If you are thinking about using vinyl stickers to motivate upper elementary students, then consider implementing some of these ideas!
When I look around the school and see my students covering their water bottles with vinyl stickers, I am reminded of old suitcases where travelers would tag their bags to show where they’ve been and what experiences they’ve had.
I also think about the girl in the Girl Scout jacket with all of her patches of trainings and tasks she has completed. I know when I look at those patches that she has earned each one, and to her, each of those patches means something.
Another memory that I have related to stickers, and this may date me a little bit, have to do with letter jackets.
We used to strut our stuff in jackets decorated with all the achievements and acknowledgments that we earned over the course of our time in high school.
In all of these instances, our stickers, patches, and medals were used to show accomplishments and experiences. That got me thinking about the value of the stickers students can earn in my class.
How can I implement these same types of practices?
How can I make the stickers mean more?
Finding Stickers
First, you have to get some stickers that you can use as incentives with your students.
Stickers can come from lots of different places. You can explore specialty sticker shops on platforms like Etsy, or you can just do a little shopping on Amazon.
I did a little searching, and I think this set is pretty good for classroom use. I also like this package of stickers. I found both of those on Amazon, and there are plenty of other sets you could consider as well.
A word from the wise…make sure you go through all the stickers first, as I did find some inappropriate ones mixed in every once in a while!
Frequency and Inclusivity
One of the things you’ll want to think about before starting a new strategy, like using vinyl stickers to motivate upper elementary students, is how often you’ll bring them out. You don’t want your stickers to be too easy to earn because then you’ll lose all their value.
Instead, pick some key instances when the stickers will be used to motivate your students.
You’ll also want to choose methods and scenarios that allow for as much inclusivity as possible.
If you decide you are going to use the stickers to acknowledge the best speller in the classroom each week, then you may be putting students who are English language learners or students with learning disabilities at a disadvantage. So, you may choose to use the stickers to acknowledge the best speller of the week but also to acknowledge the most creative drawing of the week or the student who improved the most on a certain task.
Ideas for Using Vinyl Stickers to Motivate Upper Elementary Students.
Once you have your stickers, consider implementing some of these ideas for handing them out to students.
Use your stickers…
- As a full class reward for accomplishing a big goal
- To acknowledge the winners of a game
- To reward excellent participation
- To identify a secret student
- To identify a specific behavior you were hoping to see in class
- As a group reward for good collaboration
- To acknowledge improvement on a goal
- To reward mastery of a new skill
- To acknowledge hard work
- To show appreciation for kindness
- As a positive behavior incentive, students can earn
- To place value on a particularly hard assignment or problem.
- To acknowledge good problem solvers.
- To show appreciation for turning an assignment in early
- To show appreciation for contributing to the food drive
- To acknowledge the number of books a student has read
Pick a few of these ideas that you like the best, and try them.
Which ones seem to resonate the best with your students?
Finding the RIGHT Stickers
Once you decide on a few of the ways you want to start using vinyl stickers to motivate upper elementary students, you may want to find some sets of stickers that work well for specific achievements.
Maybe you have stickers to acknowledge reading a certain number of books in a school year (much like the patches Girl Scouts earn for selling cookies) or to acknowledge a student’s participation in the school food drive. You may choose to use very specific stickers that are all the same and recognizable so that they hold a very specific meaning when someone sees them displayed.
You may also choose to have a few types of stickers that are a little ‘more’ special because they identify certain behaviors you love to see your students demonstrate. These stickers don’t have to say anything specific. Instead, they may just have a special quality, like being sparkly or extra shiny or a certain color. When other students see these, they’ll know that the student earned them for a specific type of behavior.
Suggestion: Reserve these types of stickers for the most important moments to really show how special they are.
Using vinyl stickers to motivate upper elementary students is a great way to engage your students throughout the year. It is amazing how something as simple as a sticker allows students the permission to show off their hard work and accomplishments in a safe way that is encouraged.
If you find some success using vinyl stickers to motivate your upper elementary students, then they may also be motivated by these Sticker Style activities, which allow them to earn stickers as they work their way through a digital assignment. You may also find this post about the Sticker Style activities particularly helpful!
When you implement these strategies in your classroom, just like the stickers on a suitcase, your students’ stickers will start to tell a positive story of their journey through your class.
