Has your class been falling out with each other recently?
The Secret Friend game is a simple solution for helping students find opportunities to be kind to each other.
Each child is given a classmate who they will secretly befriend. The aim of the game is for them to complete as many acts of kindness for their secret friend, without them realising who it is.
How do they keep each other guessing? By leaving false trails and performing acts of kindness to others in the classroom – some of whom they might not normally interact with.
All these good deeds in the class, and sharing them together in celebration, is a great way to build your class ethos and team. Sharing stories, near-misses and funny moments supports understanding and tolerance – which we’ve found reduces friendship issues.
So how do you play this incredible game?
- Print off our cards (available in 3 colours) and write each pupils’ name on one side. The cards can be cut or folded. If folding the cards, pupils can keep notes on the reverse side like a book. “I think Ella just did something kind for me. Hmm…”
- Give a name to each pupil, ensuring they don’t get their own name (include yourself too!)
- Explain that they are the secret friend for the name they picked out.
- Go over the ‘Mission Briefing’ with the class, explaining the rules and expectations.
- Share the ‘Mission Objectives’ sheet for examples of daily opportunities to do something kind for their secret friend.
- Play the game over the course of a day, week etc.
- Use the other half of the cards from Step 1 and get pupils to write who they officially think their secret friend is.
Note: Both the Mission Briefing and Mission Objectives can be edited in Apple Pages. You can adjust the rules to suit or add you own examples of kindness.
Top Tips
- Remind pupils regularly to look for opportunities.
- Print off the Secret Friend poster as a visual reminder of their mission.
- Use the provided cards for the secret friend reveal and make a big deal out of the celebration.
- Encourage accountability and involvement
- Check-in with a few pupils to see how they’re managing and give them a hand to get started if necessary.
Editable files can be customised in Apple Pages. It can be downloaded for free on Mac, iPad or iPhone. It can also be accessed at iCloud.com from any web browser.
The font used in our design, Roboto Serif, can be downloaded for free at Google Fonts. We’ve also used Hello Headline which is a paid font and is not editable in our files.
