Behavior Management

Mystery Student

One very effective behavior management tool that I use in my classroom is Mystery Student. The kids love it and all you need is a cup of student names (which every teacher has). Here's how it works:

Every morning, my class and I meet at the rug. After snack count and discussion time, I grab my cup of names and very secretively pick one. **Do not let the kids know who you have picked!** I generally make a big production of picking the name and then look out at all the students and say...."Ok! I'm watching you!!" Of course, they all think that their name was picked.

Through out the day, if the kids start getting out of hand, I will say, "I'm watching my mystery student!" and immediately, all the kids get on task. At the end of the day, if my mystery student has been on their best behavior throughout the day (which is usually the case), I will announce who my mystery student for the day was and they will get to pick something out of my prize box (nothing big - just stickers, cool erasers, pencils....). The biggest reward is having the class clap and cheer for them. If on the rare occasion I have a friend that did not earn their reward, then I will just say that our mystery student was not on their best behavior and I hope I can give a prize tomorrow. I will pull that student aside later to conference with them about what they needed to improve on.

The student's name that was chosen can be chosen again the next day. The kids love it, and it's such a simple and fun way to get the most out of my kids behavior.