A class-wide reward is a positive consequence that one student earns for the whole class.
It is the counterpart to the official reminder. A reminder is given to an individual student who is not meeting an expectation. A class-wide reward follows the same logic in reverse: one student makes a positive choice, settling quickly, accepting a consequence calmly, getting back on track, and the whole class receives a reward for it.
The key word is class-wide. The reward goes to everyone. Not just to the students who were already behaving well. Not to the students who "deserved" it most. To every single person in the room.
This is often misunderstood. Many teachers assume a class-wide reward is something you give when the whole class has been good. It isn't. It is given in response to one student's positive choice. The fact that the whole class benefits is exactly the point.
The system I use is simple. Ten circles, roughly ten centimetres wide, arranged in two columns of five, displayed at the front of the classroom. Each time the class earns a reward, you fill in one circle. When all ten are filled, the class gets a small treat.
You can give a class-wide reward publicly or privately. Publicly, you name the behaviour and fill in a circle: "That's a class-wide reward. Thanks for looking at the board." Privately, you tell the student first: "That's a class-wide reward. Thanks for stopping straight away." Then walk to the display and fill it in without making a fuss. Either way, it takes about ten seconds.
You always name the specific behaviour. Not "that was good" — "thanks for using a silent voice", "thanks for looking at the board", "thanks for stopping straight away." Like a speed camera that flashes green at 28mph, you are reinforcing the expectation, not just approving of the student.
Many students like recognition. Many prefer not to be singled out in front of everyone. The private version works just as well, and often better for students who find public recognition uncomfortable.
The treat I recommend is two minutes of Heads Down Thumbs Up. It takes exactly two minutes, every student is involved, it is quiet, and it does not involve the kind of classroom democracy that sometimes causes more disruption than it is worth.
When a round finishes, the three students who were "on" stay on and then they swap. A new round starts immediately. It is self-contained and takes no additional effort to run.
In the establishment phase, when you are building the system for the first time, you might go through the ten circles five times in a single morning. That is normal, and it is the point. Small rewards given often. Not a class trip when the class fills a jar with ten thousand marbles.
Most reward systems target individuals: stickers, points, merit marks. The problem is that they tend to reach the same students. The students who already behave well collect most of the rewards. The students who most need positive reinforcement receive the fewest.
When a teacher does give an individual reward to a challenging student, something interesting happens. The relationship between that teacher and that student improves. But the relationship between that student and the rest of the class often gets worse. The class has noticed who gets the most reminders. Now they see the same student collecting rewards. The unspoken question in the room is: why is the naughtiest person in this class getting the most rewards?
A class-wide reward reaches everyone, including the students who are most used to consequences. It also does something individual rewards cannot: it tells every student in the room that the system is fair, that it is for everybody, and that you notice when things go well.
Knowing what class-wide rewards are is the first step. How many to give matters just as much. Without the right ratio of rewards to reminders, the positive side of the system gets lost. Read about the class-wide rewards ratio and why the numbers matter.