Hey y'all! I am popping in today to share a quick little post about how I do PBIS rewards in the classroom. Maybe you're at a school that has recently adopted the PBIS model and you're wondering how other teachers manage the classroom level rewards...or maybe you're just looking for an EASY rewards management system that won't make you go broke and doesn't require much extra effort. Sound too good to be true? It's not!
Let me start by saying that I have been at PBIS schools ever since I started teaching 13 years ago. I've been at 3 different schools, but my approach has been exactly the same since my 3rd year of teaching. If you didn't know, PBIS stands for Positive Behavior Intervention & Support. There is a lot to "being" a PBIS school, but it boils down to teaching clear and specific expectations for behavior and then rewarding the appropriate behaviors when they occur. Part of the model requires that we have rewards at both the classroom level and at the school level. Our PBIS team at school plans the school-wide rewards (which occur monthly), but it's up to individual teams and teachers how they choose to do their class rewards. We are required to turn in a plan at the beginning of the year explaining how we will do rewards throughout the year at least weekly in the classroom.
PBIS also requires that we use a schoolwide "currency" with which to reward kids. Our school has chosen to use ClassDojo, which suits me just fine because I have been using ClassDojo for years! We all share the same set of positive and negative behaviors across the school so that the PBIS team can analyze data in their meetings. In previous schools, we've used paper "bucks" (PAW bucks, school dollars, etc.) as our currency. I much prefer Dojo points because the app allows me to keep up with it effortlessly! I might do another post soon about Class Dojo and how we use it at our school and in the classroom. Basically, throughout the week students earn Dojo points for showing appropriate behaviors. Then, on Friday they are supposed to get to cash their points in for some kind of a reward.
Some teachers in my school choose to do a treasure box or reward their students with popsicles, pencils, and stickers. That's totally fine and I don't have a problem with that! Except...those things are funded out of the teacher's pocket. And don't get me wrong-I spend a ton of money on my classroom. Glue sticks, crayons, books...so much of my paycheck flows right back into the classroom! I just don't love the idea of buying stuff constantly to stock a treasure chest (and I don't really love it when my own personal child brings home the little junky stuff from school!). So, I created a different system that doesn't require constant re-stocking AND makes my teacher life better. It's a win-win! What do I do instead of tangible rewards? Well, instead of stuff, my kids earn "Fun Friday time". These are high-interest, non-academic centers (read: toys) that they can pick from to play with for a predetermined amount of time. Here are some of the things that I have available for them to choose from:
- Lincoln Logs
- Legos
- Dinosaurs (a tub that is similar to this one)
- Squiz blocks (suction toys that can be strung together in interesting ways)
- Zoob building toys (like these-the kids can make different vehicles)
- Play-Doh (and I also have decorating tools, stampers, etc. for this center)
- Duplo blocks
- Magna-Tiles
- Puzzles (they especially love this HopScotch mat!)
I used to have kitchen toys (play food/tea party set/etc.) but they disappeared in one of my classroom moves. :(
I also let them color with markers and sometimes I put out watercolors, too. Technology is also always a choice (computers) but interestingly very few of them choose it except when the other centers are full!
Here are a few pictures I found on my phone of "Fun Friday" in action!
The students LOVE Fun Friday time. They think it is just the best. Here are a few notes about management:
1.) I only allow 2-3 kids per center. Ideally it would only be 2. The noise level is much quieter and there are less conflicts to iron out with only a couple of kids in each group. The computer center can have more since we usually have 5 or 6 laptops in our room and Play-Doh can also hold more students if needed.
2.) Since there is a limit to how many kids can go in each center, it is in a student's best interest to rack up as many Dojo points as possible. The kids who have the most points get to pick first and once a center is "full," that's it!
3.) I allow them to swap centers as long as there is an open spot. If this becomes an issue, we don't swap.
4.) The best part is during this 30-45 minutes on Fridays I can have a few minutes to progress monitor, clear off my desk, or accomplish other teacherly things because the students are completely engrossed in what they are doing. It is a great time for me to straighten up a little and get my mind clear for the weekend and the week ahead!
5.) PBIS time is recorded in our lesson plans on Friday (under Social Studies).
6.) The only way a child does not get to participate is if they earned zero Dojo points that week. That never happens because everyone usually gets at least a couple of points. However, if they earned negative Dojo points they have to come chat with me or my para first to discuss their choices for that week. Since they will be last to pick, they have fewer options.
7.) At the beginning of the year I teach them that pretty much anything goes during Fun Friday except they cannot get too loud and I expect them to work out their own issues. Individual groups get 1 warning about noise/bickering/etc. and after that they have to clean up if they can't resolve their issues. I have very few problems during Fun Friday as a result! No one wants to give up any of their play time so they will exert peer pressure on one another to play quietly and to handle their problems.
8.) I did not spend much AT ALL on the center materials. Most have been donated to my classroom! When I first started doing this more than a decade ago I let it be known that I would take any donations of Legos, blocks, building toys, etc. to put into my classroom. Then, about 4 years ago I wrote a DonorsChoose proposal and got some building toys that I had been wanting (the Squiz, car building kit, Magna Tiles, etc.). Prior to that proposal getting funded, though, I just put out more art materials and extra literacy station materials like magnet letters and they had 3-4 kids per group instead of just 2.
So there you have it! This is my no-stress approach to having classroom rewards that doesn't require a ton of money or set-up on my part. After the first couple of Fun Fridays of the year the free choice center time pretty much runs itself and it is heavenly. I would encourage anyone who is looking for a low-maintenance approach to classroom rewards to try it this way! If you do, let me know how it goes!
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