ClassBank End-of-Year Auction

⚙️ Auction Setup

Configure these settings — they'll sync to student budget planners when you share the link.

Grade Band

Auction Format

Avg. Student Balance (CB$)

Currency Name

🎯 Step 1: Pick Your Auction Format

All three formats are great — choose based on your grade level, class size, and energy!

🔨

Live Auction

Best for: 3–5, 6–8, 9–12

Teacher auctions items one at a time. Students raise paddles and bid against each other. High energy, fast-paced.

Teaches: competitive bidding, opportunity cost
Prep: bidder paddles, item cards
Time: 20–40 min

📝

Silent Auction

Best for: 3–5, 6–8, 9–12

Items displayed around the room with bid sheets. Students walk around and write bids over a set time. Highest bid wins.

Teaches: strategic bidding, patience
Prep: bid sheets, item cards per station
Time: 25–45 min

🛒

Market / Shop

Best for: K–2, 3–5

Teacher pre-prices items. Students shop like a class store, paying fixed prices. Calmer and more predictable.

Teaches: budgeting, making change, prioritizing
Prep: price tags, shop stations, cashier helpers
Time: 20–30 min

📋 Step 2: Plan Your Items

A healthy auction needs a mix of high-value, mid-value, and low-cost items so every student can participate.

💡

Aim for roughly 1.5× as many items as students. Include at least 3–4 "big ticket" items (lunch with teacher, teacher's chair for a day) and plenty of $5–$15 items so even students with small balances can win something.

Sample Mixed Item List

Item	Type	Suggested Price
Lunch with the teacher	Privilege	CB$ 40–80
Sit in teacher's chair for a day	Privilege	CB$ 30–60
Pick the Friday movie/read-aloud	Privilege	CB$ 25–50
Homework pass (1 use)	Privilege	CB$ 20–40
Line leader for a week	Privilege	CB$ 15–30
Class DJ for a day	Privilege	CB$ 20–35
Fun pencils / erasers bundle	Physical	CB$ 10–20
Sticker pack	Physical	CB$ 5–15
Snack/treat	Physical	CB$ 5–10
Book (donated or bookroom)	Physical	CB$ 15–30
Fidget / small toy	Physical	CB$ 10–25
Class pet naming rights (temp)	Privilege	CB$ 25–45

🎁

Low-cost sourcing: ask families to donate unused items, use classroom leftovers from the year, raid the prize box, or "auction" extra recess minutes and lunch-with-teacher privileges (totally free!).

🎬 Step 3: Running the Auction

Here's a suggested run-of-show. Adjust for your format and grade level.

Opens a fullscreen slide deck you can project — so students see the steps, vocab, and reflection questions on screen.

ABefore class

Print item cards, bid sheets (silent), and bidder paddles (live) from the Printables tab
Share the student budget planner link with families the night before so kids come prepared
Have each student check their ClassBank balance and write it down

BOpening (5 min)

Today is our End-of-Year Auction! All year, you've been earning, saving, and managing your ClassBank money. Now you get to spend it. Before we start: check your balance — that is the most you can spend today. Take a minute with your budget planner to decide which items matter most to you. You won't win everything. That's the game — you have to choose.

CTeach the vocab (5 min)

Bid – how much you're willing to pay
Opportunity cost – what you give up when you choose one thing over another
Scarcity – there's only one lunch-with-teacher, so everyone who wants it has to compete
Max bid – the highest you'll go before walking away

DRun your auction (20–40 min)

🔨

Live format: Use a gavel or clap signal. Open with a starting bid, accept bids in small increments (CB$5 for younger grades, CB$10+ for older). "Going once, going twice, SOLD!"

📝

Silent format: Set a clear end time. Put bid sheets on each station. Students walk around and write bids (name + amount). When time's up, call winners.

🛒

Market format: Open "stores" with fixed prices. Appoint 2–3 student cashiers. Shoppers bring their budget planner and check off items as they buy.

ESettle up (5 min)

Deduct final purchases from each student's ClassBank account
Distribute physical items and issue privilege certificates
Any unspent balance can carry to next year (if applicable) or roll to a class donation

FReflect (10 min)

Think back: What did you really want? Did you get it? If you had more money, what would you have done differently? Did saving all year pay off? Was there a moment you almost spent too much? This is the same choice adults make every day — and you just practiced it.

✨ Try It First!

Before sharing with students, click the 🎪 Student Market tab and try the budget planner yourself. Test different balance amounts to see what feels right for your class.

Lots of big earners this year? Boost item prices to keep it competitive
Wide range of balances? Add more low-cost items so nobody's left out
Younger grades? Use the Market format and round prices to CB$5 or CB$10

🖨️ Printable Auction Toolkit

Select a sheet, then use your browser's print function (Cmd/Ctrl + P) to print. Each sheet is page-break friendly.

💰 Pre-Auction Budget Worksheet

Name: ____________________________ My Balance: CB$ __________

Before the auction, write down the items you want most, how much you think they'll go for, and your maximum bid. Stay under your total balance!

Rank	Item I Want	Guess: Going Price	My Max Bid
1 (Top Pick)
2
3
4
5 (Backup)

TOTAL OF MAX BIDS: CB$ ____________________ (should be ≤ your balance!)

💭 One question to think about:

If everything you want gets bid higher than your max, what will you do?

★ ClassBank ★ End-of-Year Auction ★

Certificate of Participation

This certificate is proudly awarded to

_________________________

For successfully earning, saving, and investing ClassBank dollars throughout the 2025–2026 school year and participating in the End-of-Year Auction. A year well-budgeted!

Teacher Signature

Date