What's the secret today? A Strategy from Hope Dillon

I have borrowed an idea from Sesame Street for my preschool classroom. Instead of "What's the Word on the Street?"' or the "Letter of the Day", we have a "What's the secret today?" I have a file folder with this title on my door, folded part on top. When the children come in, they lift up the file folder flap to see what's posted. It may be a letter, a color, a simple drawing (mitten, cup), shape, number, or word (melt, stretch, wonderful). What's posted is something that we will be talking about during the day. For instance, I put the number 3 for Monday's secret because we will be reading Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

The secret serves as an anticipatory set, a way to get parents involved and sometimes a quick way to assess knowledge. The parents are often just as excited to see what the new "secret" is that day.

Thanks, Sesame Street, for starting a fun tradition in our classroom!