Schoolhouse Talk!: Speech Therapy Reward Board

September 29, 2014

Speech Therapy Reward Board

an alternative way of reinforcing good behavior in the speech room

Whew! September is almost over and I'm finally getting back into blogging again! I ended up taking a much-needed break from writing blog posts this summer because I was busy packing up my apartment and moving a few states away. My husband and I are now residents of North Dakota (The Peace Garden State), and I have a new job working with 3rd through 8th grade.

It was a busy summer, and while this blog was nearly abandoned I did use social media frequently including giveaways, so be sure to follow along! You never know when some fun might pop up ;)

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Things are finally starting to feel normal at my new job, and I'm ready to get back into blogging more regularly. I'll start today with my reward system for this year: my Reward Board!

Thanks to The Speech Bubble for this idea! The school I'm in this year has a building-wide superhero theme, so I had each student personalize their own superhero which I then laminated and cut out. Each time they come to a session, they have the chance to advance their superhero, but only if they are good workers, great listeners, and super friends. There are a couple spots on the board labeled "PRIZE" and when they land on those squares, they get to pick their prize:

I wanted to get away from a prize box this year since I'm working with older students (3rd through 8th grade). So I created QR codes with their rewards. Each time a student lands on a prize space, they can pick a code out of the envelope, scan it, and find out what their reward is.

Rewards range from 15 minutes free time, to listen to music, to game day in speech. Of course, the illustrious prize box is still in there, but only one code leads to it!

This reward board system is working well so far for me this year. Hopefully it will help my students learn that toys and trinkets aren't the only thing that can be rewarding for their hard work.