Classroom Incentives

Do you ever feel like you are just handing out bribes to get your students to work and show the correct behavior? 

Do you get frustrated that the students expect a REWARD when they should just DO THE WORK? 

These are common struggles for teachers when trying to reinforce positive behaviors with students in their classrooms.
So.......how can you make it work better? 
Step back and look at your students in your class. What really motivates them? Is it another new pencil or a piece of candy? Would they rather have quality time with you at lunch or sit at your desk during instruction? Think outside the box with your rewards and incentives. Every prize does not need to be a tangible reward. There are so many ways to use classroom incentives without spending any of your money or using little prizes. 
I like to do Friday Lunch Parties in my classroom. My students know if they did not earn any checkmarks during the entire week, they can eat lunch with me and spend recess in my class if they choose. They LOVE this! We eat, talk, sometimes watch a movie, listen to music, have a dance party, etc. This is also a way to build those relationships with your kiddos and get to know them better. During our remote learning the past few months, I missed our Friday lunches the most. So, what did I do? We had a lunch party over Google Hangout and ate our lunch, played a few games, and just took time to talk and catch up.  It was absolutely wonderful!
Some other ideas that are quick and easy to use for classroom incentives are :
1. Give tickets throughout the day for good behavior and have a drawing at the end of the day to sit at the teacher's desk, bring a stuffed animal to school, or eat lunch in the classroom with a friend the next day. 

2. Earn Compliments: When other teachers recognize your class is doing the behaviors you expect in your classroom and tell you, the class earns compliment points. When they earn a set amount of points, the class can pick a type of reward party such as: bring your device to school, PJ day, extra recess, or a movie break. 
3. If you are working on a specific skill like walking in the hallway, you could try to using the "Mystery Walker" tool. When you line up your students, you pull a chip out of the bucket with a student's name on it. The class does not know who you chose. You watch that child all the way to the location you are going and if they showed the skills you were looking for, they can earn an extra ticket toward the raffle or earning classroom cash. This is such an easy and fun way to reward a behavior you are working on. 

Now...it is still ok to give the occasional piece of candy, little toy, or sticker. Some kids are just really motivated by those types of things.  Just try to remember to incorporate other types of incentives with those students too. You don't want them to think they get a prize for everything they do in the classroom. Remember: Praise and positive words work with everyone!

There are so many ways that teachers can find to reward their students that do not involve giving them a toy or candy every day. Be creative! Think outside of the box!  I would love to hear your ideas. 

Token economy

Are you looking for a way to decrease a specific behavior with one of your students? Does the child talk out when they shouldn't? Are they having trouble keeping their hands to themselves? Are they finishing their work? 

One strategy I like to use is a token economy system. I have a student who does not like to finish his work and is very easily distracted. I decided to try a token economy system to improve his work completion and time-on-task.

First, I needed to find what the student was interested in. The little guy I work with is very interested in the army.  He loves anything army so I knew this would be motivating to him.  I made tokens that were like the army men from the movie Toy Story. It can be hard sometimes to use the child's fascination when it could be considered inappropriate. We talk daily about how he can like the army but we have to play and talk about it safely and respectfully at school.  Here is an example of what the tokens looked like. I copied the tokens on cardstock and double laminated them to help make them last. 

This is also the time to talk to the student about what they want to earn when they meet their goal. 

Next, I added the soft side of velcro circles to a plastic photo box. I bought the photo boxes at Michaels. 

Inside the box are 6 tokens for the child to earn. I also put the reward in the box if it is small enough or I write on the top of the box what he is working for with a wipe-off marker. The box says: I am working for___________ and the velcro circles are under the writing. 

Then, I put the rough side of the velcro on each of the 6 army tokens I made and I put the tokens in the box. I keep the box in front of him at the table where we work. When he is working on his assignment and staying focused, I pull a token from the box and put it on the top of the box. When he has all 6 tokens, he gets the reward in the box.  Rewards can be simple: a package of fruit snacks, stickers, or a little toy. Other options can be iPad time, extra recess or free time, lunch with the teacher, etc. The most important thing is that the reward is motivating to the child. Once the child has met their goal, you can put the tokens back in the box and start again with the next assignment or work activity. 
Token economies are quick and easy to make and use. They give great data for the teacher on specific skills and children enjoy using them. There are many ways to modify this token economy. Instead of the photo box, you can use a clipboard, a laminated index card, or any way you find that works for you. I like this system because it has a place for the tokens, it is small enough to transport, and prizes can fit inside.
So....what do you think? Will a token economy work for you? If you need help creating one, please let me know and I would love to help you out. Once you have it made, you can use it for any behavior. 
Have a GREAT DAY!