Positive Reinforcement Teaching Resources

Download teacher-created resources to bring a positive reinforcement element to your classroom management strategies this school year. Explore classroom reward systems and charts, behavior punch cards, student certificates and more resources designed by our teacher team to reward students for what they do well.

Positive reinforcement resources include gamification, material rewards, and classroom economy reinforcers to move the needle away from negative reinforcement and help you build a more positive classroom environment and improve student behaviour.

Curious about how to implement positive reinforcement strategies in your classroom? Read on for a primer from our teacher team!

What Is Positive Reinforcement?

Positive reinforcement is a teaching strategy that is commonly used in primary schools to promote positive behaviour among students. The basic idea behind this strategy is that positive behaviours can be reinforced by rewarding them, which in turn makes them more likely to be repeated in the future. It makes sense, doesn't it? And there's plenty of research to back this up, too!

In practice, positive behaviour reinforcement involves identifying specific behaviours that you would like to encourage in your students — everything from listening quietly during class to following directions to being kind to classmates — and then providing positive feedback and rewards when those behaviours are demonstrated.

8 Positive Reinforcement Examples to Try in Your Classroom

Let's plumb a little deeper with some simple examples of positive reinforcement that can work in the classroom. Your positive reinforcement can take the form of rewarding students with something tangible, but you can also do myriad things that don't require giving anything away.

1. Print 'brag tags' or brag bracelets from our collection for students to wear their positive feedback.
2. Label clothespegs with 'caught doing x behaviour,' and clip them to students' bags as a way to show you've noticed their good behavior and an encouragement to keep it up!
3. Allow students to earn something special, like spending time at your 'lunch bunch' or taking the classroom pet home for a weekend (with parents' permission, of course!).
4. Publicly praise students in front of their peers. Yes, it can really be that simple, but be sure not to lavish all your praise on individual students.
5. Award students with 'bad day' cards to use when they're having a bad day as a way to take it easy for the day. Hey, we all have bad days!
6. Offers students a 10-minute break to draw or read as a form of positive reinforcement.
7. Reward students who are caught 'being kind' with a chance to play with a special toy.
8. Allow students to earn a day with no shoes or wearing a hat in the classroom.

Over time, this positive feedback and reinforcement can help to create a culture of positive behaviour in the classroom, making it more likely that students will continue to behave in positive ways.

5 Teacher-Tested Positive Reinforcement Strategies

Looking for some specific strategies you can add to your teacher toolbox? Here are some simple — but effective — ways to focus on the positive!

Verbal Praise

It doesn't get simpler than verbal praise to reinforce positive behaviour. When a student exhibits a positive behaviour, be it following directions or helping a peer, simply acknowledge and praise them for it. A 'Great job, you followed directions perfectly!' can go a long way.

Stickers and Tokens

Kids have loved stickers since they were invented, and doling them out as a means of rewarding positive behaviour is a simple strategy to implement in the classroom. You can also try offering some sort of token — perhaps a classroom coupon — and allow students to trade in their stickers or tokens for prizes or other rewards. This strategy is especially effective for younger students who may be motivated by tangible rewards.

Positive Notes Home

A positive note home to a student's parents or carers to let them know about their child's positive behaviour can be especially valuable because it not only reinforces positive behaviour, but it also lets parents know that their child is doing well in school.

Peer Praise

Build your classroom community by encouraging students to praise each other for positive behaviour. You can have students share positive comments about their peers during class meetings or at the end of the day.

Whole Class Incentives

You don't have to stick to one-offs and rewarding individual students. Classroom incentives are a great strategy to reinforce positive behaviour for the whole class. Your class can work together towards earning a special reward for everyone, such as a pizza party or a movie day, when a certain number of positive behaviours are exhibited. This strategy encourages kids to work together and support each other in exhibiting positive behaviour.

How Do You Reward Students in the Classroom?

This collection has been designed by our teacher team to work with a variety of popular rewards, which of course begs the question: What rewards can I use with students in the classroom?

Here are some of our teacher team's favourite ideas:

1. Stickers. Sure, you can use a sticker chart to track student behaviours, but have you thought to use stickers as the actual reward for your students? They're always a hit with children, and you can even use our digital stickers on online projects!
2. Time with you. Your break time is valuable, so this is a reward you may want to use sparingly, but winning time to sit with you is a great way to build relationships with your students.
3. No homework pass. This is always popular with children, and it's easy for you too — one less worksheet to review!
4. Books. You may buy some books from a cheap shop for this idea, ask other teachers if they have books they are getting rid of in their classroom library, or even just make the reward a chance to take home some books from your library to be returned at a later date.
5. Raffle tickets. Set up a scheme for students to earn raffle tickets they can redeem in your prize box!

Are Reward Charts a Good Idea?

Wondering if reward charts are the right strategy for your classroom? Are these tools really a good idea in this day and age? It's good to think these things through — after all, educational research is constantly being updated, and what works for one teacher may not work for another.

The Teach Starter team of teachers makes a point to review teaching trends regularly to keep your favourite resources up to date, and that means we've done a thorough deep-dive into the latest on how to dole out rewards. We can't tell you whether a chart is right for your teaching style, but we can give you a few tips!

1. Avoid displaying individual reward charts that have the potential to shame students. Charts displayed in the classroom should be about the entire class, while any sort of tracking for an individual student should be kept private.
2. When using reward charts, focus on positive behaviours and building toward goals rather than on punishing negative behaviours. The target behaviours you focus on should be attainable and easy for you to measure — not unlike SMART goals. This makes it easier for students to connect their target behaviours with the concept of the reward.
3. Talk about all the positives of the behaviour. When they are working toward something they really want, it can be incredibly motivating, but the reward should not be the only reason for the behaviour. Discuss the entire picture with the student and emphasize the many positive benefits they're receiving, even the intangible ones.
4. Consistency is key. If you're using a reward chart, you have to keep up with it. This can be tough with individual student rewards, but it's paramount to the strategy's success.
5. Encourage student ownership of the reward system. Give your students the opportunity to develop the classroom reward system. They can brainstorm and vote on the types of behaviours and rewards that are used. Our printable classroom reward systems contain ideas for different rewards, but ask your students. You may be surprised by how simple some of their most desired rewards can be!
6. Give regular feedback on learning and behaviour to students and carers. Feedback about learning and behaviour should be frequent and early, establishing high expectations and providing consistent reminders of those expectations.
7. Facilitate rich and engaging learning experiences. Open-ended, hands-on tasks are fantastic for fostering intrinsic motivation. Whenever possible, try moving away from traditional worksheets and 'stand and deliver' lessons. Provide students with hands-on, open-ended activities, try out an in-class flipped learning experience or even get outside for a change of scenery.