Mystery Class Update: February 11, 2000 Today's Report Includes: This Week's Sunrise/Sunset Times How To Organize Your Class Teacher Tip This Week's Sunrise/Sunset Times Mrs. Berger's 5th Grade Class A heartfelt thanks goes to Mrs. Berger's class! They have provided this early Valentine's Day gift for you. It contains this season's first set of sunrise/sunset data from our secret Mystery sites around the world. Gee, that class is so sweet! Remember, this information was recorded on Monday, the same day you collected your sunrise/sunset data. Don't forget to get up every Monday at sunrise! (Or find your local sunrise/sunset data from your newspaper.) Let the Mystery Class games begin! Here are this week's data: Journey North Mystery Class Sunrise/Sunset Data Data For: Monday, February 7, 2000 Mystery Class Sunrise Sunset #1 6:20 19:56 #2 9:04 18:12 #3 7:14 18:37 #4 6:24 18:32 #5 8:08 16:57 #6 6:40 20:23 #7 7:44 17:28 #8 0:00* 00:00* #9 8:11 17:46 #10 8:27 17:30 * Mystery Class #8 reported 00:00 for their times because "when your cool, the sun shines all the time!" How To Organize Your Class 1. Divide Your Class into Eleven Groups Give each group responsibility for one of the ten Mystery Classes, and give one additional group responsibility for your own site. Every week, each group can record the data and calculate the photoperiod for their site. Then, each group can share their calculations with the rest of the class. Each individual student can add the information to his or her own graph. 2. Give Each Group: One copy of the Mystery Class Datasheet , to record sunrise/sunset times for each site (also found at page 98 of the Teacher's Manual.) 3. Make Your Own Mystery Class Graph (If you have a Teacher's Manual, you can follow the instructions on pages 99-100, or the instructions below.) VERY IMPORTANT: In order for your graph to have enough room for a clear picture of the data, we strongly recommend that your graph be tall enough to prevent overcrowding! Teacher Tip For a large classroom wall graph, we recommend the example of Wisconsin Fifth Grade teacher and Mystery Class veteran Cathie Plaehn: Her class creates a huge 3 x 3 wall graph using butcher-block paper to plot the mystery! Each student-group makes their own individual graphs, and the entire class plots data on a wall graph. More Mystery Class Teacher Tips So be sure to follow the instructions below carefully. To make your own graph, use two pieces of 8 1/2 x 11 graph paper to allow at least an inch per day-length hour. Then, follow these instructions for assembling your graph: A. Vertical Axis Tape 2 graph sheets together, so the resulting graph is 22" tall. The left edge of your graph (the 22" side, which is the vertical axis) will indicate day length hours. Allow space for 20 day-length hours in total. At the lower left, begin with 4 hours of day length. Go up the vertical axis to 24 hours, and allow 4 squares for each hour. B. Horizontal Axis The bottom of your graph (the 8 1/2 inch side, which is the horizontal axis), will denote the dates of your Monday readings. Mark 11 weeks along the bottom, allowing three squares per week. Write the following dates for your Monday readings along the bottom of the graph: Feb. 7, 14, 21,28 Mar. 6, 13, 20, 27 Apr. 3, 10, 17 C. Example of a Mystery Class Graph: For guidance or for a graph that can be used by each individual student, you can look at a smaller one page example of the Mystery Class Graph The Next Mystery Class Update Will be Posted: February 18, 2000 Copyright 2000 Journey North. All Rights Reserved. Please send all questions, comments, and suggestions to our feedback form