I am filled with so much excitement right now!!
So, I have read a lot of other blogs about Mystery Skype and thought my class could totally do that!! I told my class that we would be doing our first Mystery Skype and I explained to them what it was and they were OH SO EXCITED!! If you are wondering what a Mystery Skype is... it is where you Skype another classroom in either the same country or a different country from your own and then you ask geographical questions to try and find out where the other class is from. They couldn't wait and, frankly, neither could I! We prepared questions and answers to commonly asked questions for about two weeks. We talked about our behavior and the etiquette we would practice while on our Mystery Skype phone call! They were so eager to do this Mystery Skype that their excitement was very evident.
The day finally came!! It was scheduled for noon and that was all they talked about that morning. Once noon finally arrived we placed our phone call to our "Mystery State!" The kiddos were overwhelmed with emotions... I could tell they were nervous and a little scared. (It was a good thing for them to feel these emotions) Once the ball started rolling they did really well. I was so proud of them. They really got to utilize their map skills. It was wonderful.
Here are some questions I would recommend for first time Mystery Skypers:
1. Are you east or west of the Mississippi River?
2. Are you a landlocked state?
3. Do you border another country?
4. Are you one of the original 13 colonies?
5. Are you in Tornado Ally?
6. Are you touching the Appalachian Mountains?
7. Is your state considered to be in the North or in the South?
These were a few questions we used. Now, some questions will be ruled out considering the answer of a previous question. We had our question analysts figure out which questions we could no longer ask. Everyone in our room had a duty and they fulfilled their job really really well.
If you were wondering....
Our first Mystery Skype was from a class in Oklahoma.
If you want to get started with your own Mystery Skype today just click here. I would highly recommend you try this experience at least once with your class. You will not regret it!!
Below are a few snapshots of our Mystery Skype in action:
I'm so glad you posted this! Kevin came home and was excited about the Mystery Skype but I did not realize he was actually talking with another classroom on Skype. This helps me understand more of what he actually did and I can ask better questions about his project. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI am so glad Kevin like the experience!! We are definitely going to do it again soon!! It makes teaching much easier when the kids are excited about what they are learning!
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