This idea has been banging around in my head since May and I’m so excited to bring it to life! I like having a positive reward for students who complete 100% of their work (class and homework) each week. I also like to have an organization system that lets me quickly see who has their work finished and turned in. For that past several years I’ve used Fultzopoly, which was a modified version of the free Homeworkopoly template that’s been floating around the internet for years.
The problem with Fultzopoly is the time it takes to play every Friday. All students who completed 100% of their work roll the dice, move their marker around the game board, and potentially win a prize (homework pass, treasure box, pick read aloud, etc.). I found that students weren’t honest at all with rolling/moving if I wasn’t policing the board so it became a time-suck instead of the way it was initially intended. I knew I needed a faster option.
I was thinking I’d make some sort of BINGO board or coordinate grid so I headed to Hobby Lobby to explore my options. This is what I came home with:
I ended up using the board, magnets, and bottle caps. I also used neon paper, washi tape, and my Silhouette Cameo. For those of you not familiar with the Cameo, it is awesome! I used it last summer for my classroom makeover. It cuts out letters from fonts already on your computer like a champ. Check these beauties out.
Then I played around with the layout of my board. Good thing I had a helper. {Does this happen to anyone else who tries to do everything on the floor??}
At this point, I sort of forgot to keep taking pictures along the way. Sorry! Here’s the finished product though.
Here’s how it works. I number my students each year for organization. They’ll use that number on their pop cap. Every Monday they can put their cap on the board, wherever they like. If they fail to turn in an assignment on time, their cap comes off the board. If their cap stays on the board all week, they will be part of the drawing on Friday. On Friday I’ll roll two dice, one for STARS and one for 1-6. The student on that part of the grid gets to pull a prize card. Fast and easy! I’m thinking I’ll pull three prizes each week.
Not only will this new system award students, but it will also help keep me organized. I can see with one quick glance at the board who is on track for the week and who needs to catch up. If we have a few extra minutes for a brain break, I can see which students need to complete work instead of joining us. It’s a two for the price of one deal! =)
You can grab a copy of my student coupons/prize cards here.
Wow! I love this! I am totally going to have to make one of these! Thank you so much for the free cards and the idea!!
Amy
3 Teacher Chicks
I so want a cameo… trying to justify putting it into the budget but I really hate cutting out letters so I think that's reason enough!
You will be amazed at all the things you can do with it!
I absolutely love this idea. I've been toying around with what to do all summer after seeing some homework boards for Monday Made It. I'm with you, I don't want whatever I ended up doing to be a time waster. I really love the bottle cap idea. I made the pebble magnets last year and they would always fall off because they are too heavy. I think the bottle caps will be a great replacement 🙂 Thanks for the tips!!
Elizabeth
Fun in Room 4B
You're so welcome!
I love this idea! What really caught my eye was the bright colors on the black background. So cheery and exciting! 🙂
~Brandee
Creating Lifelong Learners
Super cute! I'm thinking I'll have to make something similar this week. Love the bright colors! I teach two classes, so I have to decide if I need two…
Jessica
Literacy Spark
This is such a great idea! I have a cameo and love it. One question… how do you keep your letters from sticking to your cutting board? Every time I try to cute paper letters, they get stuck and rip. I don't use mine as nearly as much as I should, but I'm not sure how to do every thing either 🙂
Terri
The Creative Apple
When the mat was brand new I had that problem, but not after the first few uses. Now I have to spray mine to make it stickier. I think it's time to get a new one. 🙂 Maybe try sticking and unsticking card stock to it?
Love this idea! I, too, tried Homeworkopoly and like you had issues with having to stand over the students as they rolled. I really like your board. I just have to figure out where to put the grid. In the coming school year, I will not be blocking so I will only have to keep track of my homeroom group. Thanks for the pictures. I am a visual learner.
Sue Mescall
This is awesome! I will have to share this with my co-teachers! They will love it. And thanks for the free cards…adorable and thrifty…two of my favorite things!
Kim
Mrs. H's Resource Room
Absolutely LOVE this idea and definitely WILL be playing around with it for my classroom. Need to think of a way to do it with 4 different grade levels…. but I think I can make it work! Thank you so much for the inspiration!!!
Mathematically yours,
Jamie aka MissMathDork!
CUUUUUUUUUUUTE!! Love this idea…not sure how I can do it with 6 different classes…but I deperately want to!
I love that you found a black dry erase board. How cool! I will have to keep my eye out for one of these! Thanks for sharing such a great classroom management tool!
Jennifer
Elementary School Garden
I love this idea! I'm really thinking of implementing some kind of incentive for homework this year…this could be it! Thanks for sharing!
Crystal
Teaching Little Miracles
Your board is super cute! The colors just POP! This is a great incentive for your students. Thanks for sharing.
Foreman Teaches
Loving this idea!! (And also realizing how much I need a Cameo… aaaah!) Thanks for sharing 🙂
~Stephanie
3rd Grade Thoughts
Love this idea!!! I love the black dry erase board too. I will need to keep my eyes open for one. Was at Hobby Lobby this weekend. Guess I need to make another trip!
I love this idea! Homeworkopoly is SO time consuming even though I love it! I am totally going to try your idea! Thanks
Tina
Crofts' Classroom
I love how simple this is- such a perfect way to reward students but not take very long to do it! The colors are so cute, too. Thanks for sharing!
Jenny
Luckeyfrog's Lilypad
I came over from Classroom Freebies and this is absolutely adorable!! As a student I would have watched that board all week, eager for Friday! I've pinned ya' 🙂
~Fern
Fern Smith's Classroom Ideas!
Fern Smith's Pinterest Boards!
Thanks! I can't wait for them to see it. 🙂
Love how cute this is! Need a new homework idea, and thanks for the heads up on the time suck…can certainly do without that! Must try something like this!
Love this idea and it is really cute! Thank you for making it a freebie!
Love it!! So cute!! This idea would alleviate a problem and provide a reward! Thanks too for the freebie.
Great idea, and so simple. Thanks for the Freebie!
jkmatuch@aol.com
Great idea Christi! So glad you linked it up:) Thanks for sharing it and your ideas with others:) Such an inspiration:)
4th Grade Frolics
I use something similar towards the end of the year called Behavior Bingo. It's an extra way to keep kids focused when they get restless for summer break! I love how cute yours is and it makes me want to revamp mine! Thanks for sharing your coupons!!
A Tall Drink of Water
This is awesome and beautiful!!! I laughed when I saw your helper. I have a few who do the same when I'm working on the floor 🙂 🙂
They are certainly part of the family! =)
What a fabulous idea! I'm going to pin this one! 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
~Erin
Mrs. Beattie's Classroom
So cute and what a great motivator for good behavior! Also, I am pretty sure cats think everything you put on the floor is their new toy 😉
Thanks for the fab idea!
Kristina
Mrs. Z & Company
I love this idea! I love the simplicity and being able to glance up to see who has all their stuff in. Now just making sure I know right away if they have their stuff in. I have them put their work in the bin, but don't always look at it that day they turn it in. Maybe a quick look would be a good idea. Also I've never used numbers, but I kind of think it might be easier to use numbers for finding work faster….
Tammy
The numbers are awesome! We can line up in number order if there's a problem in the hallway, arguing, etc. In an emergency, they number up so quickly that it's easy to tell if anyone is missing. Having numbers on their work means students can help me put things in order too. I have a room job where two students work together to put the papers from the day in order and let me know if any are missing before the bell rings. Amazing!
Christi,
I bought the board and the bottle caps this weekend and I am going to make the board. I love the idea. When I make it I'll take pics and give you credit back of course. I have a question though? When you roll the dice and the kids in that row win, does the whole row win??? I was just trying to figure out how you would determine. Unless you rolled the STARS and 1-6 at the same time and the winner was where they intersect? Will you clear this up for my confused brain. lol
Tammy
I am confused by the rolling of the dice and STARS and 1-6 also. :-}
Thanks for the share!! Really stunning. Keen to try it out in my new classroom.
I love this idea. Thank you for sharing!!!
It turned out so cute! I need a good homeowrk incentive and this is just perfect!
I've been pondering what to do about keeping track of work. Thanks for the inspiration…great idea!!
I am a middle school reading specialist who loves your blog. You are so creative, I have even adapted some of your ideas to use in my classroom.
Thank you for your hard work, Paula
That made my day, Paula! Thanks for stopping in. 🙂
I totally needed this! Thank you so much for making it a freebie. I have three pups that think they need to help on all of my school projects, so I totally know how that is! I'm definitely going to pin this and share it on my blog if that's okay. Thanks again!
I'd love it, thanks!
I love this! I think the concept is great–random chance drawings are good because students don't always expect a prize. I also love how bright and colorful your board is. Hmmmm. My wheels are turning. Thanks for the coupons, too. 🙂
Renee J
Growing a Teacher
Such a cute idea…and I love the colors! This is making me want a Cameo so badly!! Thanks for the post!
Bobbi
Bitty Bilinguals
Do it!! You have my permission. 😉 They are so wonderful!
I am so glad this has inspired you! Your comments make my day. <3
This system sounds like a lot of fun!! I can't wait to hear how your class likes it.
Pam
http://mrspspecialties.blogspot.com/
Great idea! Your board looks wonderful-love the bright colors and pop theme. I am a new bloglovin follower….
Smiles,
Sarah @ Hoots N Hollers
Great idea… very cute, too. I'm also a new follower.
Thanks so much!
This is really cool! I like this instead of them getting a hole punch in their behavior card for their homework (especially in my title I school!) Thanks!! I think I have my next project!
Very bright and fun! Thanks for the variety of rewards. It is a good reminder that kids are motivated in different way.
What a cute and adorable idea! I love it! Your board looks amazing! Love the colours that you went with! I just pinned your board onto my Pinterest. Thanks for sharing!
I noticed that you were asking about other suggestions that we may add to the cards. This is just a thought, but how about adding "Choose a Brain Break", "Lead the Class in a 3 minute stretching activity", "Play Hang-man" (where the student challenges his/her peers to a quick game of hang-man on the board).
Najda
@gardenfullofknowledge
najda_2000@yahoo.com
I love this!!! I think you just gave me an idea of how to do my helpers! 🙂
Leslie
Miss R's Room
Great idea! I used to do something similar to this and called it "Reado". Each time a student passed an AR test in my class they were able to add a sticky with their name on it to my specially-made board. Then once a week I pulled a couple winners and they could choose prizes very similar to yours. It worked out fabulously and gave my kidlets incentive to pass at least one AR book a week. I may just end up with a combo this year and many of the same kids–maybe I'll start up a new incentive like this to bring some freshness to the year for those repeating with me. 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
It turned out so cute! I love how you used classroom numbers so it can be reused. Thanks for sharing it.
✿April✿
✿Grade School Giggles✿
I am reposting a comment from July 13th.
Christi,
I bought the board and the bottle caps this weekend and I am going to make the board. I love the idea. When I make it I'll take pics and give you credit back of course. I have a question though? When you roll the dice and the kids in that row win, does the whole row win??? I was just trying to figure out how you would determine. Unless you rolled the STARS and 1-6 at the same time and the winner was where they intersect? Will you clear this up for my confused brain. lol
Tammy
Oh, Tammy! I saw your question on my iphone when I was running around and then forgot to come back to it. Thanks for asking again. I do plan to use the intersection.
I have 2 dice. One is just a regular 1-6. The other is a blank foam one that I write "STARS" on. I used different colors so they match the board and I can tell the first and last S apart. This way, only 1 person will win each time I roll.
I plan to announce the intersection and have the students use their math skills to see if that's their spot. The more students who keep the caps on the board, the more winners I'll draw. Group motivation =)
Thanks Christi. I was going to make it tonight, but I left my cutting board thingy for my cricut at school, so I will get it tomorrow and make my board tomorrow night! Thanks for the info, that is what I was thinking!
Wow Christi this is really a wonderful job you have done and thanks a lot to you for sharing this with us.I like to try this kind of innovative ideas which help our kids to grow .Toys like kids learning laptop are also very helpful.
funskool toys it help a lot for the great development of a child.
I really like this idea and the reward cards!! I was wondering if you have a post about what the different reward cards entail such as behavior punch, etc?? Thanks!
I just found your adorable cards and I would love to have a few more made. I'm looking for:
Seat Swap
Job Swap
Peppermint
Library Chair