Positive Reinforcement Teaching Resources
Bring a positive reinforcement element to your classroom management strategies with teacher-created printable and digital teaching resources. 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 behavior.
Curious about how to implement positive reinforcement strategies in your classroom? Read on for a primer from our teacher team, including positive reinforcement examples, ideas for good reinforcers and tips on strategies that will work in an elementary or middle school classroom!
What Is Positive Reinforcement?
Positive reinforcement is a teaching strategy that is commonly used in elementary schools to promote positive behavior among students. Whether your school uses the popular PBIS set-up, or some other framework, the basic idea behind this strategy is that positive behaviors 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 behavior reinforcement involves identifying specific behaviors 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 behaviors are demonstrated.
Positive Reinforcement Examples to Use in the Classroom
Let's plumb a little deeper with some simple positive reinforcement examples that can work in the classroom. Your reinforcement of good behaviors can take the form of rewarding students with something tangible, but you can also do myriad things that don't require giving anything away.
- Print "brag tags" or brag bracelets from our collection for students to wear their positive feedback.
- Label clothespins with "caught doing x behavior," and clip them to students' bags or cubbies as a way to show you've noticed their good behavior and an encouragement to keep it up!
- 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!).
- 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.
- 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!
- Offers students a 10-minute break to draw or read as a form of positive reinforcement.
- Reward students who are caught "being kind" with a chance to play with a special toy.
- 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 behavior in the classroom, making it more likely that students will continue to behave in positive ways.
Brag tags are fun positive reinforcement example that works well with students.
More Positive Reinforcement Strategies That Work With Students
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 behavior. When a student exhibits a positive behavior, 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 behavior is a simple strategy to implement in the classroom. You can also try offering some sort of token — perhaps a classroom "buck" 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.
Consistency
It may not feel like a "strategy" per se, but consistency is key when using positive reinforcement. Teach Starter Senior Resource Producer Randi Smith spent 16 years in elementary and middle school classrooms, and she offers this important advice:
"Apply the same rules and rewards consistently across all students. Otherwise, it leads to confusion and diminishes the effectiveness and novelty factor of positive reinforcement."
Positive Notes Home
A positive note home to a student's parents or guardians to let them know about their child's positive behavior can be especially valuable because it not only reinforces that positive behavior but 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 behavior. 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 behavior 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 behaviors are exhibited. This strategy encourages kids to work together and support each other in exhibiting positive behavior.
One Final Note on Positive Reinforcement in the Classroom
Your students are individuals, and that comes into play in positive reinforcement strategies too — what works with one student may not work with another.
"Some kids respond to treats, some to verbal praise, and some students absolutely glow when they find out you're willing to make a positive parent phone call," Smith advises other teachers. "Use different reinforcers!"