spell a word

I write COUGAR on the board (or SURPRISE) and they get a surprise as long as the C is up on Friday. Through the week I erase letters if they are too talkative. It works really well. I just have to head to the board and they quiet down. I use COUGAR because it's our mascot. You can use your mascot or class theme.

someone else wrote:

I also do spell a word. I let the students choose their weekly reward word - for some reason though they don't get the concept to choose something with minimal letters.

For tough classes, I have the students set one weekly behavior goal (i.e. be a good sport, be quietly standing in line when I greet them, etc.) and reward with tally marks. I love the self reflection that occurs with this system!