Rewards and positive praise are a common thread in brick and mortar classrooms. But Reward Ideas for Distance Learning?… much harder!
20-25 little boxes with a smiling face greet you every morning, eager to learn. It looks like the day is going to start off well… And then, kiddos start to get squirmy, or they turn their camera off, or grab their dog, cat, or hamster to show the class. The list of behaviors can be long and there isn’t anything we can do about it… or is there?
We have many teachers who have wonderful Reward Ideas for Distance Learning to keep the distracting behaviors at a minimum. They have gladly shared their ideas here.
Whole Class Rewards
“For whole group rewards I do a dance party, PJ day, show and tell, mystery bag, Game day, movie day.” ~ Monika K.
“We did a pajama picnic! They got to have a stuffed animal 
and a treat of their choice! They loved it, but had to earn it! 10 pom poms in the jar. We did it on a Friday, last 15-20 minutes of class. They got to wear jammies to class (virtually). Then we started our picnic at the end! They brought their own snack/treat of course. I brought a bathrobe, blanket and snacks for myself ….brought my laptop to the carpet and we had a lovely picnic together! 
” ~ Kelley G.
“We earned a bedtime story on Zoom (7pm with friends and your teacher was soooo exciting for them).” ~ Danielle L.
“Superhero dress up day.” ~ Susan M.
“Movies during lunch.” ~ Syvette W.
“Virtual lunch with the teacher.” ~ Megan D.
“Virtual roller coaster rides on YouTube. I just look up roller coaster rides. Their faces are priceless when they watch it! They even put their hands up. It’s so funny!” ~ Danielle G.
“They get to decide my zoom filter for 10 minutes. So far, it’s worked with 4th & 8th graders and I’ve only been a pig once. 🎉” ~ Corina C.
Individual Rewards
“I let students who have worked hard choose our brain break video for the day.” ~ Jenn H.
“I use index cards and add stickers for great behavior and participation. They fill up the card once they have 5 stickers. Once 3 cards are filled up I send the cards home (we have packet pick-up on Fridays).” ~ Wendy B.
“Digital stickers from TPT.” ~ Connie C.
“I have an Amazon list of little items from 1-3 dollars and the students earn checks (showing up to lives on time, participating and answering questions, turning in all assignments) if they reach their goal of 15 checks they get to pick 1 item to send to their homes. Sounds like it could get expensive, but it hasn’t really. I only have 1-3 kids a week earn it so it’s not adding up to be too much. Only a couple bucks a week, which I do not mind.” ~ Shaina H.
“I make my own digital stickers/ gifs.” ~ Je’Neal E-J.
“They can leave early every other Friday after the spelling test, as long as they have turned in all work.” ~ Elisha N.
“We have school bucks. Since we can’t open the store, photos of the prizes were posted online. Kids choose their rewards based on the amount of money that they have.” ~ Karen B.
“We do dojo points and one of my kids favorite prizes is to give a tour of their house!” ~ Natasha S.
“Each student has a bag with their name on it and when an assistant or myself see them doing “the right thing” sitting up, working and paying attention, we drop something in their bag. On Thursdays when the parents come to pick up meals, they get all of their treats. Works better for some than others.” ~ Adajean R.
“PBIS Rewards. This past Friday many students earned attending the online tic tok party. It was a blast. ” ~ Joyce S.
“My kids’ teachers make a drive thru visit with a treat bag for students that show up everyday and turn in all their work. I thought it was nice!” ~ Iliana S.
I am definitely going to use some of these Reward Ideas for Distance Learning with my class. There were so many great ideas that I never even thought of. As soon as I’m done typing this, I’m going to check out those virtual roller coaster rides! LOL And you can bet that we will be doing a nighttime read-aloud this Friday as a class reward.
If you have any reward ideas that you have been using with your virtual class, we would love to hear them. Please post your ideas in the comments below. ❤️
~ Written By: Janessa Fletcher
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