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Class Awards - How to Leave Students Feeling Recognized and Special

Nearly everyone loves to be recognized, and one way to leave your students feeling special and important is to have an end of the year awards ceremony.  I know you might be thinking that coming up with a unique award for each student sounds like it might be a challenge.  Don't worry.  I've got you covered!

This is the last chance you get to make a positive impact on how your students feel about you, the school, and their own self-worth.  By giving them a positive message at the end of the year you are telling them they matter.  You're planting the seed for their future teachers and bosses, as well.

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Class awards are an easy way to show the students you've given some thought to them individually.  Each award says something specific about them and that goes a long way with just about anyone.

You can simply print them out and give them to each student, or you can take it next-level and do a full-on awards ceremony.  I'm going to suggest that the latter would be a better overall experience for everyone, including yourself.

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Have an Awards Ceremony

Here's how I would do an awards ceremony in my classroom.  On the day of the event, I would start the class by telling every student that for the next 45 minutes there will be nothing but positivity coming out of everyone's mouths.  I think it's important to set this expectation up front to fend off any unnecessary comments as awards are handed out.

Have the pre-printed awards in a stack at the front of the class, but also have the awards projected on the board so that everyone can see them as they are given out.  Call on a student to read the complete award and then either have them guess who the award goes to or just call the recipient of that award to the front of the class.  I would even allow students to take pictures with their own phones too.  This is the kind of stuff that we want them to be sharing on social media.  Maybe you could create a hashtag for them to use (ex. #keslerawards).

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Class Awards Done For You

Here's the best part. You don't have to create the awards yourself. I've already done it for you with 135 unique science awards ready for your students.

There are 40 ready-to-print science awards inspired by a diverse range of famous scientists. Each certificate includes brief biographical information about the scientist as well as an explanation for how it relates to the recipient. There are also 60 science awards that relate a science concept to a personality trait of the student. Each certificate includes a definition of the science concept as well as an explanation for how it relates to the recipient. Lastly, my 35 element science awards are perfect for all the chemistry buffs in your classroom. The awards include a fun fact about an element, the atomic mass and number, and a specific student strength. Whichever award you choose, all you have to do is print, sign/date, and you are done.

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While all of the other classes are dealing with discipline issues and lack of engagement, you'll be able to take advantage of making a memory that your students won't soon forget.  Download the science awards bundle now. 

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