Classroom Management Meets HGTV: How a Bulletin Board Can Transform Your Classroom Economy
- Erin Sponaugle
- Aug 4
- 4 min read
During back-to-school season, teachers spend countless hours hanging posters, cutting borders, and stapling letters onto bulletin boards that students will hardly notice once they see who is in their class.
What if your bulletin board could actually do something??? My classroom economy system could run itself and keep my 5th graders motivated. Still, I needed a place in the room to provide visuals and reminders for all their tasks and responsibilities. I created the Sponomics™ Bulletin Board Set not just to decorate, but to drive engagement, behavior, and financial literacy. It's more than just a classroom economy display. This is decor with a purpose - a bulletin board that does more than look cute! It's a classroom management bulletin board that combines financial literacy with a behavior management system.
Here are three steps to make "cents" of behavior management with a Classroom Ecnonomy Display:
Step 1: Set the Stage — Designing a Classroom Economy Bulletin Board That Supports Your System
Think Function First for Your Classroom Economy, Then Make It Fabulous
The Sponomics™ Bulletin Board Set acts as the visual core of the classroom economy. It's not just decor, but a tool for:
Posting expectations
Displaying fines, fees, and bonuses
Introducing the classroom "bank" and transaction concepts (such as making deposits, withdrawals, and writing checks)
Reinforcing classroom jobs and systems
The charts for fines, bonuses, and classroom rules are all editable, so you can customize them to meet the needs of your classroom!
Step 2: Make It Meaningful — A Classroom Economy Bulletin Board Display That Drives Student Buy-In
If They Can See It, They Can Lead It
There are a lot of moving pieces to having a student-run classroom economy system that truly teaches kids about managing money and their behavior. Without having things out and available to review, it's easy to have your well-intentioned behavior management incentive go down the tubes fast. Having a visible, interactive bulletin board helps students take ownership of the classroom economy:
They check their own fines/bonuses.
They track goals and expectations.
They understand the flow of money in the system.
They pay their classmates using the classroom job resources - without interfering with the teacher's teaching responsibilities!
Once my students were accustomed to checking the classroom economy bulletin board, they took charge of everything. The only thing I did was make sure there were enough copies of checks and paychecks! Someone would turn the job wheel on Monday morning, and the students got into the habit of checking to see what their jobs were for the week. Bankers knew they could work on paychecks for the week once their work was complete. It was truly a self-running system that my students took pride in participating in!
Step 3: Connect the Dots — From Classroom Bulletin Board Decor to Classroom Economy Daily Routine
When the Bulletin Board Becomes the Behavior Manager
This is how my classroom economy bulletin board became the store of my classroom management system:
Arrows directed students to examples of how to correctly write a personal and paycheck
Decor that represented our "bank" made it visually appealing and alerted even new students to the classroom what it was for (they caught on quickly)
Rules, Fines, and Bonuses were posted so students could reference them quickly - they would even cut a check for a classroom infraction before I could say anything!
Students didn't need to be reminded or given bank account logs or checks when they needed them - they knew where to find them and took care of it without prompting!
The visual consistency (matching colors, borders, signage) reinforced structure and expectations.
What’s Included in the Sponomics™ Bulletin Board Set?
Editable fines/bonus charts
Folder covers for students' bank account logs (sold separately in the Sponomics™ Classroom Economy)
“Bank” display letters
Printable decor pieces
Teacher tips and example boards
Color + black-and-white versions
Ready to Set Up Your Own Financially Fabulous Display?
Classroom management doesn’t have to be chaotic — sometimes, it just needs a good layout and a little lamination. Take the leap and turn their classroom walls into tools that motivate and manage. Get the Sponomics™ Bulletin Board Set, and check out the complete Sponomics™ Classroom Economy Bundle if you want everything to get your classroom economy system - complete with a classroom store. - started today!
Are you ready t start a new school year? Now is the time to start a classroom economy system (and class store!) to establish routines and expectations that will bring you peace and order throughout the year. You'll find all of this in your FREE copy of The Great 88: Rules, Routines, and Expectations to Go Over and Over? It's a checklist of ALL the classroom management things you need for back-to-school season, during and after the holidays, or any time your classroom needs a reset. Get your copy below!
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