Another Great Mystery Skype....Tough One!

We had another super Mystery Skype last Friday with a 3rd grade class from Baltimore, Maryland. (Students did not know where they were from before we started.) The format of this one made it a lot tougher and students had to use a lot more critical thinking to first determine the country, state/providence, and then the city.  The format we used this time was:

1.  Group that went first had to ask the other group a "Yes" or "No" question.
2.  If the answer they received was yes, they returned to their information to narrow down anther question to ask.  If they received a "no", then the other group got control of asking questions until they asked a question in which the answer was "no".

Hunting online for their state

Matthew asking them a question.

The "Map Questers" hard at work.

Students really had to focus in on what was being asked and use that information to eliminate areas on the map as well as use the computer to focus in on finding answers to "yes" questions.  It was tough, but there were a some 3B students who were great critical thinkers and helped us figure out they were in Maryland.  We then determined, by asking questions, that they were in Baltimore.

This bunch, also known as 3B we found out, in Baltimore had a tougher time finding our city/town.  They were surprised at how small our town was compared to their's.  We ended up having to give them a clue.  Eventually they figured out we were in Cresco.  The great part of this activity, besides the critical thinking and map skills involved, was the motivation.  Many students at the Baltimore school gave up their lunch period because they did not want to stop.  They were bound and determined to figure out where we were in Iowa.  Many students in 3B responded that they thought this way of doing the Mystery Skype was "awesome"!

We plan to connect more with this great bunch from Baltimore and build our learning community!  It was so fun!

Haven asking them a question via Skype.

Listening and answering questions they asked us.

They were guessing where we were in Iowa.