3 Sneaky Ways to Play Secret Student (plus a free certificate)
Maybe this is your first time hearing about secret student, or you learned about it at a professional development long ago and have forgotten the concept. Either way, I’m about to train you up FAST, because playing this game has always been a great way to get my elementary school goofballs back on track.
One of my favorite things about playing secret student is that having a perfectly well behaved group of kid in the hallway is a sure method of earning your principal’s respect.
So let’s get into it!
PS – I love this list from Proud to Be Primary of positive classroom management hacks!
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How to Play Secret Student
- State your rules and your timing.
- Secretly choose a student.
- Monitor your secret student for expected behaviors.
- Announce if there’s a secret student winner!
- Repeat several times a week or as often as once each day.
Tell your students that it’s time to play secret student. Give them a start and stop time, such as “When I say ‘line up’ we will start the game, and we’ll finish when we reach your next class.”
This is also a good time to remind them of your expected behavior, such as “I’ll be looking for feet on the red line, hands to yourself, silent lips.”
Secretly choose a student to watch during your activity or travels. You’ve got to be sneaky about it, so don’t openly stare at the kiddo.
As your class travels, monitor your secret student for the behaviors you’re expecting. Again, be subtle! If they figure out who you’re watching, they won’t be motivated to behave.
When the travel or activity has finished, announce the name of your secret student IF they met all expectations, and offer them your reward or prize. I like to use mega packs of stickers, because they’re cheap and kids love them! Plus, you can just put a sticker in your pocket as you leave the room if necessary.
If the student failed to meet expectations, don’t use their name or embarrass them. Just say, “I’m sorry class! My secret student didn’t quite meet expectations this time.”
Rinse and repeat throughout the week to add a little fun to your classroom management!
How to Target Specific Behaviors with Secret Student
It’s easy to fall into a rut, and only use Secret Student when you’re traveling the hallways. Instead, try and mix it up to target behavioral changes you need to see happening more frequently. Here are some ideas for playing secret student:
During Whole Group Instruction
“I’m watching to see if my secret student…
- …can use whole body listening for this whole mini lesson.”
- …can raise their hand every time they want to speak.”
- …can answer in complete sentences during our discussion.”
- …follows along while we read this story together.”
- …can keep their hands to themselves on the carpet.”
During Group Work – Playing Secret Group
“I’m watching to see if my secret student…
- …can use polite words with their teammates.”
- …can share the work and have everyone participate.”
- …to make sure they’re on task the whole time.”
During Independent Work
“I’m watching to see if my secret student…
- …stays on task the whole time.”
- …remains quiet as a mouse while working.”
- …is giving it their best effort on this tricky assignment.”
During Transition Times
“I’m watching to see if my secret student…
- …is using kind words as they quickly move around the classroom.”
- …can beat the timer while gathering supplies?”
- …will be one of the first five kids to line up with all their stuff.”
- …can find 10 things to clean up before we leave today.”
How to Pass the Secret Student Torch to Specialists, Substitutes, and other Students
Secret Student is such an easy classroom management hack to pass along to other authority figures or even students.
Specialists
Your specialists can easily join you in the fun. When you drop the students off at PE, music, art, or any other regular special class they attend, make a big fuss out of announcing that their specialist will be watching a secret student.
Announce the behavior you’re targeting to the class, which should be in collaboration with the specialist. You want to help the specialist with whatever problems he or she is having in class.
Then dramatically whisper the name to the specialist in front of the class.
When you return, bring your reward in your pocket, if possible. Perhaps it’s a sticker, or a coupon for a class reward. Ask the specialist if the secret student was successful, and celebrate together if possible.
Remember, if the secret student failed at demonstrating the wanted behavior, don’t announce their name, just say we’ll try again later.
Substitutes and Students
Most of the substitutes on our campus aren’t there frequently enough to establish a relationship with teachers. We try to keep our sub plans as simple as possible. If you’ve got a super capable substitute teacher that you know well, train them on secret student!
If not, you can designate a student to be in charge of secret student and make a note in your sub plans. Getting to be in charge of secret student for the day is a HUGE motivator for kids – just think of the power!
If you know you’ll be out, you could even have a competition to decide who gets to be the secret student manager while you’re out. Make sure they understand that they shouldn’t just choose their best friends.
Put this note in your sub plans:
Dear Sub,
Today, Eric will be in charge of “Secret Student,” and he knows exactly what to do. He has been told that he can lead secret student three times today, and it will help you manage behaviors in my absence.
Please have him explain to you how it works, and bring these (rewards) with you throughout the day. I hope it helps!
Sincerely,
Super Smart Teacher
Get Your Free Secret Student Printable Certificate
Here are two different versions of a fun certificate you could offer to students who are successful as a secret student. To access these and print them for your use, just snag them from the free resource library!
Concluding Thoughts
There are tons of different classroom management hacks, and this is just one of them! Some teachers will argue that secret student relies too heavily on extrinsic rewards, while others (like myself) appreciate fun ways to get students engaged in growing their behavioral skills.
As always, use or refuse – but more ideas are always great!
