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Tracking Changes in Photoperiod Around the Globe
Mystery Class Begins on Monday, February 9th.
Mystery Class Updates will be posted on Fridays:
Feb. 6, 13, 20, 27, Mar. 6, 13, 20, 27, Apr. 3, 10, 17, 24, May 1, 8
Rise and Shine! Wake up sleepyheads! The Journey North Mystery Class project is about to begin!
Monday, February 9th is the first day of the Mystery Class project. Remember to check your sunrise/sunset times
for your hometown.
On Friday, February 13th you'll receive sunrise & sunset data from the 10 mystery locations who are hiding
around the globe. Over the next eleven weeks you'll be asked to unlock the secret of their location.
Remember to set your alarm clock! (Or, get a copy of your local newspaper where local sunrise and sunset data are
provided.)
To get a copy of a Data Sheet to record your local sunrise/sunset times, a graph to plot photoperiod or to learn
more about the Mystery Class Activity, click on the buttons below:
How to Participate
Materials Needed
- Mystery Class Datasheet
- Mystery Class Graph
- Local sunrise and sunset times
Here's What You'll Do
1. Every Monday, between February 9 and April 20, record the time the sun rises and sets in your hometown.
Your local newspaper should provide this information, or you may find it in a calendar from your area. Alternatively,
look up sunrise/sunset times on the WWW:
2. Calculate photoperiod by counting the number of hours and minutes the sun is up. For example, if the sun rises at 6:50 a.m. and sets at 17:30 p.m., the photoperiod for that day is 10 hours and 40 minutes.
3. Record the sunrise and sunset times and the photoperiod for each Monday at your hometown on a Mystery Class Datasheet. Then plot the photoperiod of your hometown on a Mystery Class Graph.
Do not send your local sunrise & sunset data to Journey North!
4. Every Friday, Mrs. Berger's students will send you the sunrise and sunset data they've collected from our 10 Mystery classes. Notice: The data you receive on Fridays will have been collected on the same Mondays your readings were collected. Many teachers divide their class into 10 groups, and give each group responsibility for a Mystery Site. To provide practice for your student groups, use your local photoperiod as an example.
5. Make 10 copies of the Mystery Class Datasheet. Record the data from each Mystery Class site on a separate Datasheet and calculate the photoperiod. Then plot the photoperiod from each Mystery Class on your graph. Use a different colored pencil for each Mystery Class. (You may want to make a large, poster-sized graph for your class, where student groups could plot their respective sites.)
6. Beginning in March, clues about the geography and culture of each site will be included with the weekly data reports. On May 1st, students will race to guess the location of each Mystery Class.
7. May will be "Meet the Mystery Class Month". Each Mystery Class will introduce themselves on-line and you'll have a chance to correspond with them.... Who ever and where ever they are!
The Next Mystery Class Update Will be Posted: February 13, 1998