When I was a new teacher, I always thought classroom incentives had to be a big deal and cost a lot of money, like a pizza party! As great as those are, I wanted to think outside of the box and come up with ideas that were free (or very cheap) but still things that my students would love.
Whenever it is time to vote on a new class reward, I let my students choose anything that follows these 3 rules:
- Free
- School Appropriate
- Did not distract us from learning the entire day.
I am always amazed at how many things they can think of, and over the years they helped me compile this list of 21 free classroom incentives that kids actually love.
1. Dance Party
All you need to do is throw on a couple of Go Noodle videos and your students will have a blast!
2. Extra Recess
My students will work really hard for an extra 10 minutes outside that the other 2nd graders didn’t have!
3. Story Time with
the Principal
Ask your principal if they are willing to come read a story to your class. It’s a BIG DEAL to have the principal come in!
4. Use a Pen for the Day
To a kid, a pen feels like a grown-up tool. It’s a fun and simple way to make them feel special and responsible.
5. Science Experiment
This can be as simple or as complicated as you’d like to make it. My students’ fav is the mentos and coke explosion!
6. Superhero Day
Let students come dressed as superheroes for the day! You can stick to your normal daily routine but if you want to make it extra special, you can check out these Superhero ELA & Math activities!
7. Directed Drawing
Art for Kids Hub on Youtube has so many super cute directed drawings that your students can follow along with.
8. Art Party
Just take out some art supplies and let them do their thing!
9. Pajama Day
Okay… pajama day is totally an incentive for me too! I love when my students vote on a pajama day!
10. Stuffed Animal Day
Let students bring their favorite ‘stuffy’ to class only if they promise that it is coming to class to learn for the day. Your students will be SO ENGAGED. This is always a class fav and it gets voted on a few times each year in my classroom. I created these Stuffed Animal Day Activities to make the day extra special!
11. Listen to Music While Working
Students can throw on some headphones and jam out or you can put on a Kidz Bop playlist so you can ensure the music will be school appropriate!
12. Hat Day
My school has a hat day once a month, but when my students get to wear a hat on a day besides that, they feel so special!
13. Show & Tell
You know the drill! If you want to keep it short and sweet you can give your students a sentence starter like “I brought ____. This is special to me because ____. “
14. Virtual Field Trip
This is feeling a little 2020 to me… but virtual field trips can still be so fun! Check out these Live Cameras at the San Diego Zoo!
15. Relay Race
I still love a good relay race! If you’re in a crunch for time, you can hold it at recess. (The recess you supervise of course, definitely not during your lunch break!)
16. Math Relay Race
You were already going to practice double-digit subtraction with regrouping. Add a few of those math problems to idea #15 and now you have a math relay race!
17. Scavenger Hunt
This takes a little some time to set up ahead of time, but you could always save the clues and use it again next year!
18. Free Choice
Set a timer for 15 minutes and give them a few options such as free draw, legos, iPads, take a nap, play school, or watch the show you have playing on Youtube. Easy.
19. Kahoot!
Kahoot is a fast-paced multiple choice game that can be about literally anything! You can align it to the learning target or do some fun holiday trivia! This is best for classrooms with access to 1:1 technology.
20. Karaoke
This is so fun to do and still entertaining for your students who are too shy to sing in front of the class!
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