I know this is a different kind of question from the usual stuff here.
Just some context I made an event that is similar to a stamp rally. Every time they ask me anything in English, I can give them a stamp on to their card. If they finish it they can get reward from me. The question is, what is better than just the usual sticker, that is not too expensive. I don’t mind making it, just as long as it feels better to receive it because they need at least two months of speaking to me finish the card.
I was thinking of badges or those mini picture key chains. Also these are junior highschool level kids
Can anyone suggest something else? Of course anything food related is out of the question. Thanks in advance.
27 comments
Most schools prohibit or at the very least greatly discourage giving students anything more than stickers. It doesn’t matter if it’s out of pocket or not. If you truly want to do something draw a picture of their choosing on the back of the card if you have to do the rally.
I have a sheet of paper with different English speaking countries on it that is an “English passport” if students do very well on a test or assignment or win a game/activity in a group/pairs, I will stamp it. They don’t get anything if completed but they like collecting the various cute stamps I have.
Bigger shinier stickers
In the past, I have played games with points. For example, asking questions for points. The winning team gets to skip the next quiz or doesn’t have to do homework.
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I tended to use these when doing spot checks for knowledge or answering questions from the book/text/video we were watching
Make a ‘gold’ version of the card that they upgrade to
Knew a teacher who made, printed and laminated bookmarks that were very popular with the students. Depends on how cheap your school is with the color printing and lamination, though.
If you’re good at drawing, maybe prepare a bunch in advance, sign it. Kids go crazy about having their teacher’s autograph.
Supaballs?
I make my own original stickers! You don’t even have to be good at drawing, in fact I think students might really enjoy if it’s an ugly or silly design, as long as it’s original, maybe with a reference to you or the school, they will get WAY more hype than with a usual sticker. Especially if you emphasize that you handmade them, and there’s only a limited amount. (Whether that’s true or not lol) Once a student was so excited she won a special sticker game that she cried 😂. I just make the design into a png, duplicate it multiple times in a word file, and print it onto a (NOT pre-cut) “label” sheet via a normal printer. Then I use the school cutter to cut them into squares (you don’t wanna cut out a ton of complicated edges by hand, I learned the hard way lol) Although it would be a bit expensive if you have to pay for the ink/seal paper out of pocket, so I always bug my school until they order some for me 😂
(I also made some stickers that were part of a bigger design, and would give them randomly, like a gatcha, so they had to get many to try to collect 4 and complete the design)
I like drawing. So I used to draw a bunch of different characters on cards saying ‘well done’ etc. The kids loved it.
Sign it
The are these clear plastic sheets, that you draw on with any permanent marker, stick it in the toaster-oven for like a minutes and it shrinks down and the sheet becomes rigid. Made a keychain with a caricature of myself.
Are you any good at drawing?
>that is not too expensive
Have you tried Daiso? They usually have various little toys and knick knacks although I haven’t been in a while so I can’t think of anything specific. Or maybe Pencils and Erasers with different characters on them?
use a point system. reward hard work, correct answers, completed homework. punish the usual miscreants by deducting points. put it up on the board for all to see. give the winner an extra sticker or let them choose from a special set of stickers.
I had two levels of stickers. Basic ones that were like an apple, a star, a heart, a smiley face. Very small, like fingernail sized. Then there were the “premium” stickers. Sparkly big ones, Disney, Thomas the Tank Engine, Dinosaurs, Sentai, etc. Those were always huge winners.
My school bought an American gumball machine and I smuggled in about 80 quarters. I was surprised just how hard kids would work to get a gumball.
Praise.
Pennies were a big hit for me and about as cheap as you can get.
I am a narcissist, so I made collectible money with my face on it. Each year there was a theme, with six different variations. Hairstyles, helmets, masks etc. You could easily print off hundreds of them and it made it fun to try and collect all 6.
Some kids couldn’t give two shits, but whatever. Others loved getting them.
Two memories:
One of my best memories was a JHS kid who really wasn’t that good at English, but he wanted them so bad that he would always try his best. He came in one day looking super depressed and it turns out his mum had washed his pants with all his money in it. Needless to say I sorted him out.
Second one; I had decided not to bother doing them one year, and in my intro lesson for first year kids, one girl asked “how do we get your money?” I asked her how she knew about it and she said her big sister had gotten some and told her about it, which was very sweet. That was when corona came as well, so nothing really happened that year, but at the end of the year I made a limited edition customised bill, signed just for her. She was the only kid who got money that year.
I also have a caricature of my face that I do with my signature on their stuff, and they seem to like that.
You’re own special hanamaru and hyakuten they love it
You could let the kid choose an English game to play? Or choose the next type of activity for the class? I think that would be fun and not cost anything
Ok whoever said “super balls” is totally correct . But next is flavored chapstick!!! Not my idea. Learned it from a much better teacher than me but yes. Go on Amazon and buy a flavor multipack. When you want to reward kids, (no…. Don’t put it on their lips) put a little swipe on the back of their hand. They love it, they love smelling it, especially if you make them guess the flavor.
How about those scented erasers or the character shaped ones? There are so many different kinds and they aren’t expensive.
Sloppy toppy
Origami
I would advise exploring ways to make your class exciting or interesting without having to give prizes. The giving of stickers, prizes, and rewards is an often recommended ‘easy’ way to control classes or make them fun, but it often ends up as ‘bribery’ by inexperienced teachers. There is significant research that shows giving prizes can actually DECREASE student motivation.
Here’s a bit of reading if you’re interested:
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Lepper, M. R., Greene, D., & Nisbett, R. E. (1973). Undermining children’s intrinsic interest with extrinsic reward: A test of the” overjustification” hypothesis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 28(1), 129-137.
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Deci, E. L., Ryan, R. M., & Koestner, R. (2001). The Pervasive Negative Effects of Rewards on Intrinsic Motivation: Response to. Review of Educational Research, 71(1), 43-51.
I have never given stickers. If I was checking their work or they were coming to me to practice speaking English, I would draw different smily faces on their paper. IF it was a workbook then I would draw one on the back of their workbook. It got to a point hwere they wouldn’t leave until I drew one. It was a simple face that I would change depending on the seasons. A mini snowman to a jackolantern. Kids loved it. Five schools of kids not a single one not loving them.