An Easy Table Points Classroom Management Strategy for K-5

I absolutely love using table points as a simple yet effective way to motivate kids in lower elementary school classrooms. What most K-2 teachers need is a streamlined, no-fuss classroom management strategy that will teach kids classroom expectations.

While we want our students to have intrinsic motivation to succeed, the reality is that most kids don’t develop this drive until upper elementary school as their academic identity begins to form. 

One way to teach a child to be intrinsically motivated – meaning that they want to succeed simply because it feels good – is to develop this attitude with external rewards and lots of praise.

Also, think about your own motivations. Would you like to work hard every day at school for zero pay? No! Remember that most lower elementary kids don’t even understand the concept of grades, nor can they work toward long-term goals yet. Most children need immediate feedback when they’re performing well or poorly, and this is developmentally appropriate. 

It’s also a way to make your school days more fun!

Many teachers who have made it past their first couple of years have already tried various classroom management systems or economies. If you’ve already failed a couple of times – at least in your own mind – to find something that works, don’t give up!

And for goodness sakes – if you’re still using a clip chart, it’s time to stop that madness.

Try table points classroom management and see if this might be the perfect system for you. The best news is that there are many different tweaks you can make to adjust this strategy if it’s not 100% foolproof for you yet. 

Table points is a great classroom management strategy.

Below are 5 reasons why I love table points as a classroom management tool for increasing good behavior and effort in students.

Table Points incentivizes teamwork.

One key feature of a really great classroom culture is teamwork. Effective teachers do this without thinking much about it.

Not every child has the benefit of participating in extra-curricular activities. That’s especially true in high poverty schools like mine. Kids need to be taught how to work together, and then they discover that being part of a team is really fun.

There are some great social-emotional learning rewards that come with this classroom management strategy. Using table points will automatically develop strong leadership and followership traits in your students as they begin to work toward a common goal.

Table points are easy to track.

If you’re used to a classroom economy that requires you to track individual behavior using Class Dojo or any other method, you’ll find that table points is easier. For example, with just one point assigned and narrated, you’re benefiting every kid at the table, so all of them are getting that necessary positive reinforcement. You can say, “The blue table was SO FAST at getting started!” and you’ve just rewarded 3-5 students instead of just one. 

If you are a teacher who struggles with maintaining a good ratio of positive to negative interactions (and hey, we’ve all been there at one point or another), you may find that table points help you become a more effective classroom manager with less effort spent. 

Table points emphasize positive behavior and quality student learning.

I do not like to ever take points away. To me, this robs the entire classroom management system of its effectiveness. Students need to feel confident that a point given is earned for good. 

If you get in the habit of taking away points, you’ll soon find that you are narrating negative behaviors just as often as positive behaviors, and then you’ve stolen the joy of the entire reward system. You’ll also find that your mood is worse at the end of the day. 

Save consequences for the big stuff, and keep those individualized. There’s nothing more frustrating to a strong student who is giving it their best than being punished for a classmate’s negative behavior. 

Table points harness students’ competitive spirits.

Students in elementary school begin to naturally develop some competitiveness, and that’s not a bad thing. Table points allow kids to be collaborative as they work toward their goal and competitive with other tables at the same time.

There are plenty of kids who won’t care much about impressing the teacher in the room. But they’ll absolutely work for the approval of their peers and for the joy of winning! Any system that allows for some friendly competition will motivate kids to work even when they don’t care about working for you.

Table points are totally customizable.

If you don’t like technology, table points work incredibly well – perhaps even better – the old fashioned way with some type of token in the middle of the table. If you want to use technology, that’s an easy adjustment, as well.

If you want your kids to work for a full week before earning a prize, that can be managed. If you’ve got kids who need a prize before the end of the week, just adjust your points threshold lower. Easy, peasy! You may discover that the length of time before a prize is earned will vary by grade level.

Table points can also work if you’re departmentalized and teach multiple rotations of kids. 

How to Get Started with Table Points

There are a few simple steps to get started with table groups. I find it’s a far less intimidating process than many other classroom economies. You don’t have to start this at the beginning of the year; if it’s March and you’re struggling, table points are an easy thing to implement.

Form smart table groups.

You’ll want to begin by making sure your whole class is plugged into a table group that will allow them some possibility of fair competition, because you’re not just looking for compliance with behaviors. Ultimately, you’ll want to award points for effort, quality of conversations, and achievement. 

This means you’ll want to divide your class into three academic groups on paper or digitally: top 25%, middle 50%, and bottom 25%. 

Next, spread out these students so that each table group has at least 1 high performer, 1 student who struggles quite a bit, and the other 2-3 students can be from the middle of your classroom bell curve. As you’re working, try to pay some attention to behaviors and personalities that don’t mix well together. Do the best you can with the unique mix of students in your group.

One of the main reasons you’ll want to set it up this way is because heterogeneous groups will allow kids to compete fairly. 

Choose 1-2 behaviors and attitudes to incentivize.

It can be tempting to use table groups for everything all at once, and skilled, experienced teachers will be able to manage it. However, if you’re a teacher who often feels overwhelmed by the students in your class, you may be struggling with classroom management. You’ll have the most success by only targeting 1 inappropriate behavior at a time, or possibly two of them.

For example, you may feel like your entire day is a disaster. Perhaps you feel like students don’t respect you, they take far too long to do low-rigor assignments, or maybe the kids talk over you while you’re trying to teach. Instead of trying to solve everything at once, pick 1-2 small problems to tackle with table groups. Once that behavior is corrected, you can begin to work on other problems.

Consider choosing 1 management problem to tackle and 1 effort and rigor problem. For example, you may decide to focus on quick transitions from one activity to the next (management) and also quality, on-topic table talk when solving math problems (rigor/effort). This will communicate to kids that both behaviors and academic expectations are important to you.

Choose Rewards

You may find it easiest to just dump a bit of money into a treasure box prizes or purchase a bunch of stickers on Amazon. When your table group earns 10 points (or a designated amount of your choosing), you can allow them to visit the sticker store or choose a prize from the treasure box. Spending some of your personal money can occasionally be worth it if it saves you time or sanity.

I’m not a fan of the treasure box prizes, because the cost adds up quickly unless you’re only rewarding on Fridays. I want to be able to be very generous with points without worrying about going over budget. Stickers are incredibly inexpensive, and kids love to plaster them all over water bottles and Chromebooks. The mega packs on Amazon clean up so easily at the end of the year. 

If you’d like to spend no money and give your kids a variety of options, I love the idea of customizable coupons. You can decide what rewards you’re comfortable giving out in class, and then print coupons that kids can turn in to redeem their points. I have a free printable you might like if you’re interested in using coupons. 

Here are some popular rewards that you can print onto coupons, laminate, and cut.

1. Stuffed Animal – This one is great for younger students – generally 3rd grade and below – who enjoy showing off their favorite stuffies.
2. Homework Pass – What a winner! They absolutely love it, and it’s one less thing for you to grade. Just have them turn in a certificate or some other documentation so you don’t accidentally mark it as missing in your grade book.
3. Favorite Book – This one can take several forms. You can let the student read a favorite picture book to their classmates, treat it like a book report where the kid comes and tells everyone about a favorite book, or have free reading time. 
4. Stinky Feet Treat – Younger children love this! Your room may smell yucky, but kids really enjoy being able to take off their shoes and get comfy in class. 
5. Computer Time – Free computer time is a hit for most kids, although I do have mixed feelings about them having extra screen time. Still, you probably have access to tons of educational programs they can use for this reward. 
6. Teacher’s Chair – My students used to LOVE this silly reward. It earned them the right to sit at my desk, which I never used anyway. 
7. Free Seating – You can consider having a special flexible seating zone – rather than a whole classroom space – and students can earn the right to enjoy the special seating.
8. Happy Text Message or Phone Call Home – For this reward, you commit to contact the student’s parent with a positive text message or phone call home.
9. Show and Tell Time – Students bring something (not living) to class and share about it at a time of my teacher’s choosing.
10. Teacher’s Helper – Students get to be your number 1 helper for the day!
11. Use a Pen! – Students can write with a pen for the whole class period today.
12. Author of the Day – Students can be chosen for Author’s Chair this week.
13. Dojo Master – I will be responsible for dojo points to the hardest workers during stations.
14. The Secret Admirer – I can skip an activity today and instead write a kindness letter to a friend SECRETLY. I will turn it in to my teacher and she will deliver it anonymously.
15. Drawing Pass – I will skip an activity and draw silently instead.
16. Seat Swap – Switch seats with a classmate for the day. You choose your spot!
17. Wear A Crown – You get to be king or queen for the day! Not really – but at least you can wear a crown 🙂
18. Line Leader – Today, you get to lead the pack! Onward!
19. Smartboard Doodler – You get to skip an assignment and doodle on the Smartboard instead!
20. DJ for the Day – Choose one of your teacher’s pre-selected playlists to listen to as a class while we work.
21. Bookworm – Skip today’s assignment and read a book instead!
22. Book Club Leader – Take some time out of class to lead a “book club.” Tell the class about your favorite books and make recommendations.
23. Cringe! – Make the teacher do 30 seconds of super embarrassing dancing to a school-appropriate song.
24. Hat Day! – Bring a hat to school and wear it during my class.
25. Share a Snack for Two – Bring a yummy snack from home – with enough for a friend, too!
26. Art Showcase – Bring your best artwork from home to display in the hallway!
27. Library Outing – Leave class for 10 minutes to visit the library.
28. Share a Snack for Two – Bring a yummy snack from home – with enough for a friend, too!
29. Art Showcase – Bring your best artwork from home to display in the hallway!
30. Puzzle Time – Partner with a friend for 15 minutes of class to do a puzzle.
31. Wacky Walk – You’ve earned the right to walk OUT of the line. Today, walk however you want to – and not in line with everyone else!
32. Chalk the Walk at Recess – Take our class set of chalk and decorate the school sidewalk. Be appropriate!
33. Yum! Gum! – You get to chew gum in class today, so bring some of the good stuff from home.
34. Dough Break – Have some solo play-doh time. I bet it makes you smile! Make us something cool.
35. Art for Kids Hub – Take time out of class to do an Art for Kids Hub, and then we’ll showcase it in my room!
36. The Poet – Bring a favorite silly poem to school and read it for the class.
37. Hug Your Old Teacher – Make a quick trip down the hall to your old teacher and give her a big old hug.
38. Earned Free Time – Some teachers love to give kids 15 minutes to do whatever school-safe activity they’d like to do, whether that’s reading, drawing, or playing an approved computer game.

Decide How You’ll Track Points

Keep it simple, teacher friend! There are so many ways to track points. The key is that your system is 1) quickly accessible to you and 2) visible to the kids. Whether you choose a digital option or use a low-tech solution matters not. Here are ideas that may work. 

Digital Options for Tracking Table Points

If you prefer to keep things digital whenever possible, you have several easy ways to manage it. 

You might try Class Dojo, especially if that’s already your preferred classroom behavior management system. In Class Dojo, you can create table groups and then easily assign a point to the entire group, rather than clicking on individual “monsters.” Here is a snippet from the Class Dojo website.

You can manage your Class Dojo account from your computer, phone, or tablet. All of these can be opened in a window on the computer attached to your Smart Board. This makes it easily accessible for the teacher to manage and visible to kids. Plus, these fun little monsters are eye-catching!

Another popular tool is Classroom Screen, and it already has a widget called Scoreboard. You can create teams in there and assign points. Best of all, Classroom Screen has tons of flexibility and various options to make your class run more smoothly. They have three different ways to show points, but my favorite for table points is the “race” option. They can race to ten points, or whatever other increment you prefer. Here’s how it looks on Classroom Screen.

Low-Tech Solutions for Representing Table Points 

Of course, technology is only a good thing if it makes your life simpler. 

There is absolutely nothing wrong with keeping it old school! There are some truly creative options to consider for table points if you don’t want the trouble of opening up yet another browser window. 

Remember, no matter how you set up your table points, you’ll be focusing on building a positive classroom environment.

Good Old Fashioned Tally Marks

Here’s a simple idea. Tape off a section of your whiteboard, list out your team names, and just mark a tally with your Expo marker. 

Clothespins

Clothespins are super inexpensive. When I modeled table points for a teacher, I used this method because I knew she’d be more comfortable with a low-tech option. I clipped a ton of clothespins onto my lanyard at the start of the day. When a table group deserved recognition for their behavior or quality of work, I would transfer the clothespin from my lanyard to their materials caddy on the table. When each table group earned 5 clips, each teammate got to choose a sticker from the Sticker Store. 

Sparklers

This is an adorable idea from Teach. Create. Motivate. Each table group gets a metal pail or any container of your choosing to put on the center of their table. Each “point” is represented by a sparkly pom pom that gets dropped into the bucket. You can find these “sparklers” on Amazon.

It’s important for classroom teachers to have a system that works well to get specific behaviors under control. In my experience, there’s nothing simpler and few things more effective than table points to improve classroom management. In my own classroom, this system always offered a quick and easy way to say “good job” to the kids who most needed to hear it.