I started having Mystery Readers in my classroom last year. Have you heard of it? A fellow teacher did it in her classroom and I decided it was a great idea.
I invite all parents to sign up for a day to be our class Mystery Reader. When they sign up they give me 3 clues about themselves. My students try to solve the case prior to the reader coming in. It was so fun watching them deduce who it was. I even invited staff from around the building to join. The kids were thrilled when that happened!
I love these collages because you can see the joy on both the parent and students face! I am helping to create a memory that will last a lifetime!
Last year, I invited people through email and they signed up using a Google Doc. I liked the Google Doc because people could see what dates were taken immediately. The problem was a lack of participation from parents due to them not reading their email. Shocker I know!
Most of my schedule was filled up with staff, such as the Dean of Students, Librarian, Secretary, and Art Teacher. It was loads of fun seeing another side of them.
The Mystery Reader is in charge of choosing and providing the book to read. Our Secretary shared a book about snowflakes called "Snowflake Bentley".
The kids were entranced by the different snowflakes and how they were so difficult to be photographed.
Our Art Teacher's old neighbor published a book about the area where she grew up. She ordered it online and shared it with the class.
Our Dean of Students read "Skippyjon Jones". He did the voice perfectly! Lets just say that the students weren't the only ones cracking up!
The kids were entranced by the different snowflakes and how they were so difficult to be photographed.
Our Art Teacher's old neighbor published a book about the area where she grew up. She ordered it online and shared it with the class.
Our Dean of Students read "Skippyjon Jones". He did the voice perfectly! Lets just say that the students weren't the only ones cracking up!
I think your class would love to add this new tradition to the classroom. I created a Mystery Reader Pack this year to encourage more participation.
I will be handing out the invite letters at Meet the Teacher night. I also included a thank you card in the pack that can be signed by the whole class. There is a space inside of the card to print and attach a 5x7 photo of the Mystery Reader with their child or the class. They will love the memento!
~Stacey
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