Homework & Rewards

It was a dark and stormy night...oh wait, it wasn't, I just couldn't sleep and it was 3am and I figured why not check out Pinterest to see what's going on. And there it was...a fun solution to a homework predicament that I've been having.

Back Story: getting 6th graders to complete homework is sometimes the most challenging thing in the world. They think they know how to play the system (i.e. my computer didn't work last night, I didn't understand, I think my mom threw it away...yep). Unfortunately they don't realize that they were placed with a teacher who doesn't buy any of those excuses, especially when I give them multiple resources for continuing to work THROUGH the problem, not give up on it.

Anyway, for those students who need a little more motivation I don't mind giving positive rewards. Yes, I believe that students shouldn't expect a  physical reward as a motivator to do what's expected, but some students really do need them in order to build good habits. This year I am going to do this:

The idea came from this pin from The Nest Effect and she has some wonderful ideas. Vistaprint.com is a site that I've used before but never like this. It took me 10 minutes to create my cute owl cards. You will get 250 for free (assuming you don't mind the website promo on the back, I don't and the kids won't notice). You just pay the $6 for shipping. I want to spend some time looking at her behavior cards too, with a bit of rewording they could easily work for 6th graders.

A few initial thoughts: I'll need to spend time explaining the process and procedures for using/losing/turning in. I also want the students to brainstorm rewards options WITH me so that I know what will help encourage good routines for them. And finally, I need to order more scratch and sniff stickers..yep, that's right, love them!

I hope that your back to school planning is going well. Don't stress, it all falls into place. But I wouldn't hold off until the week before school (especially if you want to order these, it does take about 2 weeks to get them in). Happy planning everyone, and if you need some encouragement or specific ideas I'm happy to help. You can also check out my Classroom Pins from Pinterest if you'd like.