Having a whole class reward system makes it easy to be consistent to focus on good behavior in the classroom.
I love to see my students working together. That is why I incorporate a whole class rewards system in my classroom management plan. It helps motivate students to follow classroom expectations and rules. I love how it helps to build a positive classroom culture where students work together towards a goal. In this blog post, I will be talking about Whole Class Rewards elementary teachers and students absolutely love!
Whole Class Rewards
My Whole Class Rewards System is a flower students build together. As they are following expectations or going above and beyond with behavior, I will add a petal to the flower. It is very visual for the students! I keep it on our front whiteboard by using magnetic tape on the back of the petals. They are easy to move and it doesn’t waste instructional time.
Having adding parts to this whole class rewards system makes it very motivating to my students. I find myself saying things like, “We only need one more petal, we can do that today!” or “We only have a couple petals and I really want you guys to be able to bring a stuffed animal to class, so let’s try extra hard today to earn some petals!”
I love to emphasize that “In our class, we work together!” So I hang up a little sign by the flower that says, “We bloom together!” I encourage students that if they work together they can add multiple petals to the flower throughout the day. This makes it so my 2nd grade students are encouraging each other to stay on task and not talk while I am talking so that they can earn petals.
Have students work together towards good behavior to earn all the petals of this whole class reward system.
But here’s what makes it really motivating for students. I let them choose the reward that sits in the middle of the Whole Class Rewards System!
I print out the circles and laminate them. Then I put velcro on the backs so it can sit in the middle of the flower easily. I place out about 5 of them and then allow students to vote on which one they want to work towards. Since they picked the reward, it is so much more motivating for them. Best part about it, these rewards don’t cost me much! They are rewards like “Eat Lunch in Class” or “Extra Recess.” Also, I made them editable, just in case the class has a special reward they want to work towards! Find this Whole Class Rewards System here! Find it in a money saving bundle here!
Whole Class Reward Ideas
Get all the whole class reward ideas you need for your elementary classroom. My Whole Class Reward System resource is editable. So add in your own whole class rewards you know your students will love.
Here’s a list of whole class rewards that students love. I find that students fill up the flower and earn the reward about every week and half to two weeks. These fun activities break up our normal routine of things and brings in some joy! Students are so happy and excited when they fill up the flower and know they have earned the reward.
Extra Recess: Take the students out for an extra 10-15 minutes of recess.
Movie Party: Watch a show or movie with your students
Extra Science: Do an extra science experiment in class
Free Time: Give your students 10-15 minutes of free time in the classroom
Read Outside: Have students take their favorite book and read outside
Kickball: Take your class outside and play a game of kickball together
Pajama Day: Have students come to school in their pajamas
Bring a Stuffed Animal: Have students bring a stuffed animal from home. Let them keep it on their desk all day.
Hat Day: Let students wear a hat from home for the day
Reading Camp Out: Have students bring a blanket or pillow from home. Have silent reading time in the classroom where students get to use their pillow or blanket.
Dance Party: Play music for the class and dance together. Have students share their favorite dance move.
STEM Activities: Have building activities and other STEM activities set out for your students to choose to do.
Cookie Party: Bring cookies for your class
Ice Cream Party: Bring ice cream from your class
Heads Up 7 Up: Play Heads Up 7 Up as a class
Four Corners: Play four corners as a class
Extra Go Noodle: Add in a few more brain breaks throughout the day
Directed Drawing: Add in a directed drawing into your day
Lunch in Class: Have students eat lunch in your classroom with you
Popcorn Party: Bring popcorn for your class
Show & Tell: Each student brings something from home to share with their classmates
Extra Tech Time: Let students stay on i-pads or computers longer
No Homework: Don’t give homework for the day!
Indoor Recess: Let your students play with your indoor recess for 10-15 minutes
Here are some other tips for implementing a whole class rewards system:
Have your students set a goal each day. What do they think they can work on as a class? Or what have you noticed in your classroom that you would like to changed? Also help students see what they have been really good at behavior wise to keep things in your classroom positive. If students meet the goal at the end of the day, give them a petal! If not, have a conversation with your class on how they can better reach that goal tomorrow.
Help students set goals for good behavior. When they meet that goal, they earn a petal to the whole class reward system.
Next, be aware that students sometimes like to “play” the whole class rewards. They might say, “We were really good… Give us a petal!” or something like that. I teach my students that if they ask for a reward, they don’t get one. By doing this, I am teaching my students not to be greedy. I want them to see that if they continue doing good, good things will come eventually. If needed, I politely remind them that as a teacher, I know when they have earned a petal.
Don’t be afraid to take away petals. When students are not following an expectation, give them a warning or they will lose a petal. If they continue doing that thing, take it away. You have to follow through for them to learn and for this whole class rewards system to be effective.
Make sure you are consistent with giving petals for good behavior! If you don’t do it for a while, students become complacent. Actively praise good behavior!
As another way to earn a petal towards our whole class rewards flower, I like to list out specific expectations for a certain time in our classroom and then have students rate themselves how they met those expectations.
For example, I have an expectations poster for our centers time. I list out the expectations of: work hard, rotate and get started quickly, use your whisper voices, and ask questions to your group members. At the end of our centers time, I ask students to rate themselves. Do they get a smiley face, straight face, or a frowny face for that specific expectation?
If students get all smiley faces, they earn a petal. This motivates students a lot and helps them reflect on their behavior and how they can improve. It only takes a couple times of students getting a straight face or frowny face before they only get smiley faces all the way down everyday. I added these Self-Rating Expectations Posters to my Whole Class Rewards System resource. Find it here.
Get students involved and have them rate themselves on meeting expectations.
Whole Class Rewards System Ideas
Check out how other teachers are using this system. This will give you some great ideas on how you might want to use a whole class rewards system in your classroom.
Brittany S. said, “This was easy to put together! I work with older students so I wrote the school/classroom expectations on the petals and they have to earn each petal by following expectations.”
Amber R. said, “I have been really loving this for classroom management in my 2nd grade classroom. I drew a little stem underneath it, one side is smiley face, one is frowny. When students are on-task they get a smiley, when they need extra reminders they get a frowny. When there are more smileys at the end of the day, we get a flower petal (I printed the blank and had each of my 12 students color one in, then laminated them.) If they get a teacher compliment from a specialist or principal, they get a flower petal. I’ve found it to be very motivating for them! We’ve already earned our first reward (extra tech time). Thanks for creating this adorable management flower!”
Emma J. said, “This was so helpful! I used it to encourage proper voice levels in the beginning of the year and then I switched to have it encourage quick transitions. The kids loved it and they got to vote on the each reward.”
Finally, check out this review. Kate C. said, “Thank you for this helpful resource! On teacher year number 12, I needed something to revitalize my behavior management system. My students and I loved it! I used it to create a competition between my students and I. I started off with just the center piece and then we each earned petals. They would earn with good behavior as a whole class, and I’d earn them if I have to repeat directions multiple times. Whoever had the most petals (received 10 total) got a prize!
Students and teachers love this whole class rewards system!
This Whole Class Rewards system has been so helpful in managing student behavior. I love to see students working together and getting rewarded for good behavior. Find this Whole Class Rewards System here!
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Needing for other classroom management tips? Check out these blog posts:
Meaningful Classroom Management Techniques
5 Positive Strategies for Behavior Management in the Classroom
Behavior Management Tips for After Winter Break
The Best Classroom Management Plan You Can Use This School Year
