10

ents and
Ways Teachers Can Motivate Stud
Celebrate Student Success in the Classroom

Verbal encouragement and praise are the easiest ways to motivate and celebrate students!
Give a pep talk to struggling students before working on an assignment. Verbally celebrate
1 students’ who have worked hard to complete a project or improve in a subject area.
Pep talks and praise can be done individually or as a group. When giving students verbal
Verbal praise individually, be as specific as possible. Acknowledge the goal and what actions

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contributed to their success. For example, try not to just say, “Great job,” but rather “I really
Praise like how you used the character’s actions to describe the main character.” Finally make
sure students know your verbal praise is a genuine gesture by delivering the message
with good eye contact and a smile!

When is the last time you wrote each student a personal note expressing
2 how proud you are of him or her, and how grateful you feel to be their
teacher? (Report card comments don’t count!)
Write a A simple way to celebrate student success is by writing a personal note.
Note Whether your students are six years old or 16 years old, receiving a note
from you filled with praise and encouragement always warms their hearts!

Parents and guardians love when a teacher acknowledges their child’s

3 accomplishments. When teachers share positive acknowledgements with
parents/guardians, typically the comments are excitedly discussed with
the student at home.
Send a Note/ Sending a note, email, or text to a student’s parent or guardian will give
Email/Text the student a sense of pride that their teacher has taken the time to
to a Parent or share something they have done well in class. It can also facilitate familial
Guardian discussions about schoolwork, academic goals, challenges, and more!

4 Wanting to do well for their peers can be a great student motivator! Having a
class reward system or celebratory goal will unite students in their motivation
to work hard and excel. Implementing a class reward system can be as simple
Class Incentives/ as creating a marble jar or class chain. When students do something well, add
Celebrations a marble to the jar or a link to the chain. When the jar is filled or the chain
reaches from ceiling to floor, hand out a prize or celebrate with a class party!

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 5 Often times the best recognition a student can get is from a peer! Next time students
are acting a bit restless or seem discouraged, have them participate in a “Strength Circle”
activity. To begin, each student will need his/her own envelope with a blank piece of
Peer paper inside. Instruct each student to write their name on the outside of their envelope
Recognition and then gather in a circle. Once in a circle, everyone passes their envelope to the person
on their right. With each passing of the envelope, students will take the piece of paper
Activity out of the envelope and write down a strength they recognize in their peer. Encourage
students to write about a specific time they noticed each person’s strength!

Who doesn’t love to help the teacher? A great way to celebrate a student’s
6 accomplishments is by making them an assistant for the day. This reward
should be reserved for students who have reached an important goal or
made significant strides in the classroom. Not only will the recipient treasure
Teacher’s their day as the teacher’s assistant, but it provides great motivation for the
Assistant rest of the class, who now want to be an assistant one day, too.
for the Day

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7 Hanging up students’ work in the class is an excellent way to celebrate
their efforts! Students feel a great sense of self-worth when something
Displaying Work they have written or created is hanging up for others to see.
in the Classroom

8 Hold an awards ceremony to recognize student achievement at the end

of the year. Awards should be thoughtfully considered and based on
each students’ personal growth, character, and achievements (awards
Hold an Award should not be presented as rewards and prizes). Parents, school board
Ceremony members, and district level personnel can be invited to the special event.

9 It’s the digital age and that means most students respond to tweets, apps, and videos!
If they can see it on a screen, it captures their attention.
On-Screen Celebrate the achievements of your digital natives and create a one or two-minute
Success or video highlighting pictures of past projects and classroom happenings. I would
Sharing also encourage you to feature interviews with students, teachers, the school
librarian, and principals. Don’t forget to add some fun music!
Socially

10 Something tangible that a student can hold and keep that

says “You achieved success” is an excellent way to celebrate
achievement.” Certificates make life easy because they can be
Certificate of preprinted and filled in quickly.
Achievement
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