Are you and your students tired of the traditional movie reward party? Mix it up and make working toward rewards more motivating for your students by trying these 10 awesome reward parties for your classroom.
10 Reward Parties for Your Classroom
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Do you have a whole class reward system for your classroom? My students always enjoy working toward to common goal. However, it’s often hard to come up with new ideas for rewards.
I’ve used a lot of different behavior management systems over the years. I use Class Dojo to give my students individual points for making good choices. They trade those points in for special rewards, like bringing in a stuffed animal or sitting at my desk for the day.
I also like to have a whole class reward. One whole class reward I’ve used is class vs. teacher. When we get through a lesson without wasting any time or we have a really good transition from one lesson to another, the class earns a point. When I have to wait for my students to stop talking during a lesson or a transition takes too long, I get a point. On days when they have more points than me, they earn a letter toward their whole class reward. When they spell out a whole sentence, they earn the reward.
At the beginning of the year, we spelled out the sentences, “We earned lunch in the classroom.” and “We earned a movie in the classroom.” My students earn the whole class reward about once a month, so I wanted some new ideas.
Here are 10 awesome reward parties for your classroom.
#1 – Art Party
My students always love art class, but they only have it once every 6 days. They enjoy it when I’m able to incorporate art into our lessons, but unfortunately, that doesn’t happen as often as they’d like.
That’s why they love having an art party so much! I choose an art project that we can do in about an hour. I show my students an example of how to do the project and let them get to work.
The How to Teach Art to Children book from Evan-Moor has 96 different art projects for grades 1-6. Each one has step-by-step directions, and there are even lessons about different famous artists to incorporate into the party.
#2 – Origami Party
The origami party could be grouped in with the art party, but my students love this one so much that I wanted to keep it separate. You can get 200 pages of origami paper really inexpensively, and it will keep your students engaged for the whole party.
There are all levels of difficulty for origami projects. You can print different options and allow your students to choose which ones they want to try. You can also find lots of amazing videos on YouTube to walk your students through the steps.
#3 – Dance Party
A dance party is another fun way to reward your students. You can teach them choreography to a song or you can put on dance videos from Go Noodle for your dance party.
You could even break your class into groups and have them come up with a dance for a song. Then, you could have a presentation of the dances.
#4 – Language Party
My students love it when I speak in Spanish during lessons. They are always trying to get me to use it more during class. That’s why I decided to add a Spanish party to our list of reward options.
I labeled things around the classroom with their names in Spanish. I also chose a topic for the party – colors. We looked at items that were all different colors and learned to name the colors in Spanish. My students had so much fun practicing the new words, and by the end of the party, they all knew a few new words.
You can have a language party with any language you know. You could even invite a student who speaks a different language to teach the class some words in that language.
#5 – Kickball Party
My students also love gym. However, they only get to have gym as a special once every six days. That’s why they love playing a sport for our reward parties.
My school has a kickball field next to the playground. That’s why I choose kickball instead of another sport. Any sport will work, though.
#6 – Technology Party
Normally, my students aren’t allowed to have phones or any electronics at school. That’s why earning a technology party is such a special reward. They are allowed to bring electronics to school for the day.
Students who don’t have an electronic get to use their Chromebooks during the party. This is one of my students’ favorite parties!
#7 – STEM Party
I try to incorporate STEM into my regular lessons, but with scripted programs for most subjects, it’s often hard to find time for STEM. That’s why I give STEM activities as a choice for our classroom reward parties.
The STEM Lessons and Challenges book from Evan-Moor has 15 different activities that tie into your science curriculum. Your students will love designing things and testing their results.
Find out about our anemometer STEM challenge.
#8 – Board Game Party
Students always enjoy playing games. Allow them to bring board games from home. I have my students play one game for about 15 minutes. Then, they move to a different game. That gives them the opportunity to try more than one game.
#9 – Unlock the Box Party
My students love doing Unlock the Box Mysteries so much! They beg to do them all the time. We do them a lot for our holiday parties, but they are also great for any reward parties.
Just put a prize in a locked box, and give your students the clues. They will work together with their group to solve the clues and unlock the box.
#10 – Cooking Party
Find a quick and easy recipe that your students can make. They can practice reading the directions and measuring the ingredients.
Gingerbread houses are lots of fun around the holidays, and dirt pudding cups are great if you’re teaching a unit on plants.
What Do You Think?
What are your favorite reward parties to use in your classroom?
Let me know in the comments below.
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