If you’re looking for an easy middle school classroom reward, allow me to suggest something decidedly low-tech: stickers.
Yes, stickers.
I started putting a sticker on every paper that earned an A. It was a tiny reward that took seconds, but my students took it far more seriously than I expected.
The Sticker Collection
Students started keeping their stickers on a collection sheet throughout the school year. Suddenly, choosing a sticker became almost as important as seeing the grade.
And there is definitely a sticker hierarchy.
Regular stickers? Good.
Meme stickers? Excellent.
Smelly stickers? Classroom currency.
Finding a new pack of funny or unusual stickers is now one of my favorite inexpensive ways to keep this little tradition going.
The Day I Forgot the Stickers
Then came a particularly busy grading day. I ran out of time and handed back the papers without putting stickers on the A's.
They noticed.
Immediately.
Apparently, an A without its sticker constitutes a breach of the teacher-student social contract.
My mistake ultimately cost me one sticker for every student in the class not just the students who had earned an A. They considered this a perfectly reasonable settlement.
Honestly, I wasn't even mad.
Why Stickers Work With Middle Schoolers
Middle schoolers spend a lot of energy convincing us they’ve outgrown anything remotely childish. Hand them a ridiculous meme sticker or a scratch-and-sniff taco, though, and that carefully cultivated coolness disappears remarkably fast.
That’s why stickers have become one of my favorite student incentives for middle school. There are no points to track, prizes to manage, or complicated reward systems to maintain.
They’re inexpensive. They take seconds. And they make getting an A just a little more fun.
Sometimes the simplest classroom traditions are the ones students remember.
So yes, middle schoolers still love stickers.
Just don’t forget them!
My Students' Favorite Stickers
If you want to start your own collection, these are the types I replenish most often:
Meme & Funny Stickers — Always among the first ones students reach for.
Smelly Stickers — Apparently irresistible, even when you're thirteen.
Seasonal Stickers — An easy way to change up the collection throughout the school year: fall, winter, spring.
Teacher's Choice — Whatever ridiculous pack catches my eye and makes me think, Yep, an eighth grader would find that hilarious.
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