New Ideas for Rewards

I love trying new strategies in my classroom.  Each group of students is unique and what works for one group won't necessarily work for the next.

Homework was a struggle this year, thus I used Ursula as a motivator.  

She worked well for some students but not for all.  I've had conferences, phone calls, and sent notes home.  Some students just won't do their homework and nightly reading, which is frustrating because the only person they end up hurting is themselves by hindering their progress.  I also realize as an educator, there are lots of things I can't control.  I can't go home with them and make sure they read.  I can't control their home life, I can just provide a supportive educational environment.

I found this great idea today:

What a fun whole-class reward!  Using a free scrabble font and card stock, I can easily create free rewards.  I could use scrabble tiles or have the student of the week pick a letter to shade.  There are lots of different ways I could reward students to have whole class buy in.  I'm excited to try this strategy next year!