Category: Management

I really wish that I had used this strategy since year one.. but I didn’t until year five!! It is so simple and positive. I got both my tickets and fishbowls from Amazon. I have five different class periods, so I use five different fishbowls. I let students write their names on tickets for positive actions such as participation, being kind, or a great explanation for a strategy. I have my students sit in groups, so sometimes if one table is extra great, everyone at that table can have a ticket. We use IXL for math, and if they get a smart score of 90, I let them have a ticket. I think you get the point- there are many reasons you can award a ticket.

Right now through virtual learning, I am awarding tickets for students who receive a specific SmartScore on IXL math for skillsI have assigned. I am then drawing a ticket for who gets a pizza delivered to their house! So tickets can even be engaging through distance learning.

On Friday’s I pull tickets for candy. (You can of course draw for whatever incentive you want!) Last year I started by only drawing 5 tickets per class period. But as the year went on, I pulled as many as I wanted. I kept the tickets in for 9 weeks since we have four 9-week grading periods. At the start of a new grading period I throw them away and start over. So towards the end of a grading period when there was a LOT in there, I drew plenty.. say 15 or so. My 7th graders love this. They remind me if I forget and they would ask every Friday like clockwork if I was drawing!! I would also tell a substitute that they could tell students to put their name in the ticket jar as a little trick for their sleeve.

This is a very versatile idea. If you teach elementary grades where you don’t change classes, you could have a fishbowl for each table or group. If you use a house system in your classroom, you could have one per house. Or of course, you could have one fishbowl and that’s it.

How would you use this in your classroom? I would love to know!

I recently shared on my teacher IG account about how my coworker shared an (amazing) idea about using Instagram as a theme for classroom management- & now I want literally everyone to know about this! Basically each class period develops their handle. They REALLY like this. My last class didn’t make the pic but they are called little chicken wings. (: The goal is for each class to get 10 likes. I give likes for being awesome, everyone working on the bellringer when the bell rings, being good for a sub, showing kindness, working well in groups, leaving the room clean at the end of the class period, etc. The key here is that the classes aren’t necessarily competing against each other- whoever gets to 10 first is great, but everyone else keeps going as the winner then gets to start over. I do this because we know there is that one class that would NEVER get there first and would totally lose interest. I have uploaded the templates for the IG theme free here if you want to print/laminate them for your board like I did. They are taped for now on my whiteboard- I will eventually do velcro when I have time haha!

When I posted this on IG, a lot of people wanted to know the incentives. I will start by saying some teachers may not want to use food/tangible items. That is totally fine- you do what works for you! I have a mixture of tangible/non-tangible items on a wheel from Amazon. However there are free virtual ones you can Google if you want! Here are my rewards:

• Seating choice (I normally assign seats)
• ice cream sandwiches
• popcorn + candy
• Game Time (Uno, board games, etc. last 15-20 min of class)
• 15 min phone break (We are a no-phone school now so if we allow them to do this as a reward it’s a big deal bc it’s pretty rare!)
• Chips
• Go outside to work for the class period
• Netflix Time (Last part of the period)
• cookies + coke
• Little Debbies
• Donuts
• Teacher’s Choice!

I want to ad that my 7th graders LOVE this. I was worried if they would buy in, but they totally do. This could also be used even if you don’t swap classes or if you want to do table groups, etc. What incentives do your students like!? I would love to know!

If you are looking for other classroom management strategies for secondary classrooms, head over to Lindsay Bowden’s post!!

I am THAT teacher that truly & honestly HATES being absent!!! It does not matter what the reason is for.. I just hate being out. Over the years I have two incentives that I always stick with when I have a sub and I wanted to share those with you!

My first tip is to leave substitute coupons!! These are free from Mrs. D’s Corner when you make a free account for her resource library! These definitely have more of a primary look, but if you teach older students I would simply suggest making a coupon with a more mature look. I think students of any age would want these!! Ideas for a reward: HW pass, 5 bonus points on lowest grade, CANDY, extra free time, lunch with a friend, chew gum in class, etc. The possibilities are endless.

So the coupon is definitely an individual thing, which I like. My second tip is more of a whole class incentive. I have a puff ball jar and we get a puff ball for things such as 100% attendance, class compliment, etc. If a REALLY good note is left by the sub I give 5 puff balls. You can adjust the amount as you wish. When it is filled we do something like donuts, pizza, extra free time, etc. I even did this when I taught two 3rd grade classes- I just had 2 jars.

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What are your tips for good behavior incentives with a sub!?