Black Friday In The Classroom

During the Holiday Season, retailers are constantly sending messages with their marketing. The messages are similar in that they want you to buy the latest and greatest thing that you or someone else in your circle has been wanting the whole year. Online retailers get into the action too with Cyber Monday. Even local vendors take advantage of the spending frenzy. As long as they use the term “Black Friday”, they are sure to attract extra customers. There is a clear conclusion on the part of anyone selling anything that “people are spending money anyways, why not spend it here?”

Imagine what it would be like if your students had that “spending frenzy” mentality in your classroom as it relates to their effort. Imagine students competing with each other to get your attention because they are so engaged and anxious to answer your questions. You would surely welcome an observation from your principal on that day. Although this may seem like a distant fantasy to some of you, it is possible for you to bring this type of environment in your class. (Warning: It takes work and it won’t always be perfect) In doing so, your students will experience success and you will have created a learning environment that promotes student learning. Let’s look at some of the classic Marketing Techniques and determine how you can bring Black Friday in the classroom:

1. Surprise!

Adding an element of surprise always gets people talking and anticipating. Many stores offer new deals every hour to increase the anticipation. Add surprise in your classroom by throwing in a random Kahoot! Game right in the middle of your lesson. The winner gets a prize. The prize doesn’t have to be fancy and all the questions don’t have to be content related. There are numerous ways you can surprise your students and get them talking about the unique experience they had in your classroom.

2. Savings

Shoppers want to know that they got a deal. It leaves them feeling good about their decision and makes them want to come back. Use graphics to show students roughly what they could earn if they made good decisions throughout a unit such as following a study schedule or staying after school for tutoring. If students know they have a 65% chance of passing their test if they do XYZ, put it in their face and make them think about it.

3. Referral Program

Many stores attempt to use existing customers as leads to new business. They will offer the customer an incentive if a friend makes a purchase. If you are having a tough time getting parental involvement, you can use this strategy. Let students know that if you get an email/call from their parent, they will get something in return. It can be extra credit points, free time or something else that you come up with. (Note: For those of you who strongly object to EC points, you are free to choose something else. Certain districts are starving for parental involvement and suffer due to poor attendance. As a result, a few EC points are worth getting some time with a parent)

4. Flash Sale

A Flash Sale comes out of nowhere and it offers customers unbelievably great deals. Whenever I felt like I was stretching the limits of my students’ attention span, I would drop a Flash Sale on them. Usually, I would do this by showing them a question that might be on the test. It would be on the screen for 30 seconds and they couldn’t take a picture of it. The Flash Sale adds a lot of energy to the room because everyone is trying to write down the questions as quickly as possible.

Try one these out and let me know how it works in the comments section.

MB

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