Classroom Management: Make Your Own Scratch-Off Tickets

Look at this awesome tool for classroom rewards I found on ArtMind.  The blogger shows you how to create handmade scratch off lottery tickets and I think it would be a great way to implement the use of the mystery motivators discussed earlier.  Little more is needed for these than soap, paint and contact paper.


You can print words or a symbol to represent the classroom reward (for instance, a sun to represent recess, or popcorn to represent a movie, etc).  You can fill an entire card with a symbol in each box and, on good days, have a representative scratch off a random box to see what that day's reward will be.


Or you can use the technique from The Tough Kid Toolbox:  Make a lottery ticket with spaces for each day of the week.  Hide a reward on one or two of the boxes.  On great behavior days, decide that students can receive the reward in that day's box.  A representative can scratch it off the day's space and see if the reward is won that day.  If not, keep encouraging them to continue their good behavior because a reward is imminent.  


On poor behavior days, you can scratch it off to reveal if students missed an opportunity for a reward.  This can help if you're trying to help reinforce particular behaviors with the entire class.  The book suggests adding two "reward days" in a row occasionally because students can begin to anticipate that, if there was already a reward scratched off that week, they're in the clear and no other rewards are available for good behavior.  Surprise them!  Perhaps if the lotto ticket reveals a reward they missed, that will help keep them accountable for their behavior.


Here are a few other ideas related to scratch off tickets in the classroom:

• use them for behavior intervention called "Response-Cost" Lottery
• use them for review activities, to hide and reveal answers and predictions
• use them as a homework incentive

Have fun with these!  How else could you use scratch-offs in the classroom?