Have you heard of Secret Star? I’ve talked about it briefly on the blog before, but here is a refresher! Secret Star is a classroom management tool that works WONDERS on hallway behavior, assembly behavior, teacher talking to the Principal by the door behavior… you get the idea!
Here’s how it works: By the door, I keep the above display, which includes a framed “Are you the Secret Star?” sign, a Secret Star Students jar, and a Secret Starbursts jar. Whenever I need a quiet and well-behaved class, I tell my kiddos I’m looking for the Secret Star and I’ll take a token from the Secret Star Students jar. My tokens have student numbers on them, but you could use names, too.
Once I have a student picked, I will nonchalantly observe him or her as we walk through the hall {or sit in an assembly, or…} But SHHH! It’s a secret! No one knows who I’m looking at… and so they ALL behave! Why? Because they want a Secret Starburst, of course!
If the Secret Star happens to misbehave, I don’t ever tell anyone WHO it was… I simply say something like, “Sadly, my Secret Star ran all the way to lunch… better luck next time!” And then *I* eat a Starburst and my kiddos go bananas. Hehe
I’m telling you, this trick really works! My firsties never let me forget to choose a Secret Star. Ever. They even ask if I’ll pick one for nontypical Secret Star events… and sometimes I will, because I’m cool like that 😉
If you want to make your own Secret Star display, you’ll need:
*a decorative 5×7″ picture frame
*two plastic paint cans {or any type of jars/containers}
*enough 1.5″ round wooden tokens for your class list
*a big bag of Starbursts
*and THIS FREEBIE, which includes the sign, labels, and tiny numbers
Putting it all together is simple! I used a 1″ circle punch to cut the little numbers, then Mod Podged them onto the tokens {or rather, I am going to because I can’t find my Mod Podge anywhere!}. You could also just use paint markers or Sharpies to writes names/numbers. Or, here is an alternative to the tokens:
I love this!! I do "Secret Student" in my classroom..which I may have actually got from your blog?! I also have those paint cans used for table sparklers! I am downloading your freebie now and adding this to my list. I use secret student as an all day thing so I may tweak it a little!! Thank you for your post!!
Thanks so much for the adorable freebie! I cannot wait to use it in
the classroom this year!
ThePolishedTeacher
What a great idea! It will go along with my theme MonStars! Thank you.
What a great idea! Thank you for sharing this cute idea and the freebie!:)
Alma
Mrs. Solis Teaching Treasures
LOVE!!!!!!! So stealing this idea
I LOVE this !! I have been doing something similar but this is soo much cuter!!! Cant wait to use this!! Thank you 🙂
Karen
I have used this but never so cute before!!!! I am so using this and I love how you use the starbursts! Thank you so much for sharing!!!! And the freebie : )
This is cute and awesome , and so much fun! And then, you made it a freebie, too? Thanks so much -I love this idea! I will definitely borrow it and adapt to my classroom- we can't reward with candy in my district 🙁 but I'll find a way!
I love this idea! I use the "Mystery Walker" in my classroom, but I'm considering a switch- I love the Starbursts!
I love it. Thank you!
I love this wonderful idea!I can't wait to make this cute little craft for my class. Thanks for sharing!
Sweet Teri! This is so darn cute! I absolutely MUST start the year with it. My first graders will gobble this up! Thanks so much for the freebie!
I've been doing this for years, and yes, it really works!
So cute! Thanks so much for the freebie! I have got to use it this year!
Lindsey
Chalkboard Charm
This is too darn cute!
Ginger Snaps
Love is!! Thank you for the freebie!!! Quick question..do you reward only the star studnt? Or every student if the secret student behaves?
I love this! I'm just having a problem printing. Any ideas?
Mary Lou
My question has been asked–is the starburst for the secret star? Or one for everyone?
Teri!
I printed your Secret Star the day it was a freebie. My printer ink cartridge melted (?) and now I can't reprint. Is there any way you could send it to me?? I LOVED it and sent a like to Pinterest.
Thank you!! Kay 3rd grade teacher
LOVE this!! i'm actually thinking of adding a 'star reminder' to my class job lists (that person would remind me to take a token and if the star of the day earned their starbursts, then the star reminder would write that person't name down in a star log). thank you!!
I love this idea! Would you be willing to make the numbers go up to 30?
I love this and finally got a chance to print this week, but I have 26 kiddos so far this year…is there any chance you would increase the numbers? Thanks!!!
I really like this idea but I have 26 students this year. Any way you could make numbers 26-30 for me? Bridget
My favorite place to shop for teacher clothes is J.Crew- Shannon Wright
This is great! I also need the numbers to go up to 30. Is that possible? Thanks!
Thank you so much for sharing your awesome work! I will definitely be using this in my classroom this year!
This is ADORABLE! I have 26 (yes 26 Kinders!) can you add a few more numbers to your tokens? My email is purplebabs@aol.com