Gecko Bucks
Gecko Bucks are the classroom currency I have used since my first year of teaching. When students are on task and doing their job they will earn Gecko Bucks.
Part of the
Oregon Math standards for 4th grade is the use of money and making change (Oregon Math Standard 4.1.6). By having this currency in place, students participate in real world
money exchange situations. Students learn to count money in increments of 1, 5, 10, 20, and 100s. They also learn the value of saving money for future purchases.
Three times per year, students have the ability to bid on classroom items (bookmarks, pencils, erasers, folders, notepads, etc.) Every student walks away from the auctions
with new items that will help them in the upcoming months of school. The students really get excited for the auctions, and all the hard work of being on task and doing their
jobs as students pays off.
Fines are also introduced to students, and the hard lesson of paying a fine for any number of reasons. Plus the students get to make up fineable offenses, and they are quite creative.
