Rewards
for your students don't have to cost a lot. Here are ten your students are sure
to love!
1.
PENCILS - I'm always surprised at how popular pencils are (I even give pencils
away at my house on Halloween and kids will pick them over my stash of good
chocolate candy!). If you are headed
toward the dreaded fill-in-the-bubble sheets, make sure the pencils you are
giving away are #2. I have a canister of plain to wildly decorated and holiday
theme pencils for students to choose from.
2. HIGHLIGHTERS - The various dollar stores have
good prices on highlighters, but I also keep an eye out for great
back-to-school sale prices. I buy the assorted color multi-packs and students
get to choose one color.
3. RUBBER STAMPS - Rubber stamps can be found for cheap in many of the craft stores’ clearance bins, along with other prize ideas.
3. RUBBER STAMPS - Rubber stamps can be found for cheap in many of the craft stores’ clearance bins, along with other prize ideas.
4.
STICKERS - A sheet of stickers, especially stinky stickers, never goes out of
style, no matter how old your students are. I even like putting them on papers
I grade.
5.
COUPONS FOR FREE FOOD - This takes a little more effort on my part, but I go to
local restaurants and ask if they will donate coupons for a class reward.
You'll be surprised at how often they say "YES!" A drink or
milkshake, a breakfast sandwich or a two-for-one meal coupon are always
appreciated.
6. SMALL TRINKETS FROM ORIENTAL TRADING COMPANY - I wait for Oriental Trading Company to have sales and
free shipping codes and then I fill my cart with leis and great reward little
trinkets like key rings that can adorn backpacks, small hand-held puzzle boxes,
glow sticks, and inflatable microphones. To help me keep track of my receipts
for tax purposes, I create a folder in my email for each tax year and when
Oriental Trading emails me my receipt, I move the email into that folder. When
it's time to prepare taxes, I just print out all of my receipts and give them
to my accountant (any by accountant, I mean my husband!).
7.
FOOD or DRINKS - For many middle school students, food or drink is the ultimate
prize. But, this depends a lot on your district’s policies. You can provide a
coupon for a free ice cream in the cafeteria, a pack of chewing gum, or other
inexpensive candy. You can even bring in doughnuts or bring in homemade or home
baked cookies as a top prize.
8.
+10 POINTS COUPONS - These coupons are always in high demand! Just print or
write “+10 Points Coupon” on a 3x5 index card. To use, the student simply signs
the coupon, staples it to a previously graded assignment, and returns it to
you.
9. DROP ONE HOMEWORK TICKET - These tickets are also highly valued! Just
print or write “Drop One Homework” on a 4x6 or 5x8 index card. Students use
them when they have a homework or overnight assignment to finish. The card is
labeled with the assignment, signed by the student, and turned in for a 100.
10.
BOOKS - I love letting students pick books as rewards. Books are expensive so
to get them cheaper requires some work. I collect gently used books from people
in my neighborhood, I scour the local libraries semi-annual book sales, I go to
Scholastic Warehouse sales and fill boxes of books for a fraction of the
regular cost, I visit used books stores (there's one a few towns away from me
that sells books for $.99 and lets me fill a box for $15), and I use Donor's
Choose to fund new books.
·
I don't know if you have one close to you, but Goodwill and Salivation Army are great places for used books, and they are usually $1 or less!
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