60+ Classroom Reward Ideas

60+ Classroom Reward Ideas

Rewards are a fun way to motivate students and celebrate progress, but seeing as we aren't made of money, sometimes we don't know what to give. But no longer - this list includes plenty of fun, creative reward ideas that are free or inexpensive.

listen here:

Rewards can be a great way to motivate students, but thatโ€™s not their only purpose.

When done right, rewards recognize and celebrate success and inspire us to keep working. Just be sure to pair them with intrinsic motivation. For example, instead of just handing a student a piece of candy, say, โ€œWow, I noticed you worked so hard on ______. Hereโ€™s a piece of candy to celebrate.โ€

Sometimes, however, we teachers are stumped as to what exactly we can use as rewards. I mean, itโ€™s not like we have hundreds of extra dollars lying around to give away. So what can we do?

Fortunately, there are a ton of free or inexpensive rewards you can give your students. Iโ€™ve recently been inspired by my sonโ€™s 1st grade teacher who has over 40 creative awards he gives when students reach their AR goals. 

So, weโ€™ve assembled a list of ideas that can be used incentives or given as surprise rewards. Some work for younger students, some for older, and some regardless of age (you might be surprised how much teens enjoy seemingly โ€œjuvenileโ€ rewards ?).

And with Christmas coming, these make great gifts for your class, too! (You can use this template here to make a tangible card to give your students.

Pin it for later โคต๏ธ

In this post, you'll get over 60 classroom reward ideas. You can use these ideas in elementary, middle school, or high school. All of these rewards are easy and many are free. These reward ideas are great to encourage positive behavior and a wonderful classroom environment. Get classroom reward ideas for students at www.teach4theheart.com.

ideas for individual student rewards

  1. A note (or email) of praise (written to the students)
  2. Positive note/email sent home to parents
  3. Homework pass (get to skip one assignment)
  4. Skip the odds pass (get to skip the odd-number questions on an assignment
  5. Delayed homework pass (get an extra day to complete an assignment)
  6. Piece of candy
  7. Dress down pass (get to wear casual clothes instead of school dress code/uniform)
  8. Jeans day pass (get to wear jeans instead of school uniform)
  9. Hat day pass (get to wear a hat)
  10. Bonus points
  11. Bake sale (buy students an item at the next school bake sale or fundraiser)
  12. Slippers (get to wear slippers to school)
  13. Teacherโ€™s chair (students get to use your chair for the day/class)
  14. Other special chair (any unique/flexible seating chair they get to use instead of their regular one)
  15. Favorite shirt (students get to wear their favorite shirt instead of dress code/uniform)
  16. Go first all day (student gets to go first in everything that day)
  17. Lunch with the teacher
  18. Treasure chest (pick a prize from a prize bin)
  19. Favorite chips (you buy them a small bag of their favorite chips)
  20. Sit with a friend (student gets to sit by their friend of the class/day)
  21. Soda/juice (you buy them a can of soda or juice)
  22. Play a game with the teacher (during recess, free time, etc.)
  23. Stickers (teens enjoy these, too, even if they donโ€™t admit it ?)
  24. Pizza Hut personal pan pizza (Use their free Book It program to reward reading goals)
  25. Award Tokens/Charms from Fitness Finders
  26. Learning buddy (get to bring a stuffed animal as long as they are on task and not playing with it)
  27. Scatter spots (get to work/read wherever youโ€™d like in the classroom as long as they are focused)
  28. New pencil
  29. Invite a friend to eat lunch in your classroom
  30. Write with a gel pen/special pen for homework
  31. Get to use your special pen for the class/day
  32. Classroom store (stocked with items from the dollar store and awarded for a certain number of classroom bucks. Or, ask families to contribute)
  33. Teacherโ€™s Desk (sit at it for one hour/class)
  34. Show and Tell
  35. Peppermints
  36. Gum (either give it to them or simply allow it for one day)
  37. Play a computer/tablet game
  38. Go to recess (or be dismissed from class) 2 minutes early
  39. Listen to music (allow music/headphones during independent work time)
  40. Decorate a section of the class whiteboard/chalkboard
  41. Have work displayed in classroom
  42. Help the librarian/media specialist
  43. Help one of the specials teacher
  44. Get to choose which learning activity the class will do (from your list of choices)
  45. Invite a parent or other adult to join them for a portion of the day
  46. Go to the library to select a book 
  47. Be a helper in another classroom
  48. Choose music for the class to listen to together
  49. Name on marquee outside school (or special spot outside classroom in hallway)
  50. Read the morning announcements
  51. Read to a younger class
  52. Take home a class game for the weekend
  53. Free entrance to school ball game or event
  54. Earn chance to assist at sporting event
  55. Dress up as the school mascot for a game
  56. Introduce starting line up for a home game
  57. Special parking pass for the day (reserved spot)
  58. Custom medals (if a sports meeting or other competition is held, custom medals can be awarded to students who have performed well)

ideas for class rewards

  1. Free seating day (everyone gets to choose where they sit)
  2. Have class outside
  3. Extra recess
  4. Free time (even 5-10 minutes is appreciated)
  5. Dance party
  6. Play a game 
  7. Bring in / make food for the class
  8. Fun Friday (do something fun together as a class)
  9. Movie during lunch

give as a christmas gift

Want to give one of these as a Christmas gift? Click the link below to request your free editable template. The default gives students a free homework pass, but you can modify the template to say anything you'd like.

Request your free Christmas gift template

Free Homework Pass

i'm not Seeing Reward-Worthy behavior 

If you are having a rough year,  it can feel like you may never even get the chance to hand out a reward!  WE CAN HELP!

Watch our FREE training: How to Reduce Disruptions without Yelling, Begging, or Bribing.  

We will reveal common classroom management issues, and what to do about them! You'll be passing out those rewards in no time!

Get the free training here.

spread the word!

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In this post, you'll get over 60 classroom reward ideas. You can use these ideas in elementary, middle school, or high school. All of these rewards are easy and many are free. These reward ideas are great to encourage positive behavior and a wonderful classroom environment. Get classroom reward ideas for students at www.teach4theheart.com.

*This post is sponsored by GSJJ and Alchemy Tuition.*

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What to Read Next
  • This is an awesome list to help teachers get started thinking about different rewards. Any way we could get this list as a pdf?

  • Homework passes really send the message that homework is a punishment and not important, not to mention they’re most likely to use the pass on the thing they most need to practice.

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