How to Give Rewards Without Breaking the Bank!

We all know that children thrive on positive reinforcement.  At least I think we all know this.  If you didn’t know, be sure to put this as the NUMBER 1 thing to remember when teaching.  Children love to be noticed, and they especially love to be noticed being good.  In fact, those kids (you know the ones I’m talking about) will sometimes come up and ask me if they were good today!  One of my favorite parts of teaching is watching those little faces light up when you tell them something good about themselves.  I digress…

Children thrive on positive reinforcement, and they love to be rewarded for their great behavior.  I know teachers that believe that students should NOT be rewarded for doing what they are supposed to do, but let’s think about it this way, but here I’m going to agree to disagree.  Do you like surprises?  Do you like to get a compliment?  Do you like it when your boss rewards you with something cool like a jeans pass or an early leave pass?  Yep, me too!  We are being rewarded for the great job we’re doing or that extra thing we did.  Why not let students reap some rewards as well??  Allow me share with you some great tips for rewarding students for their great behavior without spending one cent, aaaaaaaaand still covering Music skills!

Before we get started, let me tell you that this idea is NOT my own.  Like most good teachers, I heard this idea from another Music teacher and have changed it up to fit my classroom.  We teachers do love to share!  So the idea is two-fold:

1. Free fun days
2. Use what students are already learning and make it sound like a party.

Here are some examples of free fun days:

• Sit by a friend day – Students get to sit by as many friends as they want.  This way, no one gets left out.  There are some rules:

1. 1. Every student must be included.  If you see someone who is not included, please invite them to be in your group of friends
   2. You have 30 seconds to walk to a new seat near friends
   3. You are allowed to talk quietly (level 2-3) so you can find friends
   4. I reserve the right to move anyone who cannot behave while sitting with their friends

• Comfy Day – students get to dress in their pj’s!  Don’t forget to let their classroom teacher know!
• Drumming Departure – I have my drums lined up at the back of my classroom.  My gong is at the end of the line.  Students leave in one silent line.  As they leave, they get to play each and every one of the drums and then play the gong at the end.  Of course, this one needs some rules: 
  1. Students must be in 1 silent, straight line
  2. Students who cannot be silent will go to the end of the line (I never tell a student they can’t do something, especially when it’s a reward)
  3. All drums and the gong must be played by hand
  4. Do NOT stop!
  5. As you walk through the door, you must exhibit hallway behavior (if this doesn’t happen, we stop the line, compose ourselves, and continue again)
• Open Mic – this is a karaoke day, and the teacher gets to perform too (If you choose to perform)  Students love karaoke and they especially love to hear you sing!
• Dancing Departure – students get choose from a list of popular dances (we vote), and they spend the last 5 minutes of class dancing
• Choose the Exit Music – students choose a popular song, and I play it from YouTube.  Be careful here, and always search for the clean version or the kid’s bop version.  Here are the rules:
  1. 5 students get to make a suggestions
  2. If I don’t know the song, we search for the kid’s bop version
  3. If I do know the song, we search for the clean version just in case
  4. Students must remain seated
  5. Students may talk softly or sing along (if talking gets too loud, I stop the music, and we regroup)

Here are some examples of using what students are already learning and making it sound like a party:

• Choose your own adventure – I use classical music for these days.  I love to tell the story of the piece.  For example, I’ve used the 1812 Overture and Dance Macabre among many others.  I write out the story and tell it in dramatic fashion.  We listen to the music, and as we’re listening, I go over the form or another music skill like rhythm or dynamics. (see how I’m still teaching music skills!)  Then I add the really fun part of the activity.  Think bouncy balls, scarves, movement). 
• Flashlight party – I heard this idea from Artie Almeida, goddess of music teachers!  If you haven’t seen her work, you are truly missing out!  I’ve linked her website to her name.  Make it a point to visit!  Anyway, the idea is similar to what I’ve already mentioned above, but the students get to use flashlights.  This is usually a form lesson in my classroom.
• Escape Room – there are quite a few amazing and fun escape rooms on Teachers Pay Teachers   This is another great resource for all things lesson plans.  These teach all kinds of basic Music skills.  Students have to answer the questions to escape.
•  Glow Stick party – same idea as the flashlight party, only with glow sticks

These are just some examples of great reward activities you can do with your students.  I’ll bet you have some great ideas too!  And I’ll bet you’re dying to have one of those activities I mentioned above in Choose Your Own Adventure!  I would love to share with you.

Here are 3 ways you can get one of those activities for free:

1. Share a link to this blog on your social media page and tag me @jeanettestiltshorey
2. Invite your friends to read this blog, and message me to let me know who you’ve invited
3. Join our Stories That Sing community on Facebook.  If you’ve already joined, invite a friend to join.

Whichever way you choose, be sure to DM me so I can send you your freebie!