The following activities accompany this week's Update:

1) Getting Started: Orientation and Key Activities
This is the first Mystery Class Update of the season. Begin by bookmarking the Mystery Class home index page. This will provide fast access to everything you'll need.

Then, take a few minutes to get to know the site--review the "About the Mystery Class" page, with links to a "Video Overview", the "How to Participate" page, and other helpful resources.

2) Math Skills for Mystery Class
Changes in sunlight drive all seasonal change and are the central clues in Mystery Class. Students use math skills and sunrise/sunset times to calculate and graph the changing amount of daylight (photoperiod).

Here are a few activities to help you and your students get comfortable calculating and graphing:

• Calculating Photoperiod
  Here are three different ways for students to calculate photoperiod using sunrise/sunset data.
  
• Graphing Photoperiod
  The Mystery Class activity uses a line graph; here are insights on how to graph photoperiod and what the graph lines can reveal. Plus, see an alternate approach to graphing photoperiod.

3) Advice from Teachers
Get off to a strong start with insights from veteran Journey North teachers who share their own experiences, suggestions and advice:

• Advice from Teachers--Mystery Class
  
• Please share your ideas too. Do you have a different approach, a helpful tip, an effective technique? We always welcome insights from practicing Journey North teachers. Write to our: feedback form

4) Important Deadlines for Mystery Class: Mark Your Calendars