In this guide
- Mentor award
- Above and beyond award
- Personal voice award
- Geek squad award
- Perseverance award
- Entrepreneur of the year award
- Creativity award
- Most engaged award
- Best questions award
- Student choice award
- Class choice award
As a school year draws to a close, it’s important to reflect on the accomplishments, growth, and community spirit that helped define the journey during that year. End-of-year awards provide a perfect opportunity to celebrate the diverse talents, achievements, and contributions of students inside and outside of the classroom. We can easily get caught up in standards, scores, and grades that overshadow the incredibly human and personal element at the core of meaningful education. We all know these traditional metrics do not accurately represent students and their unique strengths that we come to appreciate throughout the year. Holding a classroom awards ceremony allows for a fun way to add closure to the year and celebrate the special contributions each student has contributed to the learning experience.
Throughout the year, I read excerpts from Todd Rose’s The End of Average, to my students to help them understand the numerous strengths and talents the world needs. So many of my students are singularly focused on GPA and measuring themselves against their peers that they forget to lean into their own strengths and superpowers. My awards ceremony is my way to formally recognise those talents that I have been encouraging them to develop throughout the year even if that growth does not directly correlate to their academic record.
How to make our end-of-year awards fun and rewarding
To ensure these awards are truly meaningful and inclusive, it’s essential to consider a diverse range of categories that reflect the varied experiences and strengths of all students. By embracing inclusivity, we can make the end-of-year awards both enjoyable and rewarding for everyone involved. I try to make my award categories different every year so that they specifically reflect the individuals in that class.
With so many awards and trophies associated with childhood, I found that leaning into my own unique personality (and sense of humour) helps create more meaning to the process. In fact, I design my award ceremony loosely on a popular sitcom from the beginning of my teaching career. Thanks to streaming services, I find that many of my students today can still find the connection even though the show has been off the air for years.
I use a very simple design template to quickly and easily make customisable awards for students without spending much time or money. A former student of mine was recently hired at our school and during her first week she stopped by my room to show me the “Schwabbby” award she received over a decade ago. I was shocked that she had kept it and I am sure that is not the norm but I am confident that the award held a lot more value to her than the grade I gave her at the end of the class.
Award ideas and categories
1) Mentor award
Acknowledge students who have served as exemplary mentors or role models to their peers, offering support, guidance, and encouragement to help others succeed academically and personally. This award celebrates the importance of peer mentorship and leadership. Whether it’s tutoring a struggling classmate, offering advice to younger students, or serving as a mentor in a school program, mentorship plays a crucial role in fostering a supportive and inclusive learning community. As any teacher knows, managing and running a class alone is nearly impossible so those students that step up to help others increase our impact as educators.
2) Above and beyond award
Shout out a student who contributes or produces work even when it does not directly affect their grade. With so much emphasis on grades in school nowadays it is easy for students to get caught in the habit of doing as little as possible to earn the grade they desire. This award lets students know that you notice these important characteristics even if it does not show up on a traditional report card.
3) Personal voice award
This is one of my favourite awards to give because I notice that it usually goes to a student that is not at the top of the class, academically. So many students have learned how to produce work for a teacher that they lose their personal voice and style. A lot of times that can make grading assignments feel redundant and dry. If you have that one student that you can not wait to review their assignment or project because you know it will be unique, then this is a great award for them.
4) Geek squad award
Present this award to the student who regularly helps out when technology issues inevitably arise. It is impossible to keep up with the advancement in technology used in the classroom but I have found that every class has at least one student that knows way more than I do and really enjoys getting involved when things are not working correctly or they have an idea for a new app, website, or tool that I should be using. I named this one after a tech support company that is familiar with the area so students know what it means and know it is an honour.
5) Perseverance award
Recognise students who have shown resilience, flexibility, and perseverance in the face of challenges, setbacks, or changes. This award celebrates the ability to overcome obstacles and thrive in difficult situations. As part of my entrepreneurship pathway, students read Who Owns the Icehouse, and we work on developing the 8 mindsets described in the book. Perseverance is one that many students struggle with so it is great to highlight individuals that exemplify this characteristic. Whether it’s navigating personal struggles, overcoming academic challenges, or adapting to changes in school routines, resilience is a valuable trait that deserves recognition. Not every student ends up in the same place at the end of the year and that is ok. Their personal journey is part of their story and recognising their perseverance helps normalise different outcomes. This award works great if you incorporate elements of grit or a growth mindset as part of your curriculum.
6) Entrepreneur of the year award
Whether you teach a class related to entrepreneurship or not, every class has a budding entrepreneur in it and many times those qualities are not celebrated in a traditional setting. I find these students to be the ones who have a lot of missing assignments participate in class regularly and still produce excellent work on big projects. They are also some of the most interesting students to talk to outside of class because of the things they are interested in or involved with that do not relate to school.
7) Creativity award
Highlight students who have shown creativity, originality, and a willingness to think outside the box in their academic or extracurricular pursuits. This award acknowledges those who have contributed fresh ideas, solutions, or approaches that have made a positive impact on our learning community. Whether it’s a science fair project, a new club initiative, or a creative presentation in class, innovation can come in many forms and should be celebrated. Even if you have given the same assignment to students for over a decade, the recipient of this award is the one who finds a way to complete it in a manner you have never seen before.
8) Most engaged award
We all look at that one student during class who no matter how bad the lesson may be going is still locked in on you and giving you that subtle nod to let you know they are listening. Sometimes you can even see the wheels turning in their head as they digest and synthesise the content for that day. This student helps all of us get through the grind of teaching so it is so rewarding to give this honour out. Disclaimer: I actually call this one the ‘Best Facial Expression Award’ but that title can be a little awkward unless you have established the right culture in your room.
9) Best questions award
Great questions lead to great discussions. The right question can derail a lesson and take it to a totally different place than you intended at the start but then realise that should have been the goal all along. Many students are afraid to ask those questions. This is for the student who bravely admits that they do not know something so that the rest of the group can all benefit from the clarification or additional information. Sometimes the questions will lead me to say “I don’t know” and then as a class, we can pursue that information together as a group of learners.
10) Student choice award
This is my version of “Student of the Year” but instead of it coming from me, each student in the class gets to vote on it. I ask students to think about the student who had the biggest impact on the learning environment for the year rather than just the person with the highest grade. Typically, I use a Google Form where each student can nominate 2-3 classmates along with a short explanation for why they think that person is deserving of this honour. Even though there is only one winner, I spend a lot of time reading the different nominations to the entire class and it is amazing to see the reaction when someone hears what their classmates think about them.
11) Class choice award
I stole this idea from my son’s teacher a couple of years ago. Each student is assigned a different student in the class to create an award for. They need to first determine something about that classmate that should be celebrated. Then they are in charge of designing the actual award for them. It might be a certificate, an object, or a poem. Ideally, the award matches the attribute they are highlighting about that student. I love the power of this award because it shows that it is not only the teacher who notices these amazing qualities that make each person unique and special.
If you ask students about their favourite teacher you will usually hear them talk about a teacher who saw them as more than a student in their class. Those are the teachers who took the time to get to know them and learn about them as a person. Building these relationships is fundamental to positive learning experiences (Sparks, 2019). Unique, weird, and diverse awards help solidify that relationship and demonstrate how much we value our students as young people with a range of powerful characteristics that will help them succeed well beyond school. I have found that doing these at the end of the year as a big celebration actually pays dividends with new students for the next year because it helps reinforce your reputation as a teacher that celebrates diversity so students start the year more comfortable being who they are.
References
- Rose, T. (2015). The End of Average: How We Succeed in a World That Values Sameness. HarperCollins.
- Schoeniger, G. G., & Taulbert, C. L. (2010). Who Owns the Ice House? Eight Life Lessons from an Unlikely Entrepreneur. ELI Press.
- Sparks, S. D. (2019, March 12). Why Teacher-Student Relationships Matter. Education Week. Retrieved February 9, 2024, from https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/why-teacher-student-relationships-matter/2019/03