Reading Homework Rewards

I begin my reading homework around Oct. usually.  By this time, I get a sense of who of my kiddos  return homework regularly and who is going to be responsible.  I have my students read 15 mins. M-Th and return their envelopes on Fri.  If a student reads all 4 days, I put a sticker on Friday and reward those who read.  I start my rewards with simple little trinkets...prize box, stretchy things, chapsticks, tootsie pops, etc... It just kind of depends on what I choose. Most kids get excited when I pull something new out of the closet for a reward.  (I have an addiction to trinkets)  I do this from about Oct. til the end of 2nd quarter which is sometime in Jan.  In Jan I begin a new reward called Mud cups (chocolate pudding, crushed oreo, a worm, etc...) This is where the students earn a piece to the mud cup each week.  So for example, if a student reads all 4 days the first week, they earn their cup. The next week they earn their spoon, then mud, oreo, worm, whipped cream, sprinkles and a cherry.  It lasts for 8 weeks (almost the whole 3rd quarter).  I have a bulletin board so they can see what they earn each week.  Then after 8 weeks we celebrate and I make them their mud cups.  If they only earn cup, spoon, mud and oreo...that's all they get.  If they don't earn anything, they get nothing!  I figure we've been reading since Oct. so I'm pretty strict on them doing their reading AND turning it in on Fridays.  Usually those who don't earn anything are pretty bummed when we celebrate, so the next one we do, they usually try a little more.  For 4th quarter we do banana splits.

Here is my display of how we keep track.  We are 3 weeks in, so they should have earned vanilla now. Some kiddos haven't earned a thing which is pretty unusual but I have few who really don't seem to care about much. :(

                                          A close up!

Here's what a final banana split would look like if they read all 8 weeks!

I've had some teaching partners who have done things similar...one has done something for only 4 weeks where they did 3 different kinds of fruit and a fruit dip.  Also one has done ice cream sundaes. So you can adjust it to something that works for you.  Some use clip art for their pictures/decals. I did all mine myself...I use cotton balls for whipped cream, yellow felt cut out like a banana and little things like that.