This document provides a list of over 60 potential free or low-cost rewards that could be given to individual students in a secondary school setting to reinforce positive behavior. The rewards range from opportunities to assist teachers or administrators, special privileges like preferred seating or dressing down, social opportunities like eating lunch with others, and chances to learn new skills. The rewards are intended to motivate students without significant cost to the school.

1. Sonya
Cousineau
Classroom
Strategy
Notebook
2014

2. Strong Teacher Voice
• Assertive Tone
• Voice Fills Room
• Do not speak over students
• Use when recognizing
appropriate behavior
• Use when correcting disruptive
students
• Never argue with students
Must be developed
Taken from “Assertive Disciple”
by Lee Canter 2010

3. Hold High Expectations
• Expect 100% compliance with your
directions 100% of time
• Allow no excuses for disruptive
behavior
• Always sweat the small stuff ( not
paying attention, playing with
stuff, getting out of seats ect…)
• never back down
• Let students know you are not going
away
• Avoid excessive praise
• Have High Expectations
Taken from “Assertive Disciple” by Lee Canter
2010

4. Teach Policies and
Procedures
• Determine policies and
procedures
• Teach a lesson on responsible
behavior
1. Introduce the lesson
2. Explain the behavior
3. Model the behavior
4. Check for understanding
5. Practice
Taken from “Assertive Disciple” by Lee Canter 2010

5. Effectively Communicate
Explicit Directions
• Clearly communicate explicit
directions
• Behavioral Narration: simply
descriptive, you are just
verbalizing what you are
observing the students doing.
• Follow 2 second rule to begin
narration.
• Use strong teacher voice
• Use with class wide reward
system
Taken from “Assertive Disciple” by Lee
Canter 2010

6. Getting to know your
students
• Greet students at the door. Make each
student feel special
• Meet with students individually
• Attend activities your students are
participating in….
• Eat lunch with students
• Arrange interviews- let your class interview
your family members
• Send letters and notes to students
• Suggestion Box-use suggestions at class
meetings
• Participate in community events
• Join in games on playground
Comprehensive Classroom Management by Vern Jones &
Louise Jones 2013

7. ATTITUDE + EFFORT =
REWARDS
ATTITUDE + EFFORT = REWARDS Cycle 1
What is our reward?_________________________________________________________________
Cycle 2
What is our reward?_________________________________________________________________
Cycle 3
What is our reward?______________________________________________________

8. • Name:
• Positivity Action Plan Amie Dean
• 2007
• Where are you NOW?
• Action Plan
•
• _____________________________________________________________________________
•
•
• 1 5 10 15 20
• Focus on
• Negative
•
•
• 1. Please think about the comments you make to your teachers. Let’s quantify this way:
•
• Ask yourself approximately how many positive contacts (verbal, written, or electronic) do I
• have with my teachers in a 5 day period? #___________
•
• If you are not sure where to place yourself on the continuum, use the following as a guideline
• only: 20+ is extremely positive in 5 days, 10-14 very, 5-9 positive, 2-4 occasionally, 0-1 may
• focus on negative
•
•
• 2. What are some of the typical things you say to praise or compliment your staff and individual
• teachers? Please list below.
•
•
•
•
•
•
• 3. Do you have room for improvement?
•
• If so, please write a goal for how many positive comments you would like to make in daily or
• half day increments. (Ex. I will go from making 3 positive contacts per week to 10 positive
• contacts per week.)
•
•
• MY GOAL:___________________________________________________________________
•
• _____________________________________________________________________________.
•
• STEPS I will take to achieve this goal:
Occasionally
positive
Positive Very positive Extremely positive

9. Behavior Strategies for
secondary
• Success Chain – explained in workshop – positive group contingency in
which the class earns a paper
link/letter/word towards an established goal/reward. Many variations can be used:
Principal’s link,
buddy link, academic link, visitor’s link, lunch-line link, etc…Once earned, links
cannot be taken away.
You may also have more than one chain going at once. Ex. Inside chain & outside
chain for in-class
versus outside activities. Once goal is reached – whole class reward.
• • Correction Cards – Have laminated post it notes with common verbal
statements made by teacher.
Please Stop, Thank you for Listening, Thank you for not talking when I talk, etc.
Hand out discreetly
to deal with behavior. If you want to give a positive note, write it on a post it and
let students keep
it. Laminated notes should be returned at the end of class.
• • Last In – Last Out – Tardy management. Place desk(s) close to the door.
The last one in is the very
last to leave. Reiterate this is a “choice” they have made.

10. • Team Time – 5 minutes every Friday. Set a timer for 5
minutes. Tell students they may only say
“kind” things to each other during the 5 minutes. Put
sentence starters on the board – Thank you
for….I appreciate you for…… I’m proud of you……I noticed
that…. I start it off by making a few of
the statements myself. After a few weeks, you may notice
them doing this unprompted!
• Success Box/Bonus Box – used to reinforce positive
behaviors, but also to minimize # of rewards given.
If student complies with/reaches goal he/she puts name
in a drawing box. Names can be drawn by
period, daily, weekly, etc to earn reward.
• Code System – Code “0” = Zero talking, Zero
movement, Eyes on speaker; Code “1” – may only talk to
teacher; Code “2” – may only talk with partner; Code “3”
– may only talk with group.

11. • Neon Clipboard – (Disc. tracker) name on the
clipboard = predetermined consequence.
• Behavior Bracelets - (Great if you are on the move.)
Use 3 colored stretchy key rings – remove one
bracelet each time the “behavior to work on” is
exhibited (blurt out, out of seat, etc.) The # of
bracelets left is the number of points earned for that
period. Predetermine the goal/# of points for
reward. EX. 25 points = homework pass.
• Yes Card – (use index card) 3-6will have 9 sections.
Use a 3-10 minute interval depending on how
often student disrupts. Increase time interval gradually.
If at the end of specified time, student has
not disrupted, you initial ONE “yes.” If the student has
all “yes” initialed, reward is earned.
• Recommended by Amie Dean
Classroom Management Workshop
At WCU

12. • • 100% Club – Set a goal and ALL students
must comply. Ex. All arrived on time,
completed homework,
brought all materials, earned at least a ___ on
quiz, no one interrupted the speaker, etc
*Keep
record of when goals are met. Chart the data
& use to discuss what needs improvement. 10
pts can
be earned each time toward 100 pts which =
reward.
• My Time/Your Time – Predetermine how
many minutes you can spare at the end of
the class (up to 5.)
Put tally marks on the board at the beginning
of class. Tell class each time they take “my”
time (you
have to stop to correct) they lose a minute of
“your” time at the end. 5 minutes at the end
of class
could be talk time, homework time, choice
time, etc.

13. • Apology Slip
• Name:________________________________Date_____________Name of person harmed:___________________
•
• This is what I did:
• _____________________________________________________________________________________________
• _____________________________________________________________________________________________
• _____________________________________________________________________________________________.
•
• What I should have done was:
• _____________________________________________________________________________________________
• _____________________________________________________________________________________________
• _____________________________________________________________________________________________.
•
• When I harmed___________________________, I think he/she felt ______________________________________
• _____________________________________________________________________________________________.
•
• I would like to say:_____________________________________________________________________________.
•
• Signed:________________________________________ Signed:________________________________________
• (student completing the form) (teacher and/or parent)
•
•
•
• Better Choices Sheet
• Name:______________________________________Date:_____________________Time:___________
•
• My actions were as follows: (What I did)
• ____________________________________________________________________________________
• ____________________________________________________________________________________
• ___________________________________________________________________________________.
•
• A better choice, which I will do next time is:
• ____________________________________________________________________________________
• ____________________________________________________________________________________
• ___________________________________________________________________________________.
•
• Why I made the bad choice:
• ____________________________________________________________________________________
• ___________________________________________________________________________________.
•
• To help myself, the next time something like this happens, I will _________________________________
• ___________________________________________________________________________________.
•
• Student Signature:_______________________________Teacher/Adult_________________________
Apology Slip/ Better Behavior

14. Websites
• WEBSITES: recommended by Amie
Dean, Classroom Management Workshop
• www.behaviordoctor.org – my favorite website
for discipline ideas for EVERYONE and working
with
at risk or special need students. Many free books
under the “Booklets” tab on the right.
• www.newmanagement.com – download the
ClipChart e-book for free! LOVE IT!
• www.wholebrainteaching.com – amazing
management techniques – check Chris Biffle out
on
youtube to see exactly how to do it! I watched an
8 min video & had 5 strategies down pat. 

15. • www.jigsaw.org – explains Jigsaw
method
• www.teach-nology.com (rubric
maker & tons of free rubrics!)
• www.kaganonline.com
(Teachtimer, Hallway Pass, and Team
Timers)
• www.eduplace.com and
www.readingquest.org– free graphic
organizers
• www.Internet4classrooms.com –
AMAZING – lots of activities for every
standard you can imagine

16. • www.classdojo.com – FREE software
for tracking student behavior – clean,
simple, runs reports!
•
http://hill.troy.k12.mi.us/staff/bnewin
gham/myweb3/ - Beth Newingham’s
site on a Classroom
Economy with free downloads,
pictures, and video
• www.skillstreaming.com – Packaged
social skills program for 3 different age
groups – simple to use,
inexpensive, and research-based. I
used it & loved it.

17. • www.interventioncentral.org – many
academic and behavioral strategies
• www.PatQuinnResources.com –
more resources for RTI than you could
ever dream of!
• www.terryalderman.com – great
books that explain several of today’s
strategies plus many more!
•
http://www.igs.net/~cmorris/inventor
ies_on_mi.html list of online multiple
intelligence inventories

18. Books
• A Framework for Understanding Poverty by
Ruby Payne
• Teaching with Love and Logic by Jim Fay
• The First Days of School by Harry K. Wong
• Do You Know Enough About Me to Teach
Me? A Student’s Perspective by Stephen
Peters
• Rational Discipline by Terry Alderman
• Partners in Learning: from Conflict to
Collaboration in Secondary Classrooms,
by Carol Miller Lieber

19. Classroom Procedures
Manuel
Here is a link to a sample classroom
procedures manual given at a
workshop by Amie Dean at WCU.
http://www.wcu.edu/WebFiles/Clas
sroom_Procedure_Manual_1_Amie
_Dean.pdf

20. Free or Inexpensive Rewards for Individual Students
2011 Laura Riffel-Behavior Doctor Seminars-Permission to Copy-
Secondary Level
1. Adult volunteers to write a job recommendation for the student
2. All school party on the weekend with different venues for all interests:
(students with zero ODR’s get to
come) Have parents sponsor and chaperone:
a. Dance area
b. Basketball area
c. Game board area
d. Conversation pit
e. Graffiti wall (piece of sheetrock painted white with sharpies of various
colors)
f. Karaoke area
g. Computer animation area
3. Assisting Coach for any sport
4. Assisting PTO to develop ways to reward teachers who go out of their way
to help students
5. Call in to radio station and make a request and teacher plays station in the
classroom during appropriate
time.
6. Chance to go to grade school and teach students about a topic of interest
7. Choosing to do a PowerPoint for the class on a particular subject of
interest
8. Choosing what assignment the class does for homework
9. Designing theme for school dance, ice cream social, game night
10. Dress as the school mascot during a game
11. Earn the chance to apprentice on Saturday at a local store or business
12. Earning the chance to be the water/towel person at a sporting event
13. Earning the chance to do stagecraft for any school performance
(lights, stage design, props)
14. Earning the chance to scoreboard assist at a game
15. Eating lunch with a preferred adult

21. 16. Free entrance to a dance
17. Free entrance to a football, basketball, etc. game
18. Free library pass to research a topic of interest
19. Get to paint a ceiling tile to go in the hallway
20. Get a golf cart ride from the student parking lot up to the school
in the morning and then again at the end
of the day
21. Getting a postcard in the mail telling parents what teachers
admire most about their child
22. Getting picture on school poster about school expectations
23. Getting to apprentice at one of the business partners with the
school (grocery store, bank, etc.) on the
weekend.
24. Getting to buzz cut a design in the principal’s hair (custodian’s
hair)
25. Getting to cut the principal’s tie off (use loop to frame student’s
face on a bulletin board of fame)
26. Getting to duct tape the principal to the wall
27. Getting to listen to music during lunch
28. Getting to scoop food at the cafeteria for a lunch period (social
opportunity)
29. Getting to shoot a video about the school’s expectations to
show on CC TV
30. Getting to sit at a special table in the lunchroom with friends
31. Getting to stay after school and shoot hoops with a teacher of
choice or a few friends
32. Give students the template for a PowerPoint game (tons
available for free online) “Are You Smarter
Than a Fifth Grader”; “Who Wants to be a Millionaire”; “Jeopardy”
etc. Let them make up a review for
a test using the template.

22. 33. Hall pass to leave class 5 minutes early and go by the coldest water fountain ©2011 Laura Riffel-
Behavior Doctor Seminars-Permission to Copy-
34. Having the computer teacher teach special computer programming
skills (kids want to learn gaming
skills)
35. Help from an adult of choice on a class they are struggling with (Free
tutoring)
36. Homework free night
37. Learning how to do something of interest on the computer
(animation, graphics, CAD)
38. Learning how to play chess
39. Learning how to play sports even if they didn’t make the team
40. Learning how to run the light board or sound booth for a school
performance
41. Let student make a bulletin board in the front hall highlighting an
event of choice
42. Make the morning announcements
43. Office aid for a period
44. Opportunity to be part of a brainstorming adult team at the school
45. Opportunity to eat lunch outdoors at a special table
46. Opportunity to eat lunch with a parent or grandparent at a special
table
47. Opportunity to introduce the players over the PA during a home
game
48. Opportunity to shadow business owner for a day- credit for writing
about the experience
49. Opportunity to shadow the principal for an hour or the day
50. Opportunity to take care of lab animals in Science class
51. Opportunity to wear jeans instead of school uniform for a day
52. Principal grills hotdogs for students who have 0 tardies in the month
& this student helps
53. Privilege of leaving book in class overnight instead of having to lug to
locker

23. 54. Privilege of seeing embarrassing photo of adult that no one else
sees (Senior Portrait)
55. Put highlights in a willing teacher’s hair (pink, purple)
56. Reserved seating at a school play for student and five friends
57. Secret Wildcat (whatever your mascot is). This person watches
all day and then reports to front office
who had the best behavior witnessed in the school all day. That
student is announced at the end of the
day to come down for a 25 point gotcha. Keep the mystery spy a
secret.
58. Send home a postcard about positive things the student has
done this week
59. Serve as a student ambassador if visitors come to the school
60. Serving as a “page” for a local politician for the day
61. Serving as a door greeter for a parent night at school with a
badge of honor to wear
62. Singing karaoke during lunch (approved songs)
63. Sit at score table in basketball game
64. Sit in score box at a football game
65. Sitting in the teacher’s chair for the period
66. Special parking preference for a day (get to park in teacher’s
parking lot)
67. Special recognition at any school event- Guest DJ one song at
dance etc.
68. Special seating at lunch table with friends
69. Student gets to pick which problem the teacher will make a
freebie answer on homework
70. Student plans spirit week activity for one of the days (hat
day, sunglasses etc.)
71. Teacher aid for special needs classroom
72. Teaching special needs student how to play a game