03 Oct 2020
Classroom Jobs for Distance Learning

Classroom Jobs for Distance Learning

Class jobs help build any classroom culture. That's no different when doing distance learning. In this video, I share some of the classroom jobs I've created for our completely virtual classroom. (more…)
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24 Jan 2020
Have Students Make Your Coffee…And Other Class Job Ideas

Have Students Make Your Coffee…And Other Class Job Ideas

Stop doing things in your classroom that your students can do. In this episode I share all of my classroom jobs and what you need to think through as you develop jobs in your own classroom. Class jobs in and of themselves have tremendous value in creating a positive classroom culture, building responsibility in students, and saving YOU time as the teacher. My classroom jobs are part of a larger classroom economy system. If you want to dive into how I do that, check out the course I created for teachers linked below: 'How to Teach Kids About Money' course…
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17 Oct 2019
Your Money Problems Impact Your Teaching | Best Business Books To Influence Your Teaching

Your Money Problems Impact Your Teaching | Best Business Books To Influence Your Teaching

The third installment of my 'Best Business Books To Influence Your Teaching.' I explore the lessons I've learned from Dave Ramsey's 'The Total Money Makeover' and how it helped my wife and I get out of $120k of medical school debt. Additionally, I share how I've pulled some of the principles into the financial literacy lessons I teach in my classroom. 💰 How We Paid $120,000 of Med School Loans in 4 Years💸 'Create & Manage A Classroom Economy' course📘My Books & Beef Jerky Instagram account https://youtu.be/xO7FUQmWj6U The other videos in this series: Student Motivation4 Hour [Teacher] Workweek Get the…
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30 Aug 2019
3 Reasons You Should Start A Classroom Economy

3 Reasons You Should Start A Classroom Economy

Financial literacy is a hot topic in education. A classroom economy is a way for your students to have experiential learning when it comes to financial literacy. I share what exactly a classroom economy is and three reasons you should consider starting one in your class. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LL9FMGltRvI RESOURCES Vanguards 'My Classroom Economy' Resources - myclassroomeconomy.org Thom's 'Create & Manage A Classroom Economy' course - thomgibson.com/classroomec...
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01 Aug 2019
3 New Things I’m Trying This School Year

3 New Things I’m Trying This School Year

Hello all. This is my first written blog post in quite some time. Most of my posts have been sharing of all my other media (YouTube videos, podcasts, etc.) I'd like to spend a little more time on written work again this year. A few years ago I was blogging every week, sometimes reflecting on the week, other times just sharing thoughts about some topic in education. It's a different medium than video or audio as I found out when I was trying to think of video ideas a few months ago and I decided to look at some of…
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28 Nov 2018
Collusion, Communism, and Catan…The Best Gamification of a Gov & Econ Class

Collusion, Communism, and Catan…The Best Gamification of a Gov & Econ Class

I got the chance to go into Mike Franz's high school gov & econ class when they were playing YOLO, a year-long game where one week of school represents one year of life. The first week of the game the students are 18 years old, the last week of the game they are near retirement age. What will they make of their society, of their economy, of their investments, of their world? We explore the following: - what the game looks like from beginning to middle to end - how Mike utilizes class jobs to stay organized and to have…
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20 May 2018
Which Apps To Use In A Classroom Economy?

Which Apps To Use In A Classroom Economy?

THIS VIDEO AND POST WAS CREATING IN MAY 2018.  CLICK HERE TO SEE MY CURRENT CLASSROOM ECONOMY SYSTEM (updated for distance learning). In this video, I focus primarily on the banking systems and budgeting options for a classroom economy but also share a little bit of some of the other changes I made this year. https://youtu.be/d2FYRSe5Ftg Full Classroom Economy Resources - thomgibson.com/classroomeconomy My Kids Bank - mykidsbank.orgBankaroo - bankaroo.comGood Budget - goodbudget.comMy Classroom Economy - myclassroomeconomy.orgEveryDollar - everydollar.com
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08 Dec 2017
Auctions, Marketing, & Loyalty Programs in Middle School Math | The Thom Gibson Podcast Ep 1

Auctions, Marketing, & Loyalty Programs in Middle School Math | The Thom Gibson Podcast Ep 1

I wanted to start a podcast, so I did :)  Got inspired by a prompt that said 'record 10 minutes of audio from your class and reflect on it.' Think of it as being a fly on the wall in my classroom. In this episode we go into the classroom economy auction that we have every month. Students bid on items, start their own businesses, create loyalty programs, and more. You can find more of how I run my classroom economy at www.thomgibson.com/classroomeconomy Hope you dig it :)
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06 Nov 2017

Post 10 – Big Babies in Class

This week's prompt: Photo of the week - take a picture of something that happened in class and tell us all about it. This is a photo during our second auction of the year.  I've been really impressed with the items that our auctioneers have been bringing; I've wanted to actually get some of the stuff.  This massive baby head wasn't cheap paper either, it was a durable foam. This year during auctions, my first two class periods brought up that they felt people should only be able to buy one auction item.  In the past, people with a lot…
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