30 Whole Class Reward Ideas
Are you looking for some whole class rewards that will motivate your students to make positive choices? In this post, I’ll share 30 of my favorite, easy to use, whole class reward ideas , particularly with elementary students.
1. Have Class Outside
This could be for a single lesson or longer. Consider where outside would be an ideal spot for students to sit, if you want them sitting on the ground. I’ve loved taking my students outside for a whole group reading lesson before.
2. CHOOSE YOUR SEAT
Give students the opportunity to choose their seats for the day. This could mean trading seats with a friend, sitting somewhere on the floor or moving their chair to another spot in the classroom. Decide how you want to handle extra special spots such as your desk or a guided reading table. Making clear guidelines before letting students choose their seats will prevent students from arguing over the same spot.
3. Have a Popcorn Party
Pop some popcorn and let students enjoy! You could turn on a short video, read aloud, or have them snack while they work.
4. Use a Colorful Pen for the Day
Pass out colorful gel pens or markers and let students complete their assignments using them for the day.
5. Play a Class Game
Heads up, seven up anyone? Students love class games and bonus, I believe they help with promoting classroom community!
6. Extra Recess
Take an extra recess! It’s always a good idea to check and see who will be outside at that time before just deciding to go in order to prevent a really overcrowded playground!
7. Eat Lunch in the Classroom
Have students bring their lunch back and eat in the classroom. I would sometimes turn on a Bill Nye video or another educational show as an added treat!
8. Play A Game of Simon Says
This is such a fun game and it always has students laughing. There’s no set up and you can fit a quick game in during a transition time such as right before lunch.
9. Have a (small) Class Party
A class party doesn’t have to be elaborate. Ask for parents to send in a few snacks and refreshments, put a fun party background up on your smart board, and play one or two party games!
10. Crazy Sock Day
Encourage students to wear their craziest, mismatched socks to school for the day! Just like everything else, it’s always more fun when you do too! : )
11. Chew Gum for the Day
Give students the okay to chew gum for the day. (You may want to go over “classroom gum chewing expectations” first!) 😉
12. Bring a Stuffed Animal for the Day
Invite students to bring their favorite stuffed animal in for the day. You may want to have a few extra on hand for those students who forget or don’t have one to bring.
13. Have a Class Dance Party
Turn on some jams or use one of the GoNoodle dance alongs and let students dance their hearts out!
14. Bring in a Mystery Reader
Mystery readers are always exciting for students. You could have anyone from a parent volunteer, the school nurse, or even your spouse come in and share a book with students.
15. Class Painting Party
A class painting party could be a simple or as complex as you want it to be. ( I would always stray on the side of simple!) There are so many tutorials that you could use or simply paint along as a class. You may even be able to borrow paint and paintbrushes from your art teacher.
16. Give a No Homework Pass
I can almost guarantee that every single student will be excited to have no homework for a day!
17. Have a Hat Day
Have students wear their favorite hats for a day. Some of the silly hats they wear never cease to amaze me. It’s a lot of fun!
18. Set Up a Buddy Reading Day With a Younger Grade
Talk with another teacher in your building and plan a time for your students to go and read to their students. If you teach K-1, partner with a teacher in one of the higher grades and see if his or her students may want to read to yours! Either way, students love this opportunity.
19. Eat Lunch Outside
Have a picnic somewhere outside of your school. If you don’t have an ideal space to sit outside and eat, ask for volunteers to bring in blankets that could be used for students to sit on while they eat.
20. Ice Cream Party
Get a few quarts of ice cream, ice cream bars, or popsicles and have a mini ice cream party!
21. Go On a Virtual Field Trip
These are fun! Go on a field trip without ever leaving your classroom. I love how educational these can be as well! The link below will take you to a website that has a ton of virtual field trip options to choose from! Click HERE for virtual field trips!
22. Have a Dress Up Day
Let students dress up for the day. Depending on your students, you may want to guide them in the direction of what they want to be when they grow up or a famous person. This is also a whole class reward you’ll want to share with students a bit in advance, so they (their parents) have time to plan!
23. Show and Tell
An oldie but a good one. Students love sharing about the things they are interested in. Not only will you be rewarding your students, but you’ll learn a little bit more about each of them based on what they share!
24. Complete a class science Experiment
Gather students together to watch a quick science experiment or, if you have enough materials, split students up into groups and let them compete the experiment together. I’ve found so many easy, yet fascinating science experiments to do with students HERE.
25. Have a Hot Chocolate Break
This is a cozy reward for those cold winter days. Get some paper cups, hot chocolate, and mini marshmallows and have a hot chocolate day. To make heating the hot chocolate easy, serve it out of a crockpot!
26. Free Time
Give your students the option to choose whatever they want to do for a period of time.
27. Have a Pajama Day
Give students the okay to wear their pajamas to school for the day!
28. Play a Game with the Principal
Students LOVE this one! Invite the principal to your class to play a game like charades with students.
29. Crazy Hair Day
Tell students to let their creativity run wild as they style their hair for the day. (It’s always more fun when the teacher does it too!)
30. Play music for the day
Turn on some light, fun music and let it play in your classroom for the day. You may even want to give students to option to vote on their favorites!
GET A FREE PRINTABLE HERE
Get a printed list with these rewards to keep handy in your classroom! Simply click the image below or HERE to get your copy for free!
Need a Behavior Plan for Individual Students?
Behavior management in the classroom can be a challenge at times. Sometimes it’s not a whole class behavior system you need, but an individualized way to help a student succeed in your class! If you’re looking for ideas to motivate students individually, you’ll want to check out this post all about using behavior charts in the classroom! Click HERE to read it.
