On Wednesday, Mrs. Yollis' class enjoyed a wonderful Mystery Skype call with Mrs. Parisi's 5th grade class in New York.
These two teachers met at the Google Teacher Academy and planned the adventure then! (The class recently connected with another GTA teacher for an online chemistry lesson!)
These two teachers met at the Google Teacher Academy and planned the adventure then! (The class recently connected with another GTA teacher for an online chemistry lesson!)
* * * * *
The greeters opened up the mystery call with a warm welcome!
Excitement was high!
Even Beverly eagerly awaited the grand geographic game. She grabbed Sean's compass rose so she would know which way was north, south, east, or west! Good thinking, Bev!
* * * * *
Yes or No questions were asked and answered by three students who were the Inquirers.
The entire class worked together to try and solve the question:
Where is the mystery class located?
Abbey and Heather applied their typing skills as Clue Keepers.
Clue Keepers type the clues so the class can see what has been asked and answered.
The typist started with the date!
Notice (below) that the states WEST of the Mississippi River have been removed. That is because the INQUIRERS asked if the mystery class was west of the Mississippi River and the answer was NO.
A Mystery Skype is a great way to learn about geography and practice logical reasoning!
Other students used the big blue atlas. As states were eliminated, a dot was placed to show they were out.
Google Mappers used Google Earth to locate the mystery state. They listened for clues and then zoomed in on the location. The students learned that the mystery state bordered the Atlantic Ocean.
Clue Keepers kept track of the clues. This station was located right next to the Inquirers who were asking the yes and no question. Through logical reasoning, the class narrowed down the search. After a few questions, the class determined that the mystery state was in the northeast section of the United States!
Both groups of students asked thoughtful questions.
The students from New York asked questions like:
Are you west of the Mississippi River? Do you border a foreign country? Do you border Arizona?
Although the New Yorkers guessed our location first, the Inquirers kept asking and the Clue Keepers kept crossing off states.
Finally were able to ask, "Are you from New York?"
YES!
* * * * *
After the mystery was solved, we compared our two schools using Google Earth:
The New Yorkers had a bigger play area than us. The also had more sporting fields than we do. They had two baseball diamonds! The New Yorkers live on an island, and we live on the mainland.
The New Yorkers shared a Hurricane Sandy wiki that they'd put together. Here is a link to their first hand experiences. We'll be exploring it as a class next week.
Thanks, Sean, for being our class photographer!
The Californians would love to know:
What does Long Island Sound look like? Does it have waves or is it more flat like a lake?
What grades do you have at your school?
(We both have a population of around 600 students, and our school is K-5.)
(We both have a population of around 600 students, and our school is K-5.)
On average, how many days did people go without power during Hurricane Sandy?
What do you think of the Mystery Skype idea?
What was your job and what did you like about it?
What do you think of the Mystery Skype idea?
What was your job and what did you like about it?
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