"Money Drop" Review Game to Practice Kohlberg's Developmental Stages

My Teen Insights students are just getting into the swing of Kohlberg's stages of moral development. As homework the students are to list and define each of Kohlberg's stages: Pre-conventional, conventional, and post-conventional. We play a version of "Money Drop" as a formative assessment of how well they understood their homework.

Each student gets a white board or sheet of paper to divide into three columns.  The columns are each labeled with a stage of development. Each student also needs an equal number of "dollars."  We usually play with 25 pinto beans per student but you could up the stakes with 10 nickels, pieces of candy, etc.

This game is the reverse of most review games. You start with all of the "money" you could possibly win and lose it as you go.  All "money" has to be on the board at all times unless it is lost.

Instruct students to place all of their money on the boards. Read a scenario.

"Lizzie gets to put a sticker on the chart every time she uses the big-girl potty."

Most students will "bet" all of their money on pre-conventional. They may put some on conventional or post-conventional, just in case.  Reveal the answer.  All "money" that was on any column other than pre-conventional will be lost.

Continue to give different scenarios without discussing how each stage is defined.  The students should derive the criteria for each stage by listening carefully for buzzwords like reward, punishment, peers, and authority.

The last student with "money" wins.

As a formative assessment, ask students to define Kohlberg's three stages of moral development. Then compare with their homework from the day before.