Rewarding our students for their hard work is a tool that can sometimes be taken for granted. Even older students love to get something for their hard work! This article is going to explain some great ideas for young children (3 to 7-years-old), children (7 to 10-years-old), and teens (above 10). It will also explain timing, and the importance of strategically placing your rewards.
Let’s dive right in!
Young Children (3-7):
This is one of my favorite age groups. This is such an impressionable age, that we have the opportunity of teaching! Choosing the perfect reward for your student, will be essential to creating a warm, welcoming atmosphere.
Animals:
All kids love some sort of animal. Some children love dogs, cats, fish…I had one kid you liked snakes. :( In the beginning of my teaching adventure, I was not nearly as prepared as I am now. The great thing is, once you prepare a reward system you can use it for every other student you teach.
Monkey and bananas: My kids all love this reward. It is a picture that I drew of a cartoon monkey standing next to a tree. I have drawn and cut out bananas for the monkey as well. What I love about this reward system, is that it is so much more than just putting a banana on a paper. This is preposition practice, body parts practice, vocabulary development. It is a teaching opportunity in the form of a reward system. :O So brilliant. You can ask them questions. I usually ask “Where should we put the banana? On the monkey, or the tree?” This gets them familiar with question-and-answer conversations as well, which can be another difficult thing to teach with younger children because they prefer to repeat rather than answer.
Fish in a Bowl: This is a great reward too, mostly because I like to create sound effects of fish….even though I have no clue what a fish would sound like. :’D My students laugh and repeat the sound I make while the fish “swims” into their bowl. I have a piece of seaweed drawn into the bowl, and the rest is colored in blue. Sometimes I have the students pretend to swim like a fish, or even “jump into” the fishbowl. This is interactive and it gets the student to move around a little during their lesson.
Drawing an Animal: Sometimes I have students who I have known for some time. So if I know what animals they like, or even what they like to do, each reward they get, I will draw a piece of the picture. It is like a puzzle. They will try to figure out what I am drawing each time they get a reward. As a word of caution, I would not use this if you can tell that your kid is full of beans that day. Meaning, if you can see they are restless, maybe they need something that is more active, instead of sitting and watching you draw. For the artistically impaired folks, just use a picture from the internet, and then cut it up. Then every time the student does well, or you think deserves a reward, put up one more piece to the puzzle. 😊
Since every child is different, please choose your reward systems based on what the child likes to do. This will be so helpful for behavior management, finishing classes on time and capturing your student’s attention. These are only three ideas that I use in class. You can apply these ideas to just about anything: cars on a racetrack, creating a castle, creating a dinosaur, balloons on a page, ect. They are quick and simple. These rewards also give you the opportunity to teach while they are receiving them!
Children (7-10)
These kids are a lot of fun to give rewards to. You can still use the rewards from above for the younger kids (7 to 8-years-old), but this is also the time that you can use some more games, or advance reward systems.
Tic-Tac-Toe: This is my student’s favorite game in this age group! They love to try and beat me at it, but I am pretty much a professional at tic-tac-toeing….(that’s not a word). I will admit that sometimes they win, but it is NOT often. This game is nice, because most students know how to play, and they genuinely enjoy it! They especially love it when nobody has one and you draw a jagged, curvy line connecting all your symbols and scream, “I won!”
The Dice Game: I have a large orange dice that my students like to use as a reward. We will both guess a number, and whatever number the dice falls on or closest too wins! This is fun because I usually drop the dice on the ground and the children find this hilarious for some reason. I find it inconvenient. What is cool about this, is that they are using numbers, taking guesses, and you can use it to have a fun easy interaction with your student.
Rock, Paper, Scissors, Shoot: My students sometimes like to choose this game, especially the older student’s. I think it is partially because it is quick, and it is fun to beat the teacher at a game. If I am in an e-learning environment, I say “Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!” and hold my hand off the screen. The student must show you first, or else they may switch what they had. It is not a big deal if they win all the time, unless you are fiercely competitive like I am.
Pictionary: I have just started introducing this to some of my students, especially the ones who like to draw. The idea is to take turns and draw a picture. One person must guess what it is before the other person stops drawing! Or you can add in the timer. Whichever you prefer. 😊 This is fun for those artistic children! They love to show off their art skills too, so let them show you what they’ve got for their reward.
This age group tends to be a little less active and will be able to concentrate on a small game task. With the little ones, you want to have a little more control over the rewards. This way they are not confused or taking over the activity. Rewards should mean something to the student we are teaching. This is why it is important to create rewards that we know our students will like.
Teens (Above 10)
Bum! Bum! Buuuuuuuumm!
How on earth do we reward our teens? Is it even possible? Won’t they think it is childish?
It is possible to reward teens. It is true that the older a child gets, the less likely they will want a fish in the fishbowl….
Embarrassing story time….
When I had my first teen student, I did not know what to expect. I had been working with young kids and I did not know the first thing about what a teen would like as a reward. So instead of thinking the normal thing “he probably doesn’t need a reward” I thought,
“BanAnaAaaS.”
He comes into the classroom. He is doing a wonderful job. 5 minutes in he gets his first star, so I pull the picture of a monkey out, and ask him if he would like a banana. I can’t tell you how degrading it was to see this teen boy crack up laughing. I am pretty sure he only put up with my monkey reward system because he thought I was a complete dimwit.
End embarrassing story.
The lesson to be learned: Look at their age, and think “Would I have like to do this at that age?”
Anyway….
Pictionary: With my wonderful drawing skills (sarcasm), playing a game like Pictionary can be so much fun with older students. Before class I would suggest coming up with about 5 words that you can most likely turn into a drawing. Time this activity because it could take a while if your art skills are like mine. :’D Give them about one minute to guess the picture and then tell them what it is once the timer is up. The games will allow the students to take a quick break from their lesson. It can also be a teaching opportunity because we are reviewing or learning new vocabulary!
Charades: This one is a lot of fun to play with the older students. They can even participate by acting out a scenario or vocabulary word. You can choose to take turns with the student, or you can be the one who acts, while the student guesses. Give the student the options because you do not want them to be uncomfortable during the game. This goes for all these ideas too. If your student is not really into games or they just want to keep going in the lesson, do not try and force a reward on them. They may change their minds the next time they come to class, but it is always best to give someone the choice.
One-minute free talk: This activity is great because you can build rapport with the student by asking them questions. If you are unsure what to ask, have a few generic questions written out before class. This way you are not using your time to think of questions. Some examples might be:
What do you want to be when you grow up?
What superpower would you want to have? Why?
If you could travel to any country, which one would you choose? Why?
What is your favorite animal? Why?
You can also use ‘would you rather’ questions. These are less open ended, and so you should remember to ask them why they chose their answer. The goal is to extend their speaking time when they are older and asking ‘why’ can help you accomplish this.
Food for Thought:
If you were a student, what kind of reward system would you like to have. Think about what you would have like as a young child, teen, and adult. Would your reward system be based on your interests? Would you have a reward system as an adult? (I know I would) 😉
In conclusion:
Reward systems are handy little devices that we can use as tools to enhance our student’s learning experience. It opens opportunities to engage, interact, learn new content, and even manage behaviors. When a younger child is crying or making a fuss, use this tool to engage them! When they calm down for even a second to just listen, this is participation, and they get a banana. If they look at the screen, they get a banana. If they speak or repeat after you, or engage in any other form, give them a banana! Take it one small step at a time. Building up wanted behaviors in the first five minutes of class can benefit the rest of your class time. It will not only grab their attention, but it will take the unfamiliarity of the situation away, and cause more of a comfortable environment. It is our job as teachers to give each child their best shot at success in the classroom, and I believe that we can do that.
That is all for today’s post! Thank you so much for reading. Don’t forget to subscribe!
Bye. 😊