Week 2 Mystery Reader: Grade 6/7 teacher Tyler Miller and his daughter read Thelma the Unicorn for an online audience of Yennadon students.
Students at Yennadon Elementary can’t wait for the next online clue.
The Maple Ridge school has introduced a new school-wide online activity to keep students excited and engaged with reading while they are learning from home.
“One of our teachers came up with the Mystery Reader idea because it is tied to our school growth plan of increasing student reading engagement,” says principal Lisa Lawrance.
The Mystery Reader, who is a member of the school community, writes five not-too-obvious clues that will help students guess their identity over the course of a week.
“Beginning on a Monday, teachers reveal one new clue each day, which generates a lot of discussion and suspense,” says Lawrance.
On Friday, after students have received all five clues, they make predictions about the identity of the Mystery Reader.
Teachers encourage students to try to use critical thinking and any evidence they may have to back up their predictions. Finally, on Friday, the Mystery Reader virtually visits all the classes, students, and teachers and reads a picture book aloud.
“The Mystery Reader is usually greeted with ‘oohs and ahhs’ and some variation of ‘I knew it!’” says Lawrance.
There has been such tremendous interest in implementing Mystery Reader as an online school-wide literacy activity, that there are more volunteers than weeks left in the school year, added Lawrance.
“We have selected volunteers from a wide range of grades and roles for this activity. We are so excited about connecting with our students and families through literature.”