Rewards Ideas for Elementary, Middle, and High School

Incentives for Elementary School Students

1. Write with a Special Pen for the Day 

Create a special pen or marker, only for a student who has earned enough points

2. Care for the Class Pet 

Fish, guinea pig, bunny rabbit… who doesn’t love caring for an animal?

3. Eat Lunch with Teacher or Administrator 

Let the student choose who they’d like to spend time with for an extra special meal.

4. Extra Recess

15 minutes more outside on a pretty day with a friend is a big incentive, especially during the spring!

5. Trip to the Treasure Box

Just like at the Doctor’s office, it’s nice to get a little trinket every now and then.

6. Extra Reading Time 

Make this extra special by allowing students to read anywhere in the room, or with a magic reading hat, or in a designated special beanbag chair or nook.

7. Choose a book for the entire class 

For students with enough points, let them choose which book the teacher reads to the entire class.

8. Student Spotlight Board 

A photo of the student, along with all of that student’s favorite food, color, activity and more! Take time to let the student share about their own life.

Want to really improve elementary school behavior incentives? You should start by evaluating your elementary behavior rubric.

Incentives for Middle School Students

1. School Spirit Day 

Spirit fingers, glitter, the whole nine yards. Choose a day every month that students with enough points can participate in a theme dress day (i.e., pajama day, crazy hat day, super hero day, whacky tacky day… the possibilities are endless!) Then, have an assembly where you honor students for their academic success.

2. Lunch Concert 

Students get to eat lunch in a private room (with an adult chaperone) with friends and play their personal, school-appropriate playlist.

3. First in Line to Lunch 

Middle school students will beg for this anyway. Why not make it something they can earn?

4. Class Jobs 

Application, interview and all. If you want to be the IT specialist in the room, you’ve got to earn your spot!

5. Talk Time 

Give students a chance to earn a little extra time to chat with friends at the end of the week or month.

6. Read to a younger class 

Helping out other teachers is no small feat.

7. Teacher for the Day 

Whether they want to teach a game, a song, or a math lesson, let teaching be the ultimate reward (and practice).

8. Emcee the Announcements 

Everyone likes to hear their own voice, especially middle school students.

Need more help with middle school student incentives? Check out our guide to using student voice to create prizes for middle school students.

Incentives for High School Students

1. Design the Bulletin Board 

Whether it’s for an upcoming event, holiday, or just for someone’s birthday, give students the supplies and the time to show off their skill.

2. Positive Phone Call Home 

You never know what a difference it could make to give a little positive feedback to a parent of a high schooler.

3. Create the Seating Chart 

Within reason, this incentive could actually help you out. Sometimes, students know better than teachers who can get along with whom.

4. Parking Spots 

Let students earn the spots that they want.

5. Locker Choice 

Whether it’s the locker nearest the entrance or the lunchroom, chances are there is prime real estate in the school. It could be a lesson in supply and demand.

6. Movie Night 

Projectors and iTunes make this easier than ever.

7. School Dance 

It’s an incentive because it’s also a privilege.

8. Class Outdoors 

The student that redeems this incentive just might be the most popular kid for the day.

Want to improve your student rewards experience? Check out our rewards menu for elementary students.

Need more help constructing your high school 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.

Do you have great ideas for rewards? We'd love to add it here! Email us to share your idea!