Mystery Hero

I know this picture has been floating around on Pinterest for a while now, and it's been on my Classroom Management page too... but I wanted to give it the importance that it deserved - front and center.  This activity was simple, but it really helped my students to feel cared about.  They grew in responsibility from it.  I would watch them linger in front of their name, and show it to their friends who might have been absent the day they had been chosen.

How it works in my classroom:
Basically I have all the student numbers on ball pit balls in a big reusable grocery bag.  I chose to use student numbers so I can reuse them from year to year.  In the morning I grab out a ball, look at the number, and watch that person throughout the day.  I don't share who the person is with the kids.  I don't tell them boy or girl, odd number or even.  It's a secret all day long.  I tell the class if the Mystery Hero is doing a great job, or if the person needs to step it up a notch.  They have no clue who I'm talking about, so they all usually try their best.  

At the end of the day if the Mystery Hero did a great job overall I share the person's name, and the entire class gets a prize of some type.  Either a piece of candy, a class ticket, or a sticker.  Something small that still makes an impact.  The entire class is thankful for that person, and that person literally is beaming for being the hero of the day.  I put up their name on the cabinet door, to remind themselves and the class that they did a great job.  If the person did not do a good job, then I don't tell the class who the person is, though I do talk with that one individual and let them know they could have done better.  If a student is chosen more than once, of course their name is already on the wall, but they still have the opportunity of winning the class a prize.  

Sometimes it's the simplest things that make the biggest impact.

Sincerely,