IMPLEMENTING MYSTERY READERS IN YOUR CLASSROOM
I first implemented a mystery reader program in my classroom during the pandemic. Due to restrictions on in person visits, our school reimagined many of our special events as virtual events. Every November, our school hosts grandparents and special friends day, a day which grandparents can visit the school to learn more about what students are working on in the classroom. During the 2020 school year, grandparents day was reimagined as a virtual event, allowing grandparents from around the world to join in on the celebration. After our schools annual virtual grandparents and special friends was a success, there was a demand for families to be connected to what was going on in the classroom. Thus our mystery reader program was born.
What is a mystery reader?
A mystery reader is a special guest that comes to the classroom to read a story to the students. Mystery readers can be family, friends, parents, grandparents, etc. Students do not know who the guest reader will be in advance of the day and time the reader joins the class. In our classroom, the mystery reader would sign up for a timeslot in advance and provide three clues to their identity. Then students would attempt to guess the mystery readers identity based on the clues provided. All mystery readers remained virtual at the beginning and read to our class via Zoom, but as restrictions on school access have been lifted, mystery readers began joining the class in person.
MYSTERY READER TOOLS
There were a few tools that we used to help facilitate the mystery reader program. These tools helped us to schedule mystery readers for designated time slots and organize the program efficiently.
Tool #1: Sign Up Genius
I love using sign up genius to schedule parents and guests for any activity that requires timeslot sign ups. Sign Up Genius is free to use and is simple to set up. After we pre-determined the mystery reader time slots in our classroom schedule, we created a sign up form to allow guest to pick their timeslot. I would suggest encouraging each family to choose one timeslot to begin to allow the maximum amount of students to be represented with a guest reader. Once each student has at least one guest sign up to reader on their behalf, others can sign up for an additional slot. This was something I had to learn the hard way as I had an imbalance of sign ups per student on my first attempt at implementing this.
Tool #2: Google Forms
We also used Google forms to collect other vital information for the mystery reader program. This included which student the mystery reader is joining on behalf of, the mystery reader’s relation to the student, the book title and author, and the three mystery reader identity clues. I’ve included a sample Google Form sign up sheet in my freebie below.
Tool #3: Google Slides
I created a Google slides template which allowed me to easily add the mystery reader clues into the day before the mystery reader joined the class. This slide was then displayed on our classroom promethean board. Students would take a guess at who the mystery reader was before they joined the class via Zoom. I’ve also included this sample slide in my freebie below.
Tool #4: Classroom website
Our classroom website was the perfect place to house the forms. This made it easy for parents and guest to sign up as a mystery reader. Early on in the school year, I establish our classroom website as the place to go for all classroom information so it only made sense for the mystery reader forms to live on our classroom website. if you do not have a classroom website, you can simply email the links to the forms to your families and encourage them to share it with anyone who would like to sign up to be a mystery reader. You can learn more about creating a google site for your classroom and pick up my Google Sites bundle by clicking here.
BENEFITS OF A MYSTERY READER PROGRAM
Mystery readers are a fun way to incorporate family and friends into the classroom. Students loved seeing their loved ones join the class and share some of their favorite stories. Mystery readers can be virtual, in person, or a hybrid; whatever works for your class and schedule. The mystery reader program was a great way for parents to stay connected with what students were doing in the classroom, especially during the height of the pandemic. This gave parents a sense of peace that their students were safe and enjoying their time in the classroom. If you’re interested in implementing a mystery reader program in your classroom, you can find a balance and implementation method that works for you. I’ve included a free copy of my Google forms sign up sheet and slides template for you to use in your classroom.
