7 Essential Secondary Rewards for Online Teaching
Whether you’re working for GOGOKID, DaDaABC, VIPkid, or some other online teaching company, most teaching sites want you to encourage your students with secondary rewards besides the gems or stars provided within the program. Even if your company doesn’t require a secondary reward, done right, a secondary reward can give your students more motivation and more reasons to use their English. I probably have about fifty printable rewards that I use with my students, but I often find myself using the same favorites over and over again, so I thought I’d share them here.
I have put some of these up on Teachers Pay Teachers, so if you want to buy them from me, you can, but all of these you can either make yourself, or I have provided links to free options as well.
1. Ice cream
Yes, it’s basic, but also it works. Show students two colors of ice cream and have them pick which one they want. You can also ask students to count how many scoops they have in order to practice their counting. If you’ve done this reward one too many times, try adding funny things to the ice cream to keep your students’ interest. Got a printed tomato? Ask them if they want tomato ice cream. Or octopus ice cream or a triangle. Any funny printable that you have on hand can be added to make some hilarious ice cream combinations.
I use this one from Homeschooling on a Dime.
2. Build a Robot
The concept is simple, but hilarious. Cut out the various body parts of the robot. I print it on card stock, so it lasts longer. Then use sticky tack or tape, magnets, or Velcro to put the robot together. You can ask your students if the eyes should go on the robot’s leg or if his arms should go on his head. It’s a fun and funny way to practice body parts.
I’ve put this super cute reward up on Teachers Pay Teachers if you are interested in buying it from me.
I also have a more basic version of this reward available for FREE called “Build a Monster” on Teachers Pay Teachers.
3. Superhero Puzzle
I have a lot of students who like superheroes. Superman seems to be a big favorite, but I wasn’t sure how to make it into a reward. Then it occurred to me… puzzles! Simply find a big, clear picture of a superhero on google, print him out, cut him out in the shape of a puzzle, then slowly put him or her together with your student’s help during class. You can practice words like “up, down” and “left, right” as your students direct you where to put the various puzzle pieces.
4. Anything with a Funny Face
You can go the classic emoji route with a reward like this from The 4×6 Store at Teachers Pay Teachers.
Or if your kids are sick of emojis…
Why not try some cute pandas which you can buy from my Teachers Pay Teachers store?
Or even some cute monsters.
You can practice shapes while making funny faces with these rewards.
5. Flower Tree
Similar to the ice cream reward, anything that requires students to make a choice, tends to be a hit, and with these twelve different colored flowers, your students will have plenty of choices. I love this reward because it’s so brightly colored. I was wary to use it with boys at first because it is flowers after all, but the bright colors seem to transcend gender stereotypes and my boy students love picking the brightly colored flowers for their reward tree too.
Buy it here from my store on Teachers Pay Teachers.
And if you don’t want to buy this reward from me, then just use some flowers from around your house! Realia is a great way to keep students engaged. Pick some flowers from your garden and add them to a vase. Or if you have fake flowers lying around, use those.
6. Counting Puzzles
Pre K Autism has some great counting puzzles which make for some awesome online rewards. I love that there are tons of characters that students recognize, but the counting aspect of the puzzles also offers some challenge, especially for those younger students. Leave the counting part of the puzzle intact and cut out the image part. Then show students a part of the image and ask them which number it is.
7. Variety
Variety is the spice of life, so in the end, whatever rewards you have on hand, make sure to change them up often to keep your students engaged. I’ve got a 10 reward bundle on Teachers Pay Teachers if you want variety at the click of a button, or just be creative. If you have leftover Halloween candy, then gradually fill a bowl with that. Or you can add stickers to your face throughout class, or bows to your hair. Have fun and be creative!
