Journey North Mystery Class Spring 2005

Mystery Class Update: February 4, 2005

Today's Report Includes:

Welcome to Mystery Class 2005!
First Greetings from Your Secret Mystery Friends
Tune In! Trendsetting Data Is On its Way
Option for Teachers with Younger Students: Streamline
A Teacher Tip a Day Keeps the Confusion Away
What Time Is It? Challenge Question #1
This Week's Sunrise/Sunset Times
Important: Plan Ahead and Mark your Calendars

Welcome to Mystery Class 2005!
On Monday you recorded your own hometown sunrise/sunset times. Today it's time to start the hunt for the ten secret Mystery sites. Finding ten sites in eleven weeks may seem like a big job, but before you know it you'll be journeying around the world and unfolding the mysteries without even leaving your comfy classroom.

"Where in the world do you think our 10 Mystery Sites are located?"

First Greetings from Your Secret Mystery Friends
For many weeks now, your mystery friends have been hard at work in their secret locations and today we have the first set of data from them--their sunrise/sunset times, which are posted in today's Update. Even though the 10 sites are vastly different, they all have one central "clue" in common--the changing amount of sunlight at each location. As spring sweeps across the Northern Hemisphere, day length changes everywhere on Earth. So "follow the sun" and discover the secret sites.

As a first step, you'll need to figure out each location's day length (photoperiod) from its sunrise/sunset data. Learn more here:

In the coming weeks, we'll continue to provide their sunrise/sunset times, and later in the season we'll also "leak" a few clues from them too. (They'd love to tell you where they are, but for now you're on your own--their lips are sealed!)

Don't forget to record the Mystery Classes' sunrise/sunset data on your Datasheets, and use the Graphs to chart their photoperiod too. Teachers, you may want to divide your class into 10 groups. These materials can be found here:

How to Participate in Mystery Class

Tune In! Trendsetting Data Is On its Way
As you work with the first set of sunrise/sunset data, take a look at this helpful video from Journey North's Julie Brophy, and see what you'll be doing as the future weekly data comes in (see calendar below too).

Looking for Trends
Watch It Now
( Tips for viewing)

Option for Teachers with Younger Students: Streamline Search
Journey North veteran Frances Koontz teaches third graders and suggests, as an option, that the Mystery Class activity can be more manageable for younger students by using just three Mystery sites rather than ten. If interested, write to Journey North, and we will identify three of the ten sites for younger students. Write to: jn-help@learner.org

Read more Mystery Class Tips for Younger Students

A Teacher Tip a Day Keeps the Confusion Away

We always welcome tips from practicing Journey North teachers.

Please share your ideas! jnorth@learner.org

Why not think BIG when it comes to graphing the ten secret sites? After all, they are hiding all over this BIG planet, so you may prefer to graph them on a big scale. We recommend the large wall graph used by Cathie Plaehn, veteran Fifth Grade Teacher and member of Journey North's Advisory Board.

Teacher Tip: Thinking Big and General Organization

Also see Kingwood, TX Teacher Jo Leland's helpful insights on using a 24 hour clock, which can help throughout the Mystery Class activities.

Teacher Tip: Visualizing the 24-hour Clock

What Time Is It?
The sunrise/sunset times are provided in military time, which divides the day into 24 hours. But most of us don't use military time very often. Instead, most of the "time", our days are divided into 12 hour sets, one for "A.M." and one for "P.M.". (When was the last time your parents told you to go to bed at 22:30?!) This made us think to ask you...

Challenge Question #1:
"What do you think the initials "A.M." and "P.M." stand for anyway? Why do you think these abbreviations were created?"

(To respond to this question, please follow the instructions below.)

This Week's Sunrise/Sunset Times
Remember, the secret Mystery sites recorded their times last Monday, the same day you collected your own local sunrise/sunset data.

Link to This Week's Sunrise/Sunset Data

Important: Plan Ahead and Mark your Calendars
Here's the 2005 Mystery Class Schedule so you know what to expect from Journey North. Please be sure to plan ahead.

February 4- April 15:	Each Friday, Sunrise/Sunset Times are posted for the ten Mystery Sites.
March 11:	The "Longitude Clue" is posted.
March 18, 25, April 1, 8 & 15:	Interdisciplinary clues from the Mystery Sites are posted each week. (Please Note--out of fairness to all participants, we will only post the clues on their scheduled dates.)
April 22: Deadline for Your Answers!	No late entries will be accepted (out of fairness to all participants, no exceptions.)
April 29:	Mystery Sites Revealed!
May 6:	Meet Your Mystery Friends!

Questions? See Mystery Class FAQ's

How to Respond to Today's Challenge Questions:

IMPORTANT: Answer only ONE question in each e-mail message.

1. Address an e-mail message to: jn-challenge-mclass@learner.org
2. In the Subject Line of your message write: Challenge Question #1
3. In the body of EACH message, give your answer to ONE of the questions above.

The Next Mystery Class Update Will Be Posted on February 11, 2005