As a VIPKID teacher, choosing the perfect reward system for the next day can be daunting. You print and gather and soon have a messy classroom and feel no more prepared for the next day of class. It’s OK – we all started in the same place! After 3 years teaching ESL online I now have a full year of reward systems planned and ready to go. Today I’ll share my planning approach and share a free printable so that you can get organized for September.
SEASONAL BACKGROUND
To get ready for September, the first step for my classroom is a seasonal background. I use an oil drip pan like this one. I sprayed it with matte spray paint to avoid glare from my classroom lighting. I attached it to the wall using heavy duty velcro command strips. About once a year I touch up the paint but it has been a game changer.
The whiteboard, teacher name, and feedback sign stay in place all year. I add these easy seasonal letters to keep my background seasonal and I change them once a month. They can work as flashcards and props while keeping my classroom organized and seasonal.
Print your full-year set today. Cut, laminate, add magnets on the back and never be scrambling for a seasonal classroom decor solution again. I would love to see a picture of these letters in your classroom – tag me on Instagram @cookfamilyresources.
SEASONAL
Next, I choose a seasonal reward for each week of the month.
WEEK 1
I will be using this Build A Scene Reward System. We begin with a background inside a classroom setting. In this reward system, every 5 minutes when the student earns a star or a gem in the classroom I add a school supply to their desk. We get a chance to add some vocabulary words to the lesson and also have a natural way to talk about how the start of the school year has been going so far.
WEEK 2
It’s time to start talking about the Mid-Autumn Festival! Ask your student how they will be celebrating, who they will be celebrating with, and what they will be eating. Do they make the mooncakes or do they buy them? Using this Build A Scene Reward System helps me inspire and invite my student to share their excitement for the upcoming holiday.
WEEK 3
In week 2 I focus on the traditions of the holiday but in Week 3 we talk about the mooncakes themselves. Sometimes my family travels to a local market to get mooncakes and then I bring them to class to ask my students questions about them. This simple reward system offers students of all levels an interactive choice but still allows us the space to talk about which flavor of mooncake they prefer.
WEEK 4
While I love to build scenes, in this reward system, I remove a piece of the leaf pile every five minutes to reveal a mystery picture. I love to ask students about raking leaves and jumping in leaves and if they wear a scarf in the fall. If conversation topics are getting stale with your regular students, I suggest trying seasonal rewards. The picture of the day can frame wonderful, rich discussions with ease.
STAPLES
After I prepare a seasonal reward for each week, I choose a staple reward for each week. These are tried and true reward systems that work for all ages and genders. I can them to use expand upon our conversation about them easily for the students who need that and I can add them to my whiteboard quickly for students who need to keep moving through the content slides.
WEEK 1
Let’s build a Lego Man! For lower-level students, we can talk about body parts and make connections to our own bodies and stuffed animals. For upper-level students, they can often share if they enjoy building, what they build, and who they enjoy building with.
WEEK 2
Ping Pong Man is goofy and makes even the most serious students smile. I love to talk to students about if they have ever won an award and if they call this sport Ping Pong or Table Tennis. Some years we get to talk about the Summer Olympics as well and one year a student shared the names of some specific athletes which was quite a treat.
WEEK 3
I give students a choice every 5 minutes of which body part they want to add. Some students will end with 5 mouths and no eyes! We have a lot of great conversations about the position of each item when I use this reward system. I love to place the arms and legs in the wrong space as well. Students love to tell their teacher that they are wrong and I love watching them use the English that they know to construct that sentence. I often place a piece of my choice as well as a piece of the student’s choice when we stop for a star or a gem and that can create a nice change from the way we usually do rewards in my classroom.
WEEK 4
This build a bug reward system was one of the first rewards I bought as a new teacher and I have never regretted it. Students can choose a head, a body, wings, and legs. At the end I have them choose eyes because we can laugh about where to place them.
STRETCH
Finally, I add a type of reward system that I’ve never used before. Maybe I saw a great idea on Facebook or Instagram. I’m nervous, not knowing if it will work well in my classroom. Every month I choose one to try. Maybe I can practice it with a regular student who is ready for a twist or with an upper-level student who I know has enough English language that we can work through any bumps in the road with a bit of extra incidental language. Although using a stretch reward is harder for my mind as a teacher during class, sometimes it pays off and I find a new favorite to add to my rotation.
This foam mat is from Dollar Tree and I keep things VERY simple by drawing 5 stars or gems behind numbers with a whiteboard marker. I added my favorite magnets to the back of the foam squares and had an easy, versatile reward system at the ready. Mix up the order of the numbers one day! Draw pictures other than stars another day! Hide small 2D rewards under squares that don’t have stars! This month I’m going to see how my students like the Find A Star genre because I know many teachers find success with it and I don’t use it very often.
I keep my September decor and rewards all in one box. Each week on my desk you will see my trial props and rewards (I never put them away), a seasonal reward, a staple reward, and a stretch reward. At the end of the weekend, I can put 3 rewards back into the box and take out the next 3.
Print out your FREE September organizer and fill in your favorite rewards. Laminate the chart and write on it with a wet-erase marker so that you can change your plan over the years as needed. If you take 10 minutes once a month to make these boxes, your future self will thank you next year when you don’t have to print anything new or think what you will use for class tomorrow.
Are you a teacher who prefers Digital rewards? Teacher Dawn has a great idea for a FREE digital reward option for your September classroom. Subscribe to her channel for great digital teaching tips for both GoGoKid and VIPKID.
