seguro que cambie de opinión tendrá que esperar hasta el comienzo del siguiente período de cuatro semanas para comprar un seguro. Restringir las compras a periodos de cuatro semanas (o el primero de cada mes) no sólo facilita el mantenimiento de los registros, sino que permite que el estudiante experimente las consecuencias potencialmente costosas de omitir la cobertura del seguro.
Los estudiantes que deciden pagar el seguro mensualmente pueden optar por dejar su cobertura transcurrir sin pagarla cuando llegue el siguiente día de facturas. El Agente de seguros actualiza el registro de seguros y se dispone a verificar que los pagos sean descontados por los daños semanales, si hay alguno.
Para aquellos interesados en la matemática de este plan de seguro, aquí están los detalles: cada simulación tiene un resultado esperado de $70 en daños; el cálculo es [(0.5) ($ 0) (0.2) ($ 100) (0.2) ($ 150) (0.1) ($ 200) = $70]. Asumiendo que se ejecutan 30 simulaciones durante el año escolar, los estudiantes sin seguro pueden esperar pagar, en promedio, $2,100 por daños y perjuicios. Por lo tanto, en promedio, los estudiantes no asegurados pagarán $900 más por daños que los que hubieran cubierto el seguro — una buena ilustración de cómo lo que parece ahorrar dinero en el corto plazo puede realmente costar mucho más a largo plazo.

How do insurance companies make money?

Insurance company profits can be reduced to a simple equation: profit = premium payments minus incurred losses. Note that this is extremely simplified, in that it does not include the cost of underwriting expenses and investment income.

In the classroom economy, we do not record any payments to the insured students for property damage (these would be the "incurred losses" to an insurance company). We simply assume that these students don't have to pay out of pocket for the repairs.

Another big difference is that the classroom insurance scheme would not be profitable in reality. In a class of 20 students, the Insurance Agent can collect a maximum of $32,000 over the school year (if everyone paid the monthly fee of $200 x 8 months). On the other hand, the simulator assumes average damage of $2,100 per student, so the assumed payout totals $42,000—a loss of $10,000 for the insurer, if there were one.

In case a student asks about this math, you can explain that if a real insurance company experienced average claims this high, it would charge much higher fees. Price-setting in the insurance business is often called an "actuarial science." Simply put, the price of insurance coverage (called a premium) is determined by skilled underwriters who identify the risks and decide how much to charge for accepting those risks. In My Classroom Economy, we are keeping the fees low and the probability of possible damages higher, to better illustrate the cost and consequences of risk-taking.

Preparing Materials

The first step in preparing your materials is to customize the syllabus to outline your own version of the program.

The next step is to gather supplies and compile materials for students. You can download the materials or order printed copies for free. Gathering and preparing materials will take approximately 2 to 3 hours.

Supplies

In addition to the materials we provide, you may wish to purchase or gather the following items.

El primer paso para preparar sus materiales es personalizar el plan de estudios para delinear su propia versión del programa.

A shoe box to hold classroom bonus/fine slips after students record them in their logs.	1 per class
Portfolio folders with clasps where students can store their bank logs and other materials.	1 per student
Items for students to purchase at auctions, such as toys, baked goods, or gift certificates.	3–7 per auction
A Cajón o caja de zapatos para guardar los bonos de la clase / multas finas después de que los estudiantes los anoten en sus registros.	1 por clase
Carpetas de portafolio con corchetes donde los estudiantes pueden archivar sus registros bancarios y otros materiales.	1 por estudiante
Artículos para que los estudiantes compren en subastas, como juguetes, dulces o certificados de regalo.	3–7 por subasta

Student folders

Put the following items in each student folder:

Item	Quantity
Syllabus	1
Job application	1
Rental agreement	1
Bill payment log	1
Bank log	1
Loan slips	2
Unpaid bill notice	4
Business license application	4
Tax form	4
Envelope	1
Artículo	Cantidad
Plan de estudio	1
Aplicación de trabajo	1
Contrato de alquiler	1
Registro de pago de factura	1
Registro de banco	1
Recibos de préstamos	2
Noticia de alquiler no renumerado	4
Aplicación de licencia comercial	4
Formulario de impuestos	4
Sobre	1

Loan Procedures

Student determines if he or she would like to borrow money from the bank.
Student would go to the Loan Officer to fill out a loan slip and agree on the interest rate and term.
Student updates his or her bank log to include the transaction.
Student goes to the Banker to retrieve the money.
Once the student is ready to pay off some of the loan or the entire loan they will go to the loan office to obtain a signature, and go to the banker to withdraw money out of their account.

Bank box

Create a bank box where students can deposit their bonus/fine slips after they update their bank logs. We suggest using a shoe box with a slot cut in the top; this would be easy to use and would store the slips safely.

Visual displays

In addition to the syllabus you give to each student, you may want to create additional visual displays for easy reference throughout the year. (If you have Visual Display Artist as one of your classroom jobs, the student or students holding this job can create these displays.)

Some suggestions include:

Item
Bulletin board
Posters (e.g., bonuses, fines)
Presentation
Artículo
Tablón de anuncios
Pósteres (e.g. bonificaciones, multas)
Presentación

Other materials

For the activities throughout the year, you will need the following materials:

Item	Needed for
Job offer letters	Job assignment
Business license applications	Throughout the year
Bank logs	Throughout the year
Unpaid bill notice	Bill day
Deed to desk	Bill day
Tax form	Tax day
Auction record form	Auction
Certificate	Year-end wrap-up
Artículo	Propósito
Carta de oferta de Trabajo	Asignación de trabajo
Licencias comerciales	Durante todo el ano
Registro bancario	Durante todo el ano
Aviso de factura sin pagar	Día de Factura
Escritura de escritorio	Día de Factura
Formularios de Impuestos	Día de Impuestos
La forma por el registro de subasta	La subasta
Certificados	Cierre del fin de año

Rewards

Auction prizes

Think ahead about items your students might like to purchase at the classroom auctions and involve the class Auctioneers early in the year. Encourage them to gather both tangible and intangible rewards.

Examples:

Tangible	Intangible
Fruit. Trophies. CDs/DVDs. Electronic video games. iTunes gift certificates. Coupons or gift certificates to local businesses. Movie tickets. Autographs. Passes to school plays or sports events (such as football or soccer games). Student-donated items (must be approved by the Auctioneer). Can be used as a tax deduction for the donor.	Skip a class homework assignment (advance teacher approval required). Take a test open book or with notes (advance teacher approval required). Raise one quiz grade (advance teacher approval required). One month's free rent in classroom economy. One hour of tutoring. (A student providing tutoring for the auction can get a percentage of the sale and donate the remainder as a charitable deduction on his or her taxes.) Lunch with the teacher.
Tangible	Intangible
Fruta. Trofeos. CDs/DVDs. Videojuegos. Certificados de regalo para iTunes. Certificados de regalo para negocios locales. Billetes de cine. Autógrafos . Pases a juegos escolares o eventos deportivos (como partidos de fútbol o fútbol). Artículos donados por los estudiantes (deben ser aprobados por el Subastador). Puede usarse como una deducción fiscal para el donante.	Omitir una tarea de tarea de clase (se requiere aprobación previa del profesor). Tome un libro abierto de prueba o con notas (se requiere aprobación previa del profesor). Elevar una calificación de prueba (se requiere aprobación previa del profesor). Un mes de alquiler gratuito en My Classroom Economy. Una hora de tutoría. (Un estudiante que proporciona tutoría para la subasta puede obtener un porcentaje de la venta y donar el resto como una deducción caritativa en sus impuestos.) Almuerzo con el profesor.

TIPS:

Get the community involved by asking local businesses or vendors to donate products. Use our sample donation request letter.
Request autographs from local celebrities, such as the principal, a coach, the mayor, or business leaders. You can have your students write letters to ask for them.
Have Auctioneers actively involve other students in finding or contributing auction items.
Hold a fundraising event to raise real-world money to buy items for the auction.

End-of-year rewards

In the year-end wrap-up, you could allow your students to pool their money and purchase a class reward, such as:

Holding a class party.
Watching a movie in class
Wearing a hat in class.
Holding a class outdoors.

Advanced Modules

Teachers may want to include additional modules and conduct more detailed discussions surrounding some classroom economy topics. These are not recommended for teachers implementing the program for the first time. Be certain your students understand the underlying curriculum components before adding these modules.

Real estate investments

Taking property ownership a step further, allow students to purchase the deeds to other students' desks. In this situation, a student whose desk is purchased now pays the rent to a landlord instead of the bank. We recommend you insist the rent remain at the bank's original price so that landlords can't force students out of their desks by driving up the rent too high!

Inflation

After returning from a break in the school year (e.g., winter or spring break), raise the prices of students' desks based on inflation. You can also raise their salaries, but we suggest you raise the price of the desks more than any salary increase to stress the importance of saving and outpacing inflation. Depending on your students' math skills, you can make inflation a flat amount (e.g., $50) or a percentage of the current economy (e.g., 3%).

Disaster relief

Require students to pay a fixed amount (e.g., $100) for disaster relief. This can be especially effective if you are studying disasters in science or social studies. For example, if you are studying hurricanes in science class, you can pretend there is a hurricane in your classroom and everyone must pay to fix the damage.

Emergency funds

Help students prepare for their future by establishing an emergency fund. Assist the students in determining their monthly expenses, and then encourage them to build a nest egg that is greater than or equal to that amount. The overall purpose of this module is to teach students the importance of saving in a liquid investment such as a bank savings account, so they are prepared for unexpected situations that can occur in life. By building an emergency fund, students will be prepared to pay their bills, even if they do not receive bonus money or if they lose their job. Keep in mind, anytime students use their emergency fund, they will have to devise a plan to replenish it.

Advanced insurance

If you are already using the Grades 9–10 insurance program and would like to add a level of sophistication, try the Grades 11–12 program.

Investing

In place of (or in addition to) the certificates of deposit (CDs) available in the Grades 9–10 program, you may consider allowing your students to invest in a simulated portfolio of stocks and bonds. An interactive investment simulator used in the Grades 11–12 investing program gives students an opportunity to learn about asset classes, volatility, and the value of a long-term investment plan.

Es posible que los profesores deseen incluir algunos modulos adicionales y realizar discusiones mas detalladas sobre algunos temas de economía de la clase. No se recomiendan para los profesores que implementan el programa por primera vez. Asegúrese de que sus estudiantes comprendan los componentes del plan de estudios subyacentes antes de agregar estos módulos.

Inversiones de bienes raices

Llevando la propiedad de la propiedad un paso más allá, permita a los estudiantes comprar las escrituras en los escritorios de otros estudiantes. En esta situación, un estudiante cuyo escritorio se compra ahora paga el alquiler a un propietario en lugar del banco. ¡Recomendamos que insista en que el alquiler se mantenga al precio original del banco para que los estudiantes no puedan obligar a los estudiantes a salir de sus escritorios aumentando demasiado el alquiler!

Inflacion

Después de regresar de un receso en el año escolar (por ejemplo, invierno o vacaciones de primavera), aumente los precios de los escritorios de los estudiantes según la inflación. También puede aumentar sus salarios, pero le sugerimos que eleve el precio de los escritorios más que cualquier aumento salarial para enfatizar la importancia de ahorrar y superar la inflación. Dependiendo de las habilidades matemáticas de sus estudiantes, puede hacer que la inflación sea una cantidad fija (por ejemplo, $ 50) o un porcentaje de la economía actual (por ejemplo, 3%).

Alivio de desastres

Los estudiantes tienen que pagar una cantidad fija (por ejemplo, $ 100) para alivio de desastres. Esto puede ser especialmente efectivo si está estudiando desastres en ciencias o estudios sociales. Por ejemplo, si está estudiando huracanes en la clase de ciencias, puede pretender que hay un huracán en su clase y que todos deben pagar para reparar el daño.

Fondos de emergencias

Ayude a los estudiantes a prepararse para su futuro estableciendo un fondo de emergencia. Ayude a los estudiantes a determinar sus gastos mensuales y luego anímelos a construir una cantidad ahorros que sea mayor o igual a esa cantidad. El objetivo general de este módulo es enseñar a los estudiantes la importancia de ahorrar en una inversión líquida, como una cuenta de ahorro bancaria, para que estén preparados para las situaciones inesperadas que pueden ocurrir en la vida. Al construir un fondo de emergencia, los estudiantes estarán preparados para pagar sus facturas, incluso si no reciben dinero de bonificación o si pierden su trabajo. Tenga en mente que cada vez que los estudiantes usen su fondo de emergencia, deberán diseñar un plan para reponerlo.

Seguro avanzado

Si ya está usando el programa de seguro de Grados 9-10 y desea agregar un nivel de sofisticación, pruebe el programa de Grados 11-12.

Inversiónes

En lugar de (o además de) los certificados de depósito (CD) disponibles en el programa de Grados 9-10, puede considerar permitir que sus estudiantes inviertan en una cartera simulada de acciones y bonos. Un simulador de inversión interactivo utilizado en el programa de inversión de los grados 11-12 brinda a los estudiantes la oportunidad de aprender sobre las clases de activos, la volatilidad y el valor de un plan de inversión a largo plazo.

First Day

On the first day of the program, you briefly explain the rules and expectations of the classroom economy as you would with any classroom management system. You then give the students a syllabus they can take home and read as homework.

Preparation60–90 minutes

Familiarize yourself with the classroom economy syllabus and customize it as needed for your classroom.
Create student folders to be handed out at the start of class. (Items to include are listed in Preparing Materials, in the Planning section.)
Create any customized visual displays of your jobs, bonuses, and fines lists if you desire (posters, bulletin boards, etc.). Or plan how students can create these.

In class10 minutes

Welcome the students and inform them that they'll be earning and spending money throughout the year. Let them know that they will each be paid, in classroom dollars, for holding the job of "Exemplary Student" and that they can apply for additional jobs or a business license to increase their earning potential.

Hand out the folders you created and ask the students to take out the syllabus. Assign them a due date (potentially within the next few days) for reading Part One of the syllabus.

TIP:

If you like to include your students in creating class rules and policies, feel free to let them suggest additional bonus opportunities, fines, and auction items.

If you have enough time, you can combine the first and second days into one.

Second Day

On the first day of the program, you explained the rules and expectations of the classroom economy and asked the students to read the classroom economy syllabus as a homework assignment. On day two, you go into a little more detail and answer any questions the students might have.

PreparationNone

Review the syllabus and be ready to answer student questions.

In class20 minutes

Ask students to take the syllabus from their folders. Answer student questions and ensure they understand the following key concepts:

Money is earned in up to four ways:
- As a salary for holding the job of "Exemplary Student" (applies to all students).
- In bonus rewards for good achievements.
- As a salary for holding an additional classroom job (optional).
- By creating your own business (optional).
- Note: Money can also be obtained through loans but they must be paid back with interest (optional).
At this point, money can be spent in four ways (two others, insurance and certificates of deposit, will be discussed later):
- Paying the monthly rent for the student's desk. The rent is $800 per month, but desks can be purchased for a one-time payment of $2,400.
- Paying an electricity bill of $150 a month, which can be reduced through the energy-saving efforts of the class.
- Buying items or privileges at auctions, which are held approximately monthly.
- Paying fines for not following classroom rules.
The rental agreement they'll find in their student folders symbolizes their entry into the program. Collect the signed forms, sign them yourself when you have time, and return them to the students to hold in their folders as a binding contract.
Students interested in applying for a job in addition to the exemplary student role may do so.
Students interested in starting their own businesses may apply for a business license.

TIP:

If you like to include your students in creating class rules and policies, feel free to let them suggest additional bonus opportunities, fines, and auction items.

The second day can be combined with the first day if you have time.

El primer día del programa, usted explicó las reglas y expectativas de la economía de la clase y le pidió a los estudiantes que leyeran el programa de economía de la clase como una tarea. El segundo día, entra un poco más de detalle y responde cualquier pregunta que los estudiantes puedan tener.

Preparacion ninguna

Revise el plan de estudios y esté listo para responder las preguntas de los estudiantes.

En clase20 minutos

Pídales a los estudiantes que tomen el plan de estudios de sus carpetas. Responda las preguntas de los estudiantes y asegúrese de que comprendan los siguientes conceptos importantes:

El dinero se gana en hasta cuatro formas:
- Como un salario por mantener el trabajo de "Estudiante Ejemplar" (se aplica a todos los estudiantes).
- En recompensas de bonificación por buenos logros.
- Como un salario por tener un trabajo adicional en la clase (opcional).
- Creando su propio negocio (opcional).
- Nota: El dinero también se puede obtener a través de préstamos, pero deben devolverse con intereses (opcional).
En este punto, el dinero se puede gastar de cuatro maneras (otros dos, seguro y certificados de depósito, se discutirán más adelante):
- Pagar el alquiler mensual del escritorio del estudiante. El alquiler es de $ 800 por mes, pero se pueden comprar escritorios por un pago único de $ 2,400.
- Pagar una factura de electricidad de $ 150 por mes, que se puede reducir a través de los esfuerzos de ahorro de energía de la clase.
- Comprar artículos o privilegios en subastas, que se llevan a cabo aproximadamente mensualmente.
- Pagar multas por no seguir las reglas de la clase.
El contrato de alquiler que encontrarán en sus carpetas de estudiantes simboliza su ingreso al programa. Reúna los formularios firmados, fírmelos usted mismo cuando tenga tiempo y devuélvalos a los estudiantes para que los guarden en sus carpetas como un contrato vinculante.
Los estudiantes interesados en solicitar un trabajo además del papel de estudiante ejemplar pueden hacerlo.
Los estudiantes interesados en comenzar sus propios negocios pueden solicitar una licencia comercial.

SUGERENCIA:

Si desea incluir a sus estudiantes en la creación de reglas y políticas de clase, no dude en dejarles sugerir oportunidades de bonificaciones adicionales, multas y artículos de subasta.

El segundo día se puede combinar con el primer día si tiene tiempo.

Every Day

A critical component of the classroom economy is the combination of bonuses students can earn and fines they can incur for their actions. To maximize the effect of the system, it is best to reward or fine a student at the time of the action. To do so, simply hand a student a bonus/fine slip.

Depending on the nature of the action, you may want to fill out the bonus/fine slip yourself and hand it to the student discreetly. On the other hand, when a student does a good job, you may want to publicly praise him or her. For example, you might say something like, "Great job, Tina. I love how you helped Dave with that problem. Thanks for your help! Please fill out this slip for a $100 bonus for quietly helping another student."

The complete process of handing a student a bonus/fine slip is outlined below:

Bonus/fine procedures

Teacher hands the student a bonus/fine slip.
Student fills out the slip at the teacher's direction, if necessary.
During an appropriate time in the class period, student updates his or her bank log to include the amount of the bonus or fine.
At the end of the period, the student places the slip in the bank box.
Approximately once a week, the bonus/fine Administrator empties the bank box, records each slip on the bonus/fine log, and stores the slips in a folder.

Note: If you have entrepreneurs in your class who have obtained their own business licenses, you will need a way to manage student-to-student purchases. Here is our recommendation:

Students meet, along with an Auditor, to appropriately debit or credit their bank logs.
The Auditor witnesses the transaction and initials both logs as verification.

Job Assignment and Training Day

Preparation30 minutes

Once you collect all the students' job applications, business license requests, and any needed recommendations, take a few days to plan the job assignments. It's best to make the assignments in class about a week after the students apply.

Because the Auditors hold so much responsibility, it is important to choose carefully among the applicants for those positions. Use the recommendations to help guide your decisions.

Once the Auditors are chosen, you can move down the list of your other jobs, perhaps starting with those you consider most important in your classroom management.

Prepare a simple job offer letter for each student. (Our template has blanks for the job title and the student's name.)

Finally, plan an assignment that students can work on quietly at their seats. While the class works, you can train small groups of students on their job responsibilities.

In class30 minutes

Inform the students that those who have applied for specific classroom jobs will be receiving offer letters.

Deliver the job offer letters. Each student who receives one should sign the letter and place it in his or her folder.

Next, train the students for their jobs. Help the entire class to begin the assignment you prepared, then pull individual students aside for training according to their roles. More detailed training is spelled out below for Auditors and Bonus/Fine Administrators.

Note: After you review the business license requests, we recommend meeting with the students individually to briefly discuss your expectations about how the businesses will be conducted in your classroom. You can do this at any convenient time over the next few weeks.

Auditor
Bonus/Fine

The Auditor's job is to carefully analyze a copy of a student's bank log and verify that every transaction was included and that all transactions are valid.

The list below shows the types of transactions that are listed on the bank log and how the Auditor can verify the amounts are accurate. To help the Auditors, please give each a copy of the auditor checklist.

Salary: Every student receives $750 each month for being an "Exemplary Student." Some students also have additional jobs and will, therefore, have two salaries. The Auditor can verify who holds additional jobs on the job list.
Rent: Every student must pay $800 each month for rent. If a student has purchased his or her desk, the Auditor can verify it by asking the student for the deed to desk.
Electricity: Every student must pay a monthly electricity bill. The amount withdrawn on each student's bank log must equal the total shown for that month on the classroom energy log.
Bonuses/Fines: The Auditor must verify that the dates and amounts of all bonuses and fines match the bonus/fine log. If there is a discrepancy, the Auditor can ask the Bonus/Fine Administrator to retrieve the actual bonus/fine slip from his or her files.
Auctions: The Auditor must verify that any purchased auction items, as indicated on the auction record form, are paid for on the bank log.
Investments: The Auditor verifies investments from a copy of the classroom investment log. Investments may show up as an expense (at time of purchase) or as income (at time of redemption).
Insurance: There are two different situations the Auditor must be aware of in terms of insurance: either the student purchased insurance or he or she did not. In the case of purchased insurance, the Auditor must verify the student's name on the insurance log. If the student did not purchase insurance, then the Auditor must verify that the student paid the full damages that were owed that month by comparing his or her bank log with the amounts shown in the simulation records on the insurance log.
Student-to-student purchases: Students are allowed to hold their own business as long as they submit an application and you approved it. All student-to-student transactions are completed side by side, with one student withdrawing the funds and the other student crediting them—a practice that must be done in front of an Auditor so the Auditor can approve the transaction by initialing both students' bank logs. Therefore, auditing these transactions will be straightforward because they have already been approved.
Loans:The Auditor must verify that any loan taken from the Loan Officer is paid for on the bank log.

If the Auditor finds an error on a student's bank log, he or she issues a bonus/fine slip to that student. The fine should be equal to the amount of the error minus an additional $50 as a penalty. In other words, if the student's bank log shows that he or she has $1,200, but the correct amount is $1,100, then the Auditor has found a $100 error. The Auditor issues a fine for $150 ($100 error + $50 penalty). After filling out all the bonus/fine slips, the Auditor hands them to you. Use these as a progress indicator—if a student makes several errors on his or her bank log, you may need to provide some extra help.

Salario: cada estudiante recibe $750 por mes por ser un "Estudiante ejemplar". Algunos estudiantes también tienen trabajos adicionales y, por lo tanto, tendrán dos salarios. El Auditor puede verificar quién tiene trabajos adicionales en la lista de trabajos.
Alquiler: cada estudiante debe pagar $ 800 por mes en alquiler. Si un estudiante ha comprado su escritorio, el Auditor puede verificarlo pidiéndole al estudiante la escritura de la escritura.
Electricidad: cada estudiante debe pagar una factura mensual de electricidad. El monto retirado en el registro bancario de cada estudiante debe ser igual al total que se muestra para ese mes en el registro de energía de la clase.
Bonificaciones / multas: el auditor debe verificar que las fechas y los montos de todos las bonificaciones y multas coincidan con el registro de bonificación / multa. Si hay una discrepancia, el Auditor puede solicitarle al Administrador de Bonificaciones/ Multas que recupere la bonificacion/ resbalón real de sus archivos.
Subastas: el auditor debe verificar que los artículos de la subasta comprados, como se indica en el formulario de registro de la subasta, se paguen en el registro bancario.
Inversiones: el auditor verifica las inversiones a partir de una copia del registro de inversiones de la clase. Las inversiones pueden aparecer como un gasto (en el momento de la compra) o como un ingreso (en el momento de la redención).
Seguro: hay dos situaciones diferentes que el auditor debe conocer en términos de seguro: o el estudiante compró un seguro o no lo hizo. En el caso de un seguro comprado, el auditor debe verificar el nombre del estudiante en el registro del seguro. Si el estudiante no compró un seguro, entonces el Auditor debe verificar que el estudiante pagó los daños totales que se debían ese mes al comparar su registro bancario con las cantidades que se muestran en los re.
Compras de estudiante a estudiante: a los estudiantes se les permite tener su propio negocio siempre que presenten una solicitud y usted la aprueba. Todas las transacciones de estudiante a estudiante se completan una al lado de la otra, un estudiante retira los fondos y el otro estudiante los acredita, una práctica que debe realizarse frente a un auditor para que el auditor pueda aprobar la transacción iniciando el banco de ambos estudiantes registros Por lo tanto, auditar estas transacciones será sencillo porque ya han sido aprobadas.
Prestamos:El auditor debe verificar que cualquier préstamo tomado del Oficial de Préstamo se pague en el registro bancario.

Bonus/Fine Training

We recommend this procedure: The Bonus/Fine Administrator goes to the cash box once per week and removes all of the bonus/fine slips. He or she then records the amount and date of each slip in the bonus/fine log. After all slips have been recorded in the log, the Administrator files the slips in a folder—sorted and marked by month. In case of a discrepancy on the bonus/fine log, the Administrator can retrieve the original document.

Syllabus Day

Between the first Payday and the first Bill Day, we suggest you revisit the syllabus to discuss the advanced topics with your students.

Preparation30 minutes

Assign Part Two of the syllabus as a reading assignment for students the night before.
Prepare to discuss investing with your students.
Show the insurance simulator to the students.

In class20 minutes

Ask students to take out their copies of the syllabus.

Answer any questions and ensure that they understand the following key concepts about Bill Day (the first of the month):

Students are required to pay two monthly bills:
- Rent for $800.
- Electricity for $150 (unless adjusted by the Electrician for energy conservation).
Certificates of deposit (CDs) are available for purchase.
- CDs pay interest, meaning that students who invest in them will get back more money than they put in.
- CDs can be purchased only on Bill Day.
- They can be bought only in increments of $100.
- The longer the term of the CD, the higher the rate of return the student will receive.
- The 8-month (full term) CD is only available on the first Bill Day.
Insurance policies are available for purchase:

Students can choose between monthly payments and a yearly policy, or skip buying insurance altogether.
Policies are available only on Bill Day.
The insurance simulator will be operated about four times a month to determine whether the class has suffered property damage, and if so, how much. When damage occurs, students who do not have insurance must deduct payment for repairs from their savings accounts. Students with insurance will not have to pay for repairs.

Remind the students to work hard to earn bonus money before the first Bill Day so they can take advantage of some of these advanced offerings.

Entre el primer Día de pago y el primer Día de facturas, le sugerimos que revise el plan de estudios para discutir los temas avanzados con sus estudiantes.

Preparacion30 minutos

Asignar la Parte Dos del plan de estudios como una tarea de lectura para los estudiantes la noche anterior.
Prepárese para discutir el tema de inversiónes con sus estudiantes.
Mostrar el simulador de seguro a los estudiantes.

En clase20 minutos

Pida a los estudiantes que saquen sus copias del plan de estudios.

Responda cualquier pregunta y asegúrese de que comprenda los siguientes conceptos clave sobre Día de Facturas (el primero del mes):

Los estudiantes deben pagar dos facturas mensuales:
- Alquiler por $800.
- Electricidad por $ 150 (a menos que el electricista lo ajuste para la conservación de energía).
Los certificados de depósito (CD) están disponibles para la compra.
- CDs pagan intereses, lo que significa que los estudiantes que inviertan en ellos obtendrán más dinero de lo que ingresaron.
- Los CD se pueden comprar solo en día de factura.
- Se pueden comprar solo en incrementos de $100.
- Cuanto más largo sea el plazo del CD, mayor será la tasa de rendimiento que recibirá el estudiante.
- El CD de 8 meses (plazo completo) solo está disponible en el primer día de factura.
Las pólizas de seguro están disponibles para la compra:

Los estudiantes pueden elegir entre pagos mensuales y una política anual, o saltarse el seguro de compras por completo.
Las políticas están disponibles solo en Día de factura.
El simulador de seguros se operará aproximadamente cuatro veces al mes para determinar si la clase ha sufrido daños a la propiedad y, de ser así, cuánto. Cuando se produce un daño, los estudiantes que no tienen seguro deben deducir el pago de las reparaciones de sus cuentas de ahorro. Los estudiantes con seguro no tendrán que pagar por las reparaciones.

Recuérdeles a los estudiantes que deben trabajar arduamente para ganar dinero de bonificación antes del primer día de factura para que puedan aprovechar algunas de estas ofertas avanzadas.

Payday and the Auction

Payday should take place around the 15th of each month. We recommend that, starting with the second Payday, you hold an auction after the students are paid so they can spend their hard-earned cash—and so they can instantly see the rewards of good budgeting. The auction serves as a powerful learning component. Students must be careful to budget adequately for the bills they will need to pay at the end of the month.

Note: On the first Payday, the students probably won't have worked long enough to earn their entire paychecks, but they should receive the full amount anyway because they will need to pay their bills soon.

Preparation5–10 minutes

Make sure the Auctioneers have gathered the items for sale and are prepared to put them up for bidding.

In class30 minutes

On the first Payday, you'll need to explain how the process works. The steps are below.

Payday procedures

Announce to the class that it is officially Payday. Instruct them to credit their accounts with $750 for being "Exemplary Students." Students with additional jobs should add those salaries as well.
Allow students to analyze their updated bank logs and determine their spending limit for the auction. Remind them of the upcoming bills they will have to pay.

Auction procedures

One of the Auctioneers displays the first item, explains what it is, and opens the bidding at the assigned price. Example: "We have an Ultimate Frisbee disc. The starting price is $500. Do I have any takers?"
Students who want the item raise their hands.
Once a hand is up, the Auctioneer acknowledges the bid and asks if anyone will go for a higher price. Example: "[Student name] for $500. Do I hear $600?"
The Auctioneer repeats this process until bidding stops. The last bidder wins the item. Example: "[Student Name] for $1,500. Any more bidders? ...Going once, going twice, sold!"
One of the other Auctioneers enters the sale on the auction record form and initials the "Paid" column to confirm payment.
The Auctioneer then moves on to the next item.

Collecting payments

After the auction ends, some students may decide they bid too much and no longer want the item they won. It is very important that you require them to purchase it anyway. The auction is a vital tool in teaching the lesson of buyer's remorse.

To make the payment, each student should:

Write the auction amount in his or her bank log.
Have an Auditor initial the log to attest that the sale price was correctly deducted.
Collect the item from the Auctioneer.

Optional follow-up discussion10–15 minutes

After an auction, some students will feel overwhelmed because they got caught up in the action and spent most or all of their money. This can be a tremendous learning opportunity.

You could use some of the following questions to guide a discussion:

What made you keep bidding even when the price was getting so high?
How do you feel now about the item you bought? Was it worth it?
What concerns do you have about the amount of money you spent?
How will you go about rebuilding your savings?
Will you be able to make rent the next time it is due?
Will you change the way you bid at the next auction?

Recomendamos que el día de pago sea cerca del 15 de cada mes, y que realicen la primera subasta comenzando con el segundo día de pago. Es necesario que los estudiantes utilicen un presupuesto para planear para las cuentas que son debidas a finales del mes. Por eso, si pueden participar en la subasta, pueden experimentar los frutos de haber presupuestado bien.

Nota: Es probable que en el primer día de pago los estudiantes no hayan trabajado lo suficientemente para ganar el cheque completo. Sin embargo deben recibir el monto entero porque pronto necesitarán pagar las cuentas.

Preparación5–10 minutos

El subastador debe tener todas las cosas que se van a vender listas para la subasta.

En clase30 minutos

En el primer día de pago les explica el siguiente proceso a los estudiantes.

Proceso del día de pago

En el día de pago, instruye a los estudiantes que agreguen $750 en sus cuentas por ser “estudiantes ejemplares.” Los estudiantes con trabajo adicional agregarán estos salarios a sus cuentas también.
Cada estudiante analiza su registro bancario para determinar el límite de cuánto puede gastar en la subasta. Recuérdales de las cuentas que pronto tendrán que pagar.

Proceso de la subasta

El subastador muestra el primer artículo en oferta y empieza la licitación al precio asignado. Por ejemplo: “La primera cosa en oferta es un disco de frisbee. La subasta empieza a $500."
Estudiantes que quieren comprar la cosa en oferta levantarán las manos.
Cuando una paleta se levanta, el subastador toma nota de la oferta y pregunta a la clase si alguien pagaría más. Por ejemplo: “[Nombre] ha ofrecido $500. ¿Alguien quiere ofrecer $600?”
Este proceso se repite hasta la licitación termine. El estudiante con la oferta más grande gana. Por ejemplo: “[Nombre] con $1,500. ¿Alguien más? A la una… a las dos… ¡vendido!”
Algún otro subastador registra la venta en el formulario de registro de subasta y firma en la columna ”pagado”” con sus iniciales para confirmar el pago.
El subastador muestra la siguiente cosa en oferta a la clase.

Cobro de pagos

Es posible que algunos ganadores decidían que gastaron demasiado y ya no quieren la cosa que compraron. Es importante que les obligues a comprarlo. La subasta es un buen instrumento para enseñarles sobre el remordimiento del comprador.

Para hacer pago, cada estudiante debe:

Escribir la cantidad que licitaron en su registro bancario.
Pedir las iniciales de un auditor para verificar que dedujo el precio correcto.
Recibir lo que compró del subastador.

Discurso de seguimiento (opcional)10–15 minutos

Después de la subasta, es posible que algunos estudiantes se sientan abrumados porque gastaron todo, o la mayoría de su dinero. Esto puede ser una oportunidad para aprender.

Utiliza las preguntas siguientes para guiar el discurso:

¿Por qué continuaron a licitar aunque el precio fue tan alto?
¿Valió la pena comprar lo que compraste?
¿Tienes inquietudes sobre el monto que gastaste para comprarlo?
¿Cómo vas a reconstruir tus ahorros?
¿Vas a poder pagar el alquiler cuando se vence?
¿Vas a utilizar una estrategia diferente para la próxima subasta?

Bill Day

Preparation30 minutes

A rental agreement and a bill payment log should already be in each student's folder.
Have unpaid bill notices on hand in case anyone cannot pay his or her bills.
Have deeds available in case someone is ready to purchase a desk.
For the first Bill Day, prepare to explain the process to the class.

In class30 minutes

On the first Bill Day, explain to the students that paying bills is one of their most important financial responsibilities. It's so important that, unless they pay their bills, they won't be allowed to participate in the next auction on Payday.

Emphasize the importance of planning and watching their spending so they'll always have the rent money ready when it's due. Show them how they can keep track of bills and plan ahead using their bill payment logs.

Remind the students that they can escape rent payments altogether if they can save $2,400 to buy the deed to their desk. Strongly encourage them to do this.

Allow the Electrician to report on electricity usage and provide suggestions about how to lower next month's bill.

Also, remind the students that they will need to pay taxes in April and should consider contributing some money toward this. You can also encourage them to earn tax deductions by making charitable gifts. Suggest that they review the tax document you placed in their folders at the beginning of the year and keep track of their contributions throughout the year.

Bill procedures

The Electrician announces the usage bill.
Each student updates his or her bank log to show the withdrawal of rent and electricity money.
Students elect the amount of taxes they wish to withhold and update their bank log accordingly.
The Insurance Agent circulates the room offering insurance policies. A student purchases a policy by deducting the cost from his or her bank log and getting the Insurance Agent to initial it. The Insurance Agent records this transaction in his or her log.
The Investment Banker circulates the room offering students the opportunity to purchase a certificate of deposit (CD). A student purchases a CD by deducting the amount from his or her bank log and getting the Investment Banker to initial it. The Investment Banker keeps track of the CD in his or her log and notifies the client when it reaches maturity.
If the student cannot pay the month's bills, he or she fills out an unpaid bill notice and puts it on the teacher's desk. The student still deducts the bill from his or her bank log and has a negative balance. Students cannot participate in the auction until they have cleared all debt.

On each subsequent Bill Day, ask if anyone can purchase his or her desk that month. If a student can do so, celebrate him or her and make a show of handing over the deed.

A student who owns the deed to his or her desk should write "Paid in full" on his or her bank log each subsequent month.

Follow-up Discussion

Paying bills is a strong indicator that students are succeeding in the classroom economy program. If a student can't pay bills, it is important to get him or her back on track as soon as possible. The unpaid bill notice is a mechanism to keep you informed about students who fall behind so you can reach out to them. You can encourage these students to participate in more activities so they'll earn enough bonus money to catch up on bills and get in on the Auction Day fun.

Preparación30 minutos

La carpeta de cada estudiante debe incluir un contrato de alquiler, y un registro de pago de cuentas.
En caso de que no tengas suficientes registros bancarios, es importante tener adicionales.
tenga títulos disponibles en caso de que alguien esté listo para comprar su escritorio.
Para el primer Día de Alquiler, explícales el siguiente proceso a la clase.

En clase30 minutos

En el primer Día de cuentas explícales a los estudiantes que pagar las cuentas es una de sus responsabilidades financieras más importantes. Si no pagan el alquiler, no se permitirá que participen en el la próxima subasta en el día de pago.

Destaca la importancia de planear y gastar con cuidado para asegurar que siempre tendrán suficiente dinero para pagar el alquiler cuando se vence. Muéstrales cómo pueden controlar sus cuentas y planear utilizando el registro de pago de cuentas.

Recuérdales a los estudiantes que pueden evitar pagos de alquiler si pueden ahorrar $2,400 para comprar el título de sus escritorios. Anímalos fuertemente que hagan esto.

Permite que el electricista informe a la clase sobre el consumo eléctrico y sugerir métodos de reducir la cuenta del mes que viene.

También, hay que recordarles que tendrán que pagar los impuestos en abril, y deben considerar reservar dinero por esto motivo. Anímalos a hacer donaciones benéficas para recibir deducciones fiscales. Sugiere que revisen el documento de impuestos que tienen en sus carpetas, y que controlen sus donaciones benéficas durante el año.

proceso de pagar cuentas

El electricista anuncia la cuenta de consumo eléctrico.
Cada estudiante actualiza su registro bancario para mostrar el saco de dinero para pagar el alquiler y electricidad.
Estudiantes eligen el monto de impuestos que quieren retener, y actualizan sus registros bancarios.
El agente de seguros ofrece las pólizas de seguros a la clase. Estudiantes pueden comprar una póliza para deducir el costo de su registro bancario con las iniciales del agente de seguros. El agente anota esta transacción en su registro.
El banquero de inversión ofrece la oportunidad de comprar certificados de depósitos (CD) a la clase. Estudiantes pueden comprar un CD para deducir el monto de su registro bancario con las iniciales del banquero de inversión. El banquero de inversión mantiene registro del CD, y notifica al cliente cuando la inversión se madura.
Si el estudiante no puede pagar las cuentas, llena una noticia de cuenta impagada y lo se lo entrega al maestro. El estudiante deduce la cuenta de su registro bancario y anota su balance negativo. Estudiantes no pueden participar en la subasta hasta que hayan pagado sus deudas.

Cada siguiente Día de Cuentas, pregúntales a los estudiantes si alguien puede comprar su escritorio. Si uno quiere hacerlo, celebra la transacción.

Estudiantes que han comprado los títulos de sus escritorios deben escribir “pagado en totalidad” en su registro bancario cada mes siguiente.

Discurso de seguimiento

Poder pagar las cuentas es una buena indicación del éxito de los estudiantes en el programa del Classroom Economy. Si alguien no pueda pagar las cuentas, es importante que corrijan sus finanzas lo antes posible. Puedes informarte de los estudiantes que están retrasados en sus pagos con la noticia de cuentas impagadas. Aléntales a participar en más actividades para ganar más.

Tax Day

Students are required to pay annual income taxes on or around April 15. On this day, students complete their tax returns and determine if they owe additional money, have paid their taxes in full, or have earned a refund.

Throughout the year, students had the option of withholding (paying) taxes from their monthly paychecks. They also had the opportunity to earn tax credits by donating items to the auction or performing community service. Each action garners a $100 tax reduction.

In class30 minutes

Introducing taxes

Explain to students that federal income taxes are collected by the U.S. government to help pay for national programs such as the court system, the military, interstate highways, and all the hundreds of other services that Americans use. Similarly, in the classroom economy, taxes are collected to pay for students' salaries.

Tax Day Procedures

Throughout the year, each student keeps track of his or her tax withholding payments and tax credits.
By Tax Day, each student finishes the form to determine the amount of taxes he or she still owes or will receive as a credit.
The student enters that amount as a withdrawal or credit in his or her bank log.
The Auditor verifies the tax amount and makes sure the bank logs match—initialing when they're correct.

Year-End Wrap-Up

Plan a time near the end of the year for students to reflect on what they have learned in the program and for you to tie everything together.

It is also a time to celebrate the students' successes and reward them for their hard work.

Certificates

We recommend you give each student a certificate for participating in the program. The certificate will reinforce their achievement and could be a talking point for them in a future college application or job interview.

Feel free to use our certificate template.

Class rewards

Allow students to pool their classroom money and purchase a class reward, such as:

Holding a class party.
Watching a movie in class.
Wearing a hat in class.
Holding a class outdoors.

Debriefing session

In addition to rewarding the students, the year-end wrap-up is a great opportunity for students to discuss what they have learned from their experiences. Conducting a debriefing session is a great way to accomplish that goal—and also helps reinforce what they have learned.

Here are some questions you can ask to guide the discussion:

What did you learn from the classroom economy this year?
Why do you think those lessons were important?
What would you do differently if you could?
What was your favorite part of the classroom economy?

Grades 9–10

Grados 9–10

Getting started

Empezando

Planning

Planificación

Activities

Ocupaciones

How My Classroom Economy Works

Como Funciona My Classroom Economy

Core objectives for students in Grades 9–10

Objetivos principales para los estudiantes en Grados 9–10

Connections to Financial Literacy Standards

Conexiones con los conceptos financieros

Standard

My Classroom Economy

Estándar

My Classroom Economy

Program Outline

Resumen del programa

Establishing Your Economic System

Estableciendo su Sistema Económico

Everyone in the class

Todos en la clase

1 per class

1 por clase

3–5 per class

3–5 por clase

1 for every 5 students

1 por cada 5 estudiantes

1–2 per class

1–2 por clase

1–2 per class

1–2 por clase

2–3 per class

2–3 por clase

1 per class

1 por clase

1–2 per class

1–2 por clase

1–2 per class

1–2 por clase

1–2 per class

1–2 por clase

1–2 per class

1–2 por clase

2–3 per class

2–3 por clase

As needed

Según sea necesario

2–3 per class

2–3 por clase

1 per class

1 por clase

Your Economic System: Investing

Su Sistema Económico: Como Invertir

Your Economic System: Insurance

Su Sistema Económico: Seguros

Preparing Materials

Preparación de materiales

Rewards

Recompensas

Advanced Modules

Módulos Avanzados

First Day

Primer Día

Second Day

Segundo Día

Every Day

Cada Día

Job Assignment and Training Day

Día de Asignación de Trabajo y Entrenamiento

Syllabus Day

Día del Plan de Estudios

Payday and the Auction

El día de pago y la subasta

Bill Day

Día de cuentas

Tax Day

Día de impuestos

1 for every
5 students

1 por cada
5 estudiantes