Need ideas for reward system for 7th and 8th graders
During my student teaching experience I used a reward system with my fifth graders, it seemed to work well for discouraging bad behavior and the students really enjoyed it. But, I was just hired for my first teaching job as a 7th & 8th grade math/science teacher.
I would like to use a reward system for my upper middle school kids, but I'm afraid the kids will think its too babyish. Does anyone use a reward system for 7th and 8th graders that have worked in the past? Please help! I need some ideas for my more grown up audience.
They wont think it is baby-ish at all. They are all big kids anyway! Homework passes work well, as well as cute pencils and erasers. Some even love the smelly stickers.
I choose a "student of the week" each week for my classes. Students know that they must have turned in all their work and completed all class assignments. They also know that they must have good behavior. They earn a certificate and I fill paper bags full of fun stuff like pens, pencils, lip gloss, playing cards, knee socks (our girls wear skirts/uniforms), watches, homework passes, restroom passes... I change the bags up all the time and the kids have a fresh chance every week. I also take their pictures and create fun cartoon characters out of them and hang them on the board.
Immediate rewards are always a good thing, too. If half the class is ready- I give them pencils or tootsie rolls or 'now and laters'. They will respond to anything positive. Even the worst of kids
I used tickets (roll from wallmart) with 7th. There were different tiers (5 tickets= toy/ trinket/ tootsie roll, 10=sit by a friend pass, 15= candy bar, 20= homework pass, 25=5% on a test ). They got tickets for keeping desks clean, completing work, etc...
I wish we could still give candy! We have to steer away from that here in Texas because it is "Minimal Nutritional Value" Food - aka jolly rangers, starbursts, etc. But, hey, we can still give chocolate!
I wish we could still give candy! We have to steer away from that here in Texas because it is "Minimal Nutritional Value" Food - aka jolly rangers, starbursts, etc. But, hey, we can still give chocolate!
when i was student teaching 7th and 8th grade, i would give a mini candy to students who earned A's and B's on their tests. This made some students want to get the good grades more, but some students could care less. i gave them to both A's and B's because i wanted to make the grades reachable for students who felt that they couldn't get something as high as an A.
Fruit snack would be okay. For us, they have take away anything that doesn't have any nutritional value - aka hard candy, soft drinks, things like that.
