Hey everyone! I wanted to pick your brains about what kind of reward system you have in your classroom. I was thinking about doing a ticket system, where I could give students some kind of ticket for things such as meeting AR goals, good behavior etc. These tickets could then be saved for a trip to the teacher box where there would be some kind of treats. The old school I worked at had a system like this that was school wide however my new school does not. What do you do in your classroom? Thanks
I use mini sticker charts (they have about 25 squares on them). Students can earn stickers for anything - kind words, staying on task, participating in discussions, answering questions in class, picking up trash. When the sticker chart in filled, they get to pick a toy from the prize box. I also have rewarded kids who read 20 books with a book of their choice from Scholastic. I don't know if I'll do that this year...
Dr. James Dobson has some pretty interesting ideas on reward systems. (Most in his books, though.) The ticket system is great--what grade is this? The only issue with a ticket system is that it focuses on the long term goal, and children do not always respond well to a long term goal. They like rewards that are instant. This isn't because there needs to be an associate between good deeds and good reward. Aside from the usual verbal praise as a reward, something simple as extra play time on Friday--maybe even make that a cooperative reward, meaning the class needs to work together to do the right thing, rather than the individual.
We have a monthly behavior chart that each student has to be responsible to take back and forth between home and school each day. If you keep up with it for the entire month AND have a signature from your parent on all nights, even if you were badly behaved, you are allowed to choose a small prize because you were responsible enough to keep up with it. I also have a desk fairy that goes around a few times each quarter at random leaving nice treats for clean desks. I used to do the ticket system, but the kids were having a hard time keeping up with the tickets, then they were always complaining that "someone stole my ticket". Then I had some who every time they got a ticket, they would stop paying attention, go into their crayon box and start recounting all their tickets, so I nixed it. Of course, verbal praise, high fives and extra computer time. I also do an occasional "lunch bunch" where the kids get to eat lunch with me. They love it because I do it so rarely
The main thing is to keep it simple. I'm an advocate for kids meeting expectations because they are expectations and not to earn a trinket. However, some classes need a bit more. Start simple. It's easier to add to it than take away once the kids get used to it.
I tried stickers and tickets and I am terrible at them. I start off ok and then forget to do them. I do want to create an environment where kids work hard because expectations are high. Saying that I tend to do rewards randomly through out the year when I see the students needing a little more motivation. When test prep starts I usually do them more often to keep the students interested. It is amazing what kids will do for a skittle. I think this works though because I tend to limit them earlier in the year. We do Math Facts in a Flash through Renaissance Learning. I have a race track set up with 10 points, 20 points, all the way to 100 points. They get to move their car when they master a certain amount of facts and get the prize that is listed under that amount of points. I used to do this for AR points when I taught reading.
I like the following idea from my school because it is for individual kids and the whole class: Anyway, A 2nd grade teacher at my school has a penny system The pennies are kept in a bucket (bank). Every day each student gets 5 pennies (each week a different student's job is the banker to hand out pennies) . During the day if a student misbehaves, he/she has to pay a penny back to the bucket (bank). At the end of the day the students deposit their remaining pennies into a large glass jar. When the jar is filled the class gets a (pre-voted on) reward.
I use a ticket system, and it works wonders for me. However, you have to set rules and procedures for it. We had to talk about what to do if we earn tickets during a lesson (so that they wouldn't whip out their ticket holder every time they did and get distracted), and that each person is responsible for their own tickets (meaning they weren't going to be replaced). Sure I had a few tears the first few times a student lost a few tickets (most times they'll claim someone stole them, but that's not the case). And other friends who decided to not put their tickets in a responsible place learned quick too. Consistency was the key. Of course there were times when a child lost them or claimed someone stole them in which I REALLY wanted to replace them, but I had to stick to my "tickets can't be replaced" rule. Sure enough, my students were a lot more responsible about them after they realized they weren't going to be replaced! I simply adored watching them pick out things from the class store since they'd worked so hard to earn them...like they had real money or something!
In the past, mine have earned tickets. They put their name on the ticket and then it goes in a jar. At the end of the week, I pick two tickets. Those two people get to choose a reward (bring a stuffed animal to class, sit next to a friend, shoes off for 1/2 a day, etc.) I do not do treasure chests or any other useless toys.
For my fourth graders I just found the easiest reward system on the teaching channel. It would be good for 3rd-5th, and probably second grade. You just pick a coin for the day and write tallies next to their student number (on the board) for good behavior. At the end of the day you stamp their pocket notebooks with the coin stamp of the day and they add up the amount. If they have 2 tallies and the coin is a nickel, they get 2 nickel stamps. They can purchase items in the class store (free ones like sit next to a friend) when they've accumulated enough money and on designated days. The store doesn't even have to be a real time consuming store. Just a poster board with items listed. The student with the most tallies at the end of each day gets to choose an inexpensive reward from the treasure chest.
I only do whole group rewards - we are a community that needs to work together. So I have a jar and when everyone is on task I put a handful of macaroni in it. When the jar is full we celebrate.
For a while, I used play money from the Dollar Tree. The students had wallets made from wallpaper. They earned money for different things each week. At the end of each quarter we had an auction where they used their money to buy things. Parents sent in donations, and I supplemented with homework passes, etc. The auctions got pretty rowdy sometimes! During the quarter, students could use their money to buy homework passes, show and tell time, etc. This system was a great way to teach economics and math. Compassion was also quite abundant. Many children bid on things they wanted for their siblings. Several times after a bidding war, I observed the winner sharing with the student that didn't win. I even had students give money to other students so they could afford the thing they really wanted to win. I no longer use this system because our school system has consolidated onto one campus. We must all use the exact same reward system. We must all have the exact same furniture in our rooms. We must all have the exact same food items/games for different holidays/special events. We must all be teaching the same thing, the same way, during the same week. We must all give the same assessments and use the same homework chart.
