There are just about as many Positive Behavioral Supports and Interventions (PBIS) incentives as there are objectives you’d like your students to meet. How do you pick fun whole-class rewards that ensure your students are motivated, engaged, and on task? I’m glad you asked! Here are 16 whole-class reward ideas that are either affordable or free.
Fun whole-class incentives
1. Movie day
Take the afternoon off and enjoy a movie together! You could choose the movie yourself or, to get your class more involved, have them vote on their favorite option. You could even ask the students who’ve shown the most improvement in behavior to select movies and have the class vote on those.
2. Dance party
Put all your tables and chairs aside and turn the classroom into a dance floor! This class reward party idea gives students a chance to cut loose and enjoy themselves—to just act like kids! Coming up with a rocking playlist is a piece of cake these days. You could also have your class create a custom playlist, with each student submitting one or two songs of their choice.
3. PJ day
Formalities can be so boring—why not let your students come to school dressed in their favorite, most comfortable pajamas? That includes blankies and slippers, too! Be sure to get your principal's approval first. The day can be even more fun with a movie or any afternoon-long activity to make the reward as appealing as possible.
4. Show and tell
As kids grow older, they become more independent and develop their own tastes and interests. With this growing independence comes the desire to share their interests with the rest of the world, especially their friends and classmates.
To reward students who have behaved well in your PBIS program, allow them to bring in their favorite toys, books, or other personal belongings for show and tell, where they can explain why these things are so special to them. Then give them the afternoon off, so they can play and share together.
For this to work, it’s best to stipulate that students are not allowed to bring electronic toys and games, as you might end up with a class full of students tapping away at tablets and smartphones!
5. Games afternoon
For one variation of an afternoon full of games, lay out a variety of board games around your classroom for your students to enjoy. You could also enlist the help of your students and have them bring in their favorite games to share with classmates.
Alternatively, you could put on your Master of Ceremonies hat and host a series of larger games to play together as a class. These could be classroom favorites, like Bingo or charades, or games that require a change of venue, like tag or kickball.
6. Lunch outside or in the classroom
When it comes to ideas for rewards in the classroom, food is often a popular option. For a welcome (and healthy) alternative, arrange for your students to eat lunch outside the cafeteria, either in your classroom or outdoors. Instead of eating cafeteria food, you could make some healthy lunches to share with your students (just be sure to check for allergies first!).
I know what you’re thinking—technically, this is still using food as a reward. However, the emphasis is on the setting and sense of community instead of on the food itself. Give your students healthy options and allow them to eat outdoors, where they’ll get some fresh air instead of crowding together in the school cafeteria.
7. Storytime
For another fun whole-class reward, give your students an afternoon off to enjoy an epic story session. They won’t be required to read, follow along, or complete an assignment afterward—they can just kick back and enjoy as you read aloud to them. With a larger book, you could even split the reward into parts, so they’ll have an even greater incentive to keep up their good behavior to hear the ending. If you go down this route, be sure to leave the story on a tantalizing cliffhanger!
8. Special visitors
Invite a special guest to speak to the class. In my teaching experience, having someone new in class is always a thrill for students, so they’re bound to be interested, particularly if you sell it well.
Choose someone with an especially interesting job to speak to your class—someone who works with animals, for instance. Alternatively, you could host a career day, where students get to invite their caregivers to talk about their jobs.
9. Book-swap party
Have your students bring in a book they’ve enjoyed reading to swap with their classmates. After they’ve swapped, you could give them the afternoon off to enjoy their new book.
10. Art afternoon
This one’s similar to the games afternoon reward, except you’ll be laying out different art supplies, like paint, colored pencils, and felt-tip markers. Then, let your students express themselves artistically for the entire afternoon!
11. Redecorate the classroom
If your classroom could use some redecorating, enlist the help of students! Don't just hang up students’ work; ask for their input on the physical layout of the classroom. Then implement the best ideas. Since students love weighing in and having a say, this whole-class reward is sure to be a hit!
12. Dress the teacher
Allow your students to choose what you wear for a day. The easiest way to pull this off is to carry out a quick inventory of your wardrobe and choose the silliest or boldest items. Next, create a simple ballot sheet, categorizing clothing as top half, bottom half, shoes, and accessories. Then have your students vote. Finally, tally up the votes and wear the winning item of clothing from each category. Chances are you’ll look ridiculous—as intended, of course.
To make this even more fun, you could use this as a school-wide PBIS reward, where several classes get to dress their teachers for a day.
13. Teacher in the hot seat
Students, especially older ones, have many burning questions, but they rarely get a chance to ask them in class. Time to change that! With this whole-class prize, your students get to ask you whatever they want. If you want to avoid being put on the spot, have your students submit their questions ahead of time so you can approve them and filter out the more personal ones. By opening up to your students, you’ll gain their trust and respect.
14. Free seating
Students love to sit with their friends at lunch and anywhere else—but in many classrooms, they’re most likely given assigned seats. Instead of their usual assigned seating, grant your students the privilege of choosing where they get to sit for a whole day.
15. Free time/indoor recess
This final option is the easiest whole-class incentive of all: give your class the afternoon off! You don’t have to plan any activities or arrange anything—just let the students do whatever they want (within reason). Allow them to run free—pulling out art supplies to draw or paint, socializing with their friends, or even sitting alone to enjoy a book. And hey, maybe you can get some grading done in the meantime!
This article was adapted from a blog post initially developed by the education technology company Classcraft, which was acquired by HMH in 2023. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of HMH.
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