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Classroom Monopoly®

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Use this bulletin board version of the popular game to reward positive behaviors.

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Most all of your students will be familiar with the popular board game Monopoly®. You can capitalize on your students' familiarity with the game by adapting it to create a Classroom Monopoly bulletin board to reward positive behaviors. Decide on the rules for your classroom game, and then explain those rules to your students. For example, you might decide to use this game to reward students who

  • complete their nightly homework,
  • earn quiz grades of 80 percent or higher,
  • have no disciplinary referrals for a week, and/or
  • other desirable behaviors/outcomes.
    If you decide to recognize students for homework completion, students who complete the homework assignment are allowed to roll a die. They move that many spaces on the Monopoly board.

Make your classroom Monopoly board special by including street names, railroad names, and so on, that will be familiar to students in their town.

Following are some rules/guidelines you might set for this classroom game.

  • Each student will need to create a "playing piece" for use in the game. You might give each student a pushpin to which students can attach a tiny picture of themselves. Their game piece should be easily distinguishable from others.
  • You might award points (or play money) based on the pieces of real estate on which students land. For example, the lowest-priced real estate on the board might earn 1 point; and the highest-priced real estate might earn 10 points. Students might earn 5 points each time they pass "Go." Keep track of students' points. When a student accumulates 100 points, he or she might earn a special reward. (You will set classroom rewards. Some possibilities appear below.)
  • You might create a series of CHANCE and COMMUNITY CHEST cards that will earn students special points (or that might take away points or force them to "Go to Jail -- Do Not Pass 'Go'.")
  • Perhaps you don't have time to play Monopoly each day. Instead, you might let students roll the die for each week that they turn in all assignments. If that is the case, then you might create higher-stakes point values in order to maintain student interest and make the reward equal to the task.

Possible Rewards
Create a list of rewards that your students will value. These rewards will be given when students reach specific point plateaus, or they might appear on CHANCE or COMMUNITY CHEST game cards. A handful of examples of possible rewards include the following:

  • 5 bonus points on the next quiz
  • a pass that can be exchanged for a homework-free night
  • a "cut-the-homework-in-half" pass; students only need to do half the assignment
  • stickers or pencils, or some other prize that students will value
  • a special party (or an ice cream treat) for students who earn a certain number of points each month
  • an extra recess
  • a special "movie day"
  • a special mention in the "Monopoly Winners" section of the class newsletter that is sent home to parents

MORE RESOURCES FROM EDUCATION WORLD

Find more bulletin board ideas in our Bulletin Boards That Teach Archive.

See these articles about bulletin boards:

And don't miss these resources:

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Copyright © 2006 Education World

08/23/2006

 

 

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