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Classroom Rewards - Candy or Not?

I usually give candy (Dum Dums) for small rewards in my classroom. With so much emphasis on healthy eating lately, what other small rewards could I give my students for following classroom routines?

Posted on: 10/18/15 | Views: 2469
Solution #1
Top Solution
I give out reward certificates such as sit where you want, homework oops pass, listen to music during class, or 5 minutes of free time, just to name a few. These don't cost anything for me and students love these types of rewards.

This is a great idea!!

I love the rewards mentioned. Those are great ideas!

If I were in this situation, I would exactly do this.

I agree with this!

I love this idea, if I were in this situation I would do exactly this.

This solution is great. It not only creates an awesome variety, but it also gives students a time to relax in the way that they would want to.

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Solution #2
You could give stickers, line leader, a homework pass, or lunch with the teacher.

I like the idea of lunch with the teacher as a reward. I have seen many students enjoy that special time with their teacher.

These are all great ideas.

I like these alternative ideas! I remember having lunch with the teacher being a reward during school and kids loving that idea.

This is a great solution because you can give out a sticker and it give the child the same feeling a piece of candy would, because it is the sense of a reward.

These are all good solutions for the issue. Particularly when students enjoy lunch with the teacher or stickers, these are good alternatives to candy.

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Solution #3
Other rewards I would give to students are: pencils, homework passes, extra time on technology or recess, social time which students are allowed to meet with friends after assignments, small items out of the treasure box, etc.

Great list of alternative ideas! Not just about food rewards but also classroom rewards as well.

I like this solution because it does not provide a reward for just one student but for the class as a whole. Letting children have extra recess is definitely something they would work for!!

I love this tip!

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Solution #4
I think that this would be something great to get the students involved in. Make a list of a few things that you would be willing to get the students that are a little bit of a healthier option and affordable for yourself. Write them down and allow for the students to vote on what they would like. It would be your choice but I would maybe pick the top two choices and stock those up so when a student is deserving they could choose one or the other.

This is a great idea!

Great idea! I think it's important to get the students involved and giving them choices will make them feel valuable and also it will let you know what the students like/want as rewards.

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Solution #5
Classroom rewards can be brain breaks, listening to their choice of a kidz bop song, or a few minutes of free time to draw/structured play. Individual rewards can be hand-written notes, excellent phone call homes, and "students of the day" posters. Personally, I try to avoid rewarding students with materialistic items.
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Solution #6
I would try and see what other members of my team are using as a reward. Personally I would have treasure box for students for bigger rewards. For a smaller reward you could use stickers or classroom jobs.
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Solution #7
Children love candy and response to it as a reward very well. I think that something that can be equally enjoyed is fruit or coupons that they can turn in at the end of the week for a prize.

I like this idea.

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Solution #8
If looking into a healthy option, I would die out something instead of food so maybe start like a treasure box, or small rewards like pencils and erasers
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Solution #9
There are so many things you can do with your students. You could create a rewards system where students receive some sort of ticket of some sort that they can collect throughout the week. Students who have over a certain amount of tickets can go to the "treasure box" on Friday. The treasure box can be full of healthy snacks, neat school supplies, and small toys that the students can choose from. Another thing that you could do is give students healthier options like gold fish, raisins, or pretzels. If you do that, I suggest that you find out if any students in the class have allergies. You can give the students a small handful of food for the reward.
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Solution #10
There are many other rewards other than candy. You can give homework passes, a gold star (5 for a treasure box), a note home, etc. You could even do class behavior where if the class is behaving the way they should then they get a party with healthy snacks! Or if you like the food reward and it works for you then maybe try fruit snacks, or pretzels.
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Solution #11
You could use free time as a reward. Have a stack of games that they love and let them use that at the end of class.
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Solution #12
Treasure box - get donations, or go to dollar tree to fill it up.
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Solution #13
As a healthy alternative, I started giving out mini packs of Cheez Its and Goldfish. I also use sugar free candy and the students do not know the difference.
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Solution #14
You could give out reward coupons they can cash in. For example, sit where they want, listen to music, and a dog ate my homework.
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Solution #15
I think small candy rewards are good in instances such as getting 100% on a test, but I would not use candy all the time. I will offer a point system where the students can get homework passes, extra recess, or lunch with the teacher.
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Solution #16
I would try fruit snacks. Welch's makes these mini fruit snack packs they would be a good alternative!
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Solution #17
Other rewards that you could give out are those small eraser caps that are shapes of different things. This a fun and small reward that the students can use and remember why they received it.
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Solution #18
I have seen how extrinsic motivation works well for some students while intrinsic works the best long term. If you are looking for short term then the best thing may be to use rewards that do not cost you any money. You can give out homework passes, extra time for breaks, sit in a comfy chair, sit near a friend, etc. If you think your kids can do well with intrinsic motivation then give a lot of praise when it is earned. I think that calling home, sending emails, and notes home to parents with good news is also very rewarding to students. So many times teachers focus on the negative instead of the positive. Is candy a good choice? Most kids scream "Yes!" while most parents will say "No!"
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Solution #19
paper pennies was my favorite as a child. they can accumulate them and turn them in in bulk to select something from a reward chest.
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Solution #20
Maybe steer away from food all together. I've worked with teachers that kept snacks like bananas or crackers for students that miss breakfast of have an afternoon crash. I would stick with a treasure box, pencils, teachers chair? Cater to your classroom!
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Solution #21
You can give out pencils and highlighters. The students like getting school supplies and they will have them available to use in the classroom.
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Solution #22
I would save the rewards, whatever they may be, for the end of the week so that the students have something to work up to. Giving students tickets throughout the week and doing a drawing at the end of the week is a fun way to give rewards. Students who win the drawing may pick from a variety of things such a treasure box or allowing to read with a pillow during independent reading time.
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Solution #23
I always think to stay away from food rewards... maybe pass out pencils, stickers or erasers. Students always love those!
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Solution #24
fruit!
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Solution #25
Yes to candy or some kind of reward
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Solution #26
I say that candy is okay for certain reward but should not be used on an everyday basis. Also I would check health allergies and check with permission from the parents knowing that some students are not allowed to eat certain types of dyes and such.
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Solution #27
You can do stickers, tickets for cool prizes or extra credit.
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Solution #28
You could give out trail mix or goldfish as an alternative. Candy has a lot of sugar, so we want to avoid that as teachers.
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Solution #29
Treasure Box or free time at the end of the lesson, or even extra credit points on assignments and tests.
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Solution #30
Creating a classroom currency is a good idea. Giving tickets for completed work or good behavior and the students are able to use the tickets to buy free time or computer time.
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Solution #31
I think you could have some kind of treasure box, or monopoly money they can accumulate for a reward--lunch in the classroom, school supplies, stickers, simple toys
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Solution #32
At dollar tree they have packs of smaller snack sized treats like gold fish or pretzels and I'm sure they have more. Those would maybe be a healthier reward. Or those mini oranges - I think they're called Halo's. Those would be a good idea
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Solution #33
Consider small gifts such as pencil packs, erasers, fidgets, homework passes, free time passes, and such and not associate rewards with food.
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Solution #34
I would say small toys like mini yo-yo or eraser. A lot of party stores have party bag supplies for very cheap that work great as rewards.
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Solution #35
Stickers!!! Also could have a treasure box that has an assortment of pencils, erasers, pencil grips, things for school, not candy. In order for students to get anything from the treasure box, give out "classroom bucks" and after a certain amount, students can cash them in and get something in the treasure box.
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Solution #36
I switched to fun pencils and erasers from the dollar store. Its cost officiant and the students never seem to have a pencil so it solves that problem as well.
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Solution #37
I know when I was in elementary school, my teacher had a treasure box. Instead of giving out candy for rewards, there would be like little toys and stickers instead. So it does not necessarily have to be food related for rewards.
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Solution #38
I would be careful with food rewards because of allergies some students could have. Having a treasure box or having the students earn classroom jobs could be another way to go.
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Solution #39
Love small amounts of candy to students doing the right thing.
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Solution #40
Ask the students what rewards they would like. A lot of times pens or pencils or even cool bookmarks and erasers can be substituted. Giving free time or computer time is something as free time is when behavioral issues happen and there is often not enough computers for each student to receive this as a reward.
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Solution #41
I use a point system. The students earn points for fake money that they can spend at our school store.
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Solution #42
Give a piece of fruit.
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Solution #43
I think there is not anything wrong with a candy as a reward. Don't worry about it.
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Solution #44
I have seen one really cool reward system in place at a school I work at. The students have a tally system that they work on as an entire class. At the beginning of each day, the teacher draws a T chart on the board. One side has a smiley face, the other side has a sad face. The class earns tally marks for positive behavior. For any negative behavior, one tally mark is erased and moved to the sad face side. At the end of the day, the teacher counts the amount of happy tally marks and puts that many marbles inside of a jar. The jar holds a total of 50 marbles and the students objective is to fill the jar by the end of the week. The teacher who implements this is the STEM teacher at our school, so she actually has robots that are controlled by iPads. If the students fill the jar by the end of the week, the last hour of the day on Fridays is spent outside playing with these robots. Not all students in the school participate in the after-school STEM program, so this is rewarding for all of them. Also, it teaches them to hold one another accountable.
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Solution #45
Rewarding children with food can cause life-long negative problems. Rewarding a child with something that promotes indtrisinc motivation may be a better solution. For example, sitting in a special chair, being the line leader for a week, or something they desire and will try to work for.
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Solution #46
I have put up a board in the class with each student's names and pout a star next to their names when they do well. If they reach five stars after two weeks, they get a free lunch from the cafeteria. This will help the students try thier best to behave.

I do not like how this approach showcases the students that are good and the ones who are not being good. It reminds me of public humiliation when there are some students who try really hard to be a good student and fall short. If this was not advertised on a board then I like the concept.

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Solution #47
Instead of continuously giving candy as a reward, I use tally marks to reward good behavior. Then, at the end of the grading period, those who have accumulated the set number of marks I designate as exceptional, recieve a reward such as pizza or cupcakes. So, even though these aren't healthy rewards, they are only given once every grading period rather than everyday.
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Solution #48
I believe that small rewards are developing an extrinsic motivation to learn. I teach students that they are learning to develop their use of communication to enter into various categories and levels of thinking that are typically connected with various levels of class and income. Hence, I do not have to worry about them not working if no grade or reward is attached. I change their mindsets. Although they will receive extrinsic rewards in the real world.
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Solution #49
I am a big proponent of candy - regardless of the health stuff. The students really go crazy for the fun sized bars and jolly ranchers. Students really enjoy simply receiving praise! I also give the students music Fridays. If they work well through the week, I will play music during the work period. They love it!

I like the music option!

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Solution #50
Students are always with our pencils. Cool pencils can be ordered in bulk that would serve the same purpose.
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Solution #51
As a healthy alternative, I started giving out mini packs of Cheez Its and Goldfish. I also use sugar free candy and the students do not know the difference.

This is an excellent idea.

I would never do this! This is wrong! There are too many food allergies to do food prizes nowadays.

This is a great idea.

With there being a rise in food allergies, send a medication form home on the first week of class so the parents can fill out with their children are allergic to s you can avoid those snacks.

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