A Simple Trick to Pick Great Behavior Rewards

Students love to work hard, earn points, and purchase rewards that are meaningful and fun. We spoke to Ms. Tucker, a teacher at Ogelthorpe Elementary, to find out how she comes up with fun rewards that students love.

“I used a google form to survey my students on rewards they'd want to earn.” Why? Because “in order to motivate and engage students in a point system you have to use rewards they care about.”

"I ask them what they want to earn. I listen to what they are interested in and I am consistent - we go shopping at the PBIS store every Friday."

Ms. Tucker allows her students to choose their rewards on her smartboard to help students feel like a part of the process from start to finish. This sort of student ownership has created a positive learning environment in Ms. Tucker's room. Students feel ownership over their actions, their behavior, and the rewards they earn, meaning they are more motivated to do their best.

Tucker's reward system is mostly intrinsic. Her students purchase the ability to eat lunch in the classroom, walk with the teacher in line, or sit in a highly coveted green chair during lessons. She prints off LiveSchool reports once a week and sends them home to parents in folders. If the students bring their paychecks back signed the next day, they earn extra points.

"You have to use LiveSchool consistently to get results. Students need to be invested in earning points and rewards."

As she looks forward, her advice to new teachers is simple: "Be more positive than negative."

Summary

• Survey students to find rewards they love
• Let students charge their own accounts when purchasing rewards
• Use LiveSchool consistently so students have a fair chance to earn rewards

Need more help constructing your incentive program? It can be a bit overwhelming, so we created a complete guide to rewarding students so everything you need is in one convenient place.