Student Rewards
Eat Right Philly supports teachers in finding ways to reward students without providing food or withholding physical activity, as those practices may instill lifelong unhealthy habits among students and are not advised by SDP’s Wellness Policy.
Try these fun ideas and activities next time you want to recognize your students’ achievements and behaviors, or as a way to increase participation and engagement!
Classroom-Wide Activities
BINGO
Create your own Bingo cards using this website or try one of these wellness-oriented ones!
'WHO AM I?'
Challenge students to use descriptive language to help their classmates guess who or what they are describing. Chosen students provide clues; ie. what fruit/vegetable am I holding; what historical figure am I dressed as; what is my favorite book?
EXTRA RECESS
Reward the class with an extra recess block!
SCAVENGER HUNT
Use this as a movement break between subjects or create the scavenger list to correspond with a lesson. For example, “find an object that was invented before World War I”!
STUDENT ACTIVITY GROUPS
Allow students to join a group of interest (e.g., sports, board games, music, etc). You can reward students for good behavior by having 15 minute breakout Zoom room sessions or classroom circles for these groups to meet.
VIRTUAL FIELD TRIPS
Take your students on a virtual trip! Celebrate by “going” to Disney world or take your science class on a zoo outing!
SHOW AND TELL
Allow students to bring in a favorite object or piece of clothing. Use students’ personal stories to enhance a lesson!
DRESS DOWN
This can be a classroom or school-wide celebration for holidays, birthdays, or great classroom behavior!
DANCE PARTY
Planned or spontaneous, everyone loves a dance break!
MYSTERY READER
Pick a day/time for your class to have a surprise staff member come in to read to your class.
ESCAPE ROOM CHALLENGES
Try out this tricky Harry Potter Escape Room; divide into breakout rooms to create competition!
FOODPLAY
Make nutrition come alive with FoodPlay Productions’ fun-filled videos.
CREATIVE PLAY
Allow students free time to journal, sketch, color - whatever creative activity they choose!
EXTRA LUNCH
Reward the class with 15 minutes of extra lunch time!
Individual Student Recognition
AWARD CEREMONY
Celebrate your students with an award ceremony. You can create certificates on Canva and announce winners during class. Make sure to encourage acceptance speeches! This can be done virtually too!
STUDENT SHOW-OFF
Has a student been performing exceptionally well in a subject? Share their work with the class! With their permission, read aloud an essay, or just give them a shoutout for a high score on a math test.
LEAD A MOVEMENT BREAK
Choose a student who has been particularly engaged to help choose and lead a movement break for the class. Or let them be the Teacher’s Helper for the day!
INVITE A "GUEST" INTO THE CLASSROOM
Allow students’ parents/siblings/cousins to pop into their classroom or through a quick Zoom call for a moment!
MEET WITH PRINCIPAL
Allow the student(s) with the highest attendance or best behavior to participate in this special opportunity!
HOMEWORK PASS
Create homework passes for students to earn and use as they please.
PRINCIPAL SHOUT-OUT
Let administration know who is thriving in your classroom! Feature a special student in the weekly principal announcements.
FLIP THE CLASSROOM
Allow a group of students to be the teacher for a day (pick the lesson and maybe even teach some of it!)
SHARE A VIDEO OR SONG
Give the student an opportunity to share their personal tastes and interests with the class.