Reward system that kids LOVE!

I have done many things as a reward system in the classroom. Passing out tickets (carnival tickets) where the students put their name/number on the back, merit money, etc.

A couple of years ago I came up with Star Bucks. They use the Star Wars characters, with each dollar denomination having a different character. To make it easier, I printed them out in colored paper, with each denomination having a different color.

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Due to copyright right laws I have had to edit my Star Bucks and remove the Star Wars characters. Now they have space clip art. Still super cute!

Star Bucks made my life easier. I never went back to another system.

My students LOVED it! I passed out Star Bucks for great behavior, going above and beyond on their homework, coming to Open House or Meet the Teacher (I taught in Title 1 schools where it was tough to get parents to come), doing great on quizzes and tests, being respectful and helpful to one another, etc. Be creative!

Now students can owe you bucks as well. Together as a class, come up with a list of “no no’s” and how much each “no no” would cost.

Every Friday, my students could trade in their bucks at the bank. Star Bucks help reinforce place value too. Hey! You didn’t know these were great for math too, right?

Once we had had Bank a couple of weeks, I chose 2-3 students to be the bankers. They took their job extremely seriously and it only helped to boost their math skills and confidence.

I also worked with my students to create a list of rewards that students could buy with their Star Bucks. I’m all about not spending any more money than I have to (if you’re like any teacher I know, you spend hundreds of dollars already), so the rewards were all free. I also got some McDonald’s toys from a friend of mine…her kids weren’t playing with them anymore. I also let my students bring in things to sell. They loved that! I called it the student market, and they brought in books they had read, toys, things they had made…basically anything they wanted.

Oh, and if I ever forgot Bank, they would let me know!!!

May the force be with you!