Mystery Class Reminder: January 31, 2003
Today's Report Includes:
- Let the Search for the Secret Sites Begin!
- On Your Mark, Get Set, GO!
- Note to Teachers: Plan Ahead and Mark Your Calendars
- Teacher Tips--Mystery Class Advice from the Pros!
- How to Participate
- Here's What You'll Do
Let the Search for the Secret Sites Begin!
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To help you search, each week we'll post data about the changing sunrise and sunset times at all ten secret locations. And beginning March 14, 2003, we'll also provide clues from the Mystery Classes themselves, posted each week through April 18, 2003. One week later, you'll try to answer THE question:
"Where in the world do you think our 10 Mystery Classes are located?"
Join in the international search, and try to uncover the secret Mystery sites. The Mystery Class project is about to begin! (See our Mystery Class Schedule below)
On Your Mark, Get Set . . . GO!
Monday, February 3rd is your first event in this year's Mystery Class project. Check your local newspaper on Monday and retrieve your town's sunrise and sunset times for that date. Be sure to record these times for your hometown on a Mystery Class Datasheet (see below).
Then, on Friday, February 7th, we will post the first sunrise/sunset data for the 10 secret Mystery Classes around the globe. Be sure to record these on Mystery Class Datasheets too.
Continue to record your local sunrise/sunset data every Monday and record the secret classrooms' data every Friday. As you enter the home stretch after 11 weeks, be ready to unlock the secret of their locations. (See detailed Mystery Class information provided below.)
Note to Teachers: Plan Ahead and Mark Your Calendars
Here's the 2003 Mystery Class Schedule so you know what to expect from Journey North. Please be sure to plan ahead.
Mystery Class
Calendar 2003 |
| February 7- April 18: | Each Friday, Sunrise/Sunset Times are posted for the ten Mystery Sites. |
| March 14: | The "Longitude Clue" is posted. |
| March 21, 28, April 4, 11 & 18: | 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 25: Deadline for Your Answers! | No late entries will
be accepted (out of fairness to all participants, no
exceptions.) |
| May 2: | Mystery Sites Revealed! |
| May 9: | Meet Your Mystery Friends! |
Teacher Tips--Get Mystery Class Advice From the Pros!
Before you get started, be sure to visit the Teacher Tip page. Get helpful tips, advice, and suggestions from veteran Journey North teachers on organizing your class, calculating photoperiod, graphing and much more:
- Teacher Tips--Mystery Class
- Share your ideas too. We always welcome insights from practicing Journey North teachers. Write to: jnorth@learner.org
How to Participate in Mystery Class
Materials Needed:
- Mystery ClassDatasheet
(11 copies)
- Mystery Class Graph 2003 (Download in either a PDF or Word):
- Alternatively, Make Your Own
Mystery Class Graph (2 per student)
- 11 colored pencils or markers (one color per Mystery Class and one
color for your hometown)
- A source for your local sunrise and sunset times
Here's What You'll Do (Please Read Each Step Carefully)
1. Every Monday, between February 3 and April 14, 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.
** Remember! Do NOT send your local sunrise & sunset data
to Journey North!
4. Every Friday, we will post the sunrise and sunset data from our 10 Mystery classes. Note: 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. Using the remaining 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 April 25, 2003, students will race to tell us where they think the 10 Mystery Classes are located.
7. May will be "Meet the Mystery Class Month". Each of the 10 secret Mystery Classes will introduce themselves on-line and you'll have a chance to correspond with them....whoever and wherever they are!
Have fun and good luck!
The Next Mystery Class Update Will Be Posted on February 7, 2003
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North. All Rights Reserved.
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