Last updated on February 24th, 2024 at 09:09 pm
In a perfect world, one could waltz into a new classroom to substitute teach and the students would be sitting primly at their desks, eager to follow each and every direction from this stranger in their classroom who favors dances in triple time.
Unfortunately, this is not the reality in most situations.
Sometimes a little extra positive reinforcement in the shape of rewards may be needed to guide the class or particular students. Call it bribery all you want– I call it bringing order to the classroom and surviving another day as a sub.
Why I love free rewards
Treats can be a powerful, sugary bribery tool, but I hardly want to be the sub lugging around a giant sack of half-melted leftover Halloween candy from room to room like a sad October Santa. And maintaining a stock of prizes and sweets can rack up a hefty bill. I prefer the free route.
Start with a simple “thank you”
Giving students a genuine “thank you” in response to positive behaviors is my baseline. It’s polite, meaningful, and reinforces to students preferred behaviors. I also dole out worthy praise. (Emphasis on worthy.) I believe students can sniff out the false stuff, the manipulative word salad.
I have high standards and think it’s great to hold students to high standards. So I’m not found cooing to them about each and every moment of their existence. I will, however, thank a class right after they complete a desired behavior in the beginning. That’s part of the teaching process, for me. Reinforcing the behavior I’m asking for right away.
My usual opener when it’s time to begin class involves me introducing myself and a couple brief expectations for the day before launching into tasks. I give opportunities for the students to practice showing me they’re listening and looking at me when I give the signal (a chime).
I quickly give students feedback on this. I award praise for that first and fundamental expectation that the students listen when I am talking, because we need that to be in place for the rest of the day.
Whole class rewards
Rewarding a whole class is the bread and butter of my substitute teaching practice. I am well aware that the work left for them by their teacher is usually in the category of the most unfun. So if the students work diligently, I like to reward them for that. After long stretches of drudgery, the rewards can also serve as a much-needed break.
Extra recess time
This one is the oldest trick in the book, and for good reason. There’s no extra cost or set-up to make this happen. You’re just extending the regular class recess time a few more minutes.
To enable students to see their collective progress toward this goal, I like to write the word RECESS on the board in big, capital letters. Explain how students can earn the extra recess by “earning” each letter. I like to have students earn the letters through quietly working on whatever ginormous worksheet packet their teacher has left them. If students have, say, a 40-minute period of assignments ahead of them until recess, I’ll award a check mark under each letter of RECESS every span of 5 or so minutes. At the end, if the class won each letter, they get the extra play time (I usually do 5-8 minutes).
The word-spelling technique can be used for any other reward to be earned. Use it in conjunction with age-appropriate and achieveable milestones.
Free time or chat time
I’m happy to report that in my close observation of several classrooms in several schools, the Fun Friday, a hallowed elementary teacher tradition, is still alive and well. Students plan, in great detail, what they will do with the free time allowed them at the end of a long week.
If you happen to be subbing on a Friday, and the teacher you’re covering for has it written in the plans, feel free to make mention of this reward frequently. You could extend the free time in the case of jobs well done. You could motivate students to finish their work with an “if ____, then ____” proposition. If you finish your assignment, then we can start Fun Friday.
Do not despair if a Fun Friday is not included in your schedule. Free time can still be used as something students can earn. Start with an “if ____, then ____” proposition and award the free time if students truly earned it and there is nothing left to finish according to the lesson plans.
A successful free time reward is held up by reasonable boundaries. You have promised the students free time to chat with each other, or doodle or read or play games. It is not an invitation into unbridled chaos. Not that free.
Explain the expectations, modeling if necessary. Find a way to keep students accountable, and be ready to shut it down if necessary. Here are examples of my Free Time rules: 1. Find something to do and stay there. You can only switch activities once. 2. No running or yelling 3. Keep your hands to yourself and be respectful.
Have a pile of “super boring” worksheets ready for any students, or the whole class, who cannot seem to handle the freedom within the boundaries.
I don’t recommend going through the teacher’s supplies for extra games and such that haven’t been outlined in the plans. Even if all the students have to play is lined notebook paper to draw on, that simple material alone could give them a nice break to clear their minds and chat with their peers.
Games
My middle school English teacher had a secret weapon, and that was a stuffed beanie dog in the likeness of the Wishbone character.
As a reward for good behavior, she allowed us to spread ourselves into a circle around the room and throw around the stuffed canine in what was called Silent Dog, the game of all games. We silently wallopped and whizzed that dog around the room, strategically eliminating fellow classmates from the game in hopes of winning the elite position of last seventh grader standing.
It was such a thrill, I remember a friend and I reenacting this intense competition when hanging out on a Saturday. So well-loved was this activity that we dedicated weekend time to it instead of feeding our Neopets or scrawling heartfelt poems with Evanescence sparkling through our boombox speakers.
Classroom games can be powerful positive reinforcements. I’ve listed my favorites that include no preparation and a little preparation. Those should give you a starting point of several simple and fun games.
When students truly have earned the games, and the substitute teacher can fairly monitor and enforce game rules, they really are day savers.
Artwork
While drawing for students isn’t my foremost positive behavior strategy, it is a fun way to get through worksheets and other similar chores.
Let’s say we’re going over the answers to a sheet of math problems. After a certain number of problems, I can feel the class slipping away from my grip and into the Siren Calls of Distraction. And, as substitutes will surely attest, sometimes the Siren Calls of Distraction lead to the Inevitable Descent into Mayhem.
So I use my artistic abilities to add pizzazz to line item “Go over answers to worksheet from 12:15 pm- 12:40 pm.” on the sub plans. Do not fret over your level of drawing skill– it’s the amount of effort and grandstanding that count, here.
I start with drawing a circle on the board and very importantly announcing that I am an artist, and I will be progressively sharing my art with the class. After the next answer set, I add some googly eyes inside the circle. Next question, goofy smile. I continue to fill in this silly face with as many details as needed to get through the sheet.
If those ’90s-era merchants at Disney World could wiggle around empty dog harnesses and convince little me that they were worn by invisible dogs, then surely you can act in such exhuberant form that makes this class believe in every wild ounce of your masterpiece.
Individual rewards
Meaningful praise
Like saying “thank you” and giving meaningful praise works well for a whole group, I think it’s also a potent motivator for individuals. It shows you noticed what he or she did. It shows that you appreciate the effort that student gave. I hand out genuine praise very intentionally.
Personal artwork
Drawing for individual students is a great free reward– espeically if you’ve already used this strategy with the whole group– students will be familiar with your work. If you’ve acted like you’re famous enough, they’ll be eager to possess their very own copy of your art.
One day just around the corner from Christmas, I was subbing for first grade. We were reaching into the afternoon doldrums, restless and yet depleted from all the day’s activity. The sub plans allotted a 40-minute stretch of time toward independent work on a worksheet packet. This would include the important jobs of cutting and sorting and glueing and coloring.
To motivate the students, I announced with a flourish that I possessed a special talent for drawing animals. And when they had completed the packet, I would draw each student their requested animal.
“Say no more,” about half the room seemed to say as they got straight to work. A handful of the steadfast workers finished before time ran out, and so I drew a handful of mediocre animal-looking creatures, which were gifts received in wonder.
The reward of a positive note
A positive note, for those that can read, can serve as a wonderful reward. You could leave a sticky note at the student’s desk thanking them for their help today. Or write a note to his or her parents, if the school has written communication set up in planner books or the like.
For students that have demonstrated great kindness or helpfulness or effort, a note can be a great free way to celebrate them and thank them for what they’ve done. This post contains details about note-giving as a positive reinforcer, including a free printable note set.
Another option is to mention the student and the wonderful behavior in your note to the returning teacher. I don’t always assume the teacher will hand out a prize to those students mentioned, but I like to let him or her know. The teacher may decide to reward those students in her own way.
The sweetness of free classroom rewards
There’s no need to break the bank over classroom management. I know it can be tough walking into an unfamiliar room and facilitating a peaceful school day. The stress of that alone can have one eating through her own stash of incentive candy (not speaking forom experience here, of course…). Fortify yourself with options for whole-class and individual rewards– free, if possible. The kids may just remember you forever as their Extremely Artistic Substitute.
