Happy 4th of July!!  Hope you all have some fun family events planned.  I’m sure we will be eating LOTS and LOTS of food and enjoying the sun and maybe some fireworks too.  :)

You know what they say… once the 4th of July rolls around, that means THE SUMMER IS OVER!  Right? :)  Or am I the only pessimist in the house?

Finding a Way to Reward Positive Behavior

Reward Stinker Sammy’s behavior with LOTS of attention and focus and you’ve taught the little stinker that the best way to get your attention is through driving you batty!  :)

My mom is pretty much the greatest teacher I know, and she’s used the Ticket Reward System for probably 25 years or more.

It works. Seriously.

As I warned promised you earlier, I’m kicking off July as Back To School Season, sharing some of the FUN things I’ve been prepping for in my new venture as 4th grade Teacher in the fall!

First up in our series is something I’m really excited about!!  Using this Classroom Currency System is a great way to seek out, notice, and REWARD those little cherubs modeling POSITIVE behavior for all your students.  I’m all for ANY method that will motivate my challenging students away from that “Stinker” behavior!

I love it. {It’s also a painless way to diffuse a behavior issue too with a quiet “Bring me a ticket, please.} Works wonders.

It’s been three years since I’ve used tickets {due to my Computer Teacher role and then my 2 years off}, and my graphic design *skills* have grown quite DRASTICALLY since that time.  Making my new FABULOUS tickets was SO MUCH FUN!

I am currently loving bright rainbow colors as well as all things polka dots which is going to mean a bright fun happy classroom atmosphere… perfect for my little angels.  :)

How My Classroom Currency Works!

• Tickets are the lowest form of currency.  Students can lose tickets for small offenses and earn them for “good behavior.”  I love to say “First row ready gets a ticket” or something of that nature and watch them fly.  I also require tickets for responsibility issues like sharpening a pencil with the electric sharpener at undesignated times or having to borrow paper or pencils from me.
• Once students have at least fourteen or so collected, ten of those tickets may be traded in for a sticker {kept on the wall monthly using the large shaped notepad sheets. See pic below.}.  I do this at designated times before the bell rings or if time, right before dismissal.  You can also assign a “Banker” who is in charge of counting out tickets during the before school time.
• At then end of the month, I count the stickers on the wall and for every ten stickers, students receive an iGram.  I round up to the nearest ten. For numbers rounding down, I give tickets for the overage amount.  For ex, 35 stickers rounds up to 4 iGrams while 33 stickers would be 3 iGrams and 3 tickets.
• Students may use 2 iGrams to buy candy at the end of the day or occasionally small items from the class treasure box.  Ten iGrams can earn a coveted Homework Pass {good for one night’s homework in ONE subject. Math & English delayed for one night.}

Printing the Tickets

I print my tickets in color, laminate them, and THEN cut them out with a paper cutter.

Laminating usually gives them the durability to last all year long… if not longer!

Filing your Tickets

In my early years I used a small plastic office basket to store my tickets, and just tried to keep the tickets sectioned by person.  It worked okay, but it was definitely NOT IDEAL!  Students would often stand at my desk hunting for one of their tickets!

I came up with the idea to file them in a 3×5 file box with dividers for each student.  It makes passing and changing in tickets SO MUCH FASTER!

You {or the student banker} just find that person’s section and do their business.  :)

Using the Ticket System

Each student is assigned a particular number and can ONLY use tickets showing that number.  This really helps with someone claiming a lost ticket on the floor as his own or other such “stealing” scenarios… another “mom idea” though she put names instead of numbers.

This is my first year trying numbers, and I’m really liking it so far.  For one thing, I could possibly reuse these next year too if they are in good enough shape; whereas with the names, it’s “one year use” only, regardless of their condition.

Using numbers also means that I can design, print, and cut my tickets at any time in the summer without waiting to get my class list.  It also accounts for that new student who joins you at the last minute!

When a student has to turn in a ticket, he just puts it in a small plastic bin on my desk.  Then at the end of the day, one of my students or I just goes through that basket, sorts tickets, and files them back in the file box.

Students store their tickets in their name tag… a labeled & laminated library pocket attached to their desk.

Using iGrams!

Uh, yep.  These are once again something I learned from mom, though hers {and mine} were called Happy Grams.  I decided to go with iGrams this year since I’m doing lots of tech themed things in our room!

Usually the only time I’m dishing out iGrams is at the end of the month when I take down the sticker sheets and count them all.  The Sticker Sheets are usually just the themed Note Pad Sheets from Carson Delosa… a different one each month.

Each student has one with their name on it, and they can earn stickers daily a few other ways too for complete homework and good conduct.

I actually let each student count their stickers at the end of the month and write the number on the back.  They turn in their count, and I pretty much just trust their number, but I can always double check if I think it’s been inflated a bit. :)

When it’s time to hand them out, I write the student’s name on the iGram as well as my initials. When they trade in their iGrams, I just file them in with their tickets in the ticket box!  That way, the next time I’m counting stickers and handing out iGrams, I can just check the file box and see if they already have some made.

I’m sharing these awesome tickets FREE on my new TPT {Teachers Pay Teachers} page!

Do you think my iGram turned out techy?  I was going for the iTunes gift card look.  :)  I probably will just print these in black and white on colored paper. These are also available for you on TPT.

*graphics courtesy of Phyllis Harris and Karen Cox

Be sure to stay tuned for our Back 2 School series with lots more PRINTABLES coming up!

Have you ever used or thought of using classroom tickets? Any Classroom Currency questions I didn’t answer??

Linking up at 4th Grade Frolics