Classroom Reward Coupons

Keeping students motivated and engaged is essential for a successful classroom. I have found that one of the best ways to encourage positive behavior and reward hard work is by using classroom reward coupons. These incentives are perfect for your classroom management routine, loved by students, and best of all, they won’t cost you a thing!

Why Use Reward Coupons?

 Reward coupons are an effective way to motivate students because they:

• Encourage positive behavior: Most children are motivated by positive words over negative words, just like you and me!
• Provide a fun incentive: Students will love working towards earning reward coupons! With so many options, there’s something for everyone.
• Offer a cost-effective solution for teachers: Reward coupons are virtually free! When you use this kit, you won’t need to spend extra cash on prize box items. 99% of the rewards are no-cost!
• Work with any classroom management system: Whether you use tickets, Class-Dojo, a clip chart, or a stoplight system, reward coupons will work for you!

Setting Up Your Reward Coupons

If you’re thinking about implementing these classroom reward coupons into your behavior management plan, here are a few set-up ideas.

First, you’ll need to prepare the rewards.

I suggest laminating the color copies of each reward for durability. You can print the black & white copies on your favorite colored paper. These are the copies students can take when they choose their reward, and your display will stay intact.

Next, organize the coupons.

You can display the classroom reward coupons in a pocket chart. I use a square black calendar pocket chart with individual pockets, but it can be any regular chart that suits your classroom.

Place your laminated color copies of the coupons in the pocket chart. Then place the black & white copies of each coupon either behind or below the laminated color copies.

You can also use an acrylic business card stand to display the reward coupons. Set it up the same way, with the durable color copies in front, and the black & white copies behind.

Last, decide reward coupon value.

You will need to decide how much each coupon is worth:

• Will they all be worth the same amount? Using a ticket system as an example, once students earn 10 tickets they can pick any coupon on the board. If they’ve saved up 20 tickets, they can choose any two coupons on the board.
• Will some rewards be harder to get than others? Again using a ticket system as an example, some coupons might be worth 10 tickets, while others are worth 25 or even 50. Students must save up tickets to grab a “better” coupon. Or, if they’ve saved up 40 tickets, they can choose a coupon worth 10, and another worth 30.

There are value cards included in this set for ticket, point, and dollar amounts in increments of 5.

*Teacher Tip*

Don’t put all the coupons out at once! I like to keep a set of “all the time” rewards out, and then leave some of the others as “pop up” rewards. Change those special coupons out occasionally, like once a month or twice a quarter. This will keep your reward board fresh and your students eager to earn tickets so they can grab the reward/s they want!

Shopping for Rewards

When students have earned enough for a reward, allow them to “shop” for their coupons. Choose a block of time on a Friday for students to add up their tickets and go shopping. I like to do it during morning work or right after lunch, that way I can ensure that we won’t run out of time at the end of the day. Teach your class how to approach the coupon display: one or two at a time, in class number order, by table, etc.

Once kids have chosen then coupon/s, they can return to their spot and put it somewhere safe until they are ready to turn them in!

How I Use Classroom Reward Coupons

My reward coupons work with a variety of classroom and behavior management plans. I use a ticket system, where students can earn tickets throughout the day and week for different positive actions. They are responsible for keeping their tickets safe until it’s ready to turn them in for a reward coupon. I like to use poly envelopes for storing tickets and coupons. They are more durable than paper envelopes.

There are many ways to earn tickets each day. Following directions, using neat handwriting, helping others, cleaning up after themselves… these are all good examples of ticket-giving opportunities. It is ultimately up to you as the teacher to decide what qualifies and how often to hand out tickets, but I say, the more the merrier!

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