Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons |
What does this have to do with the high school semester elective, Sociology?
Monopoly has entertained millions of people for years, holding a unique place in American
Each game has four players, and each player represents a different class.
Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons |
Instead of every player starting with the same amount of money, wealth is distributed according to class, so each of the four teams gets a different bankroll to start the game.
- Upper Class = $2,500
- Middle Class = $1,500
- Working Class = $1,000
- Lower Class = $500
- Upper Class = moves along by number on dice + or – one square
- Middle Class = moves along by number on dice + one square
- Working Class = moves along by number on dice – one square
- Lower Class = moves along by number on dice
- Lower Class can buy ONLY purple and blue properties
- Working Class can buy lower class property & maroon &orange properties
- Middle Class can buy working and lower class properties, red and yellow
- Upper Class can buy any property on the board that it can afford
- Lower = $100
- Working = $150
- Middle = $200
- Upper = $250
As students play the game through two half-period classes, Ms. Camp records what they say to each other, tracking their reaction to the game. After the game, she leads a whole-class discussion, using the effect of the social class rules on the results of the game and the manner in which they do and do not reflect socio-economic hierarchies found in society today. Although this discussion is often lively. Ms. Camp repeats student quotes she’s recorded to keep the conversation moving.
Having students play a game based on strategy, rather than a game based on competitive memorization, naturally gets students engaged by their desire to win. Each team's autonomy to decide what property to purchase or not, or when and where to build houses, appears to give them some control over their performance in the game. Even though the alteration of the rules favors some teams over others, the luck of the dice rolls adds to the feeling of autonomy to give each team the appearance of chance as success. Yet, like the real world it reflects, the rules of sociology monopoly make the outcome all but certain.
As homework, students respond to these prompts to guide their thinking about the game and social class:
What were your general observations about the game?
- What did you notice about people’s attitudes in the game? Comments made?
- Who was the most engaged in the game? The least?
- Was everyone equally motivated to play? why/why not? Was everyone equally motivated to win? why/why not?
- What were the greatest tensions that existed?
Draw parallels between the game and real-life experiences. Consider the following:
- How did each rule modification mirror real-life social structure/rules/situations?
- Did the rich get richer/poor get poorer? why or why not?
- Did those who lost lose because they were less skilled and motivated?
- What factors would contribute to higher levels of social mobility in this game?
Sociology Monopoly is a creative way to take a classic game and turn it into an instructional device by returning it to its original roots.