Making the transition from middle school to elementary school has been different in a lot of ways. One of the most common questions I would get from students was “Where’s your treasure box?!” I had no idea what they were talking about, or why I even needed to have one! I was super skeptical at first, but I have come to love this method of positive behavior reinforcement. I even feel like the same idea can be used in middle and high school with some tweaks to the prizes.
I use a ticket system in my classroom, so whenever I see positive behavior, I have students put a ticket into a plastic fishbowl (similar to this one for under $10). I give tickets for a multitude of things like the first three students who get their textbook out and on the right page during a transition, or a student who goes out of the way to help another. My school does not allow food rewards, so when we play games like Kahoot and Blooket, I give tickets to the top three winners. Every Friday, I draw three names from the fishbowl and those students get to go to the treasure box to get a reward. I empty out the fishbowl to start fresh every Monday, but you could continue to keep the tickets in the bowl if you choose.
I hunted and hunted for what to put in this treasure box. I was seeing so much positive behavior in my classroom, and I wanted to make sure I was giving rewards the students actually loved. All of the rewards I picked are in our amazon storefront. So far, the student’s favorite items are the coupons, stickers for water bottles, and the fun pens.
Since my students loved the coupons so much, we made a FREE positive behavior coupon resource in our Teachers Pay Teachers Store!
So far, the treasure box has been a huge success in my classroom. Do you have one? What rewards do your students love for positive behavior?
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