Last week one of Señora DellaMonica's fifth grade classes and one of Señora LeVangie's fifth grade classes participated together in a mystery Skype call with the help of Technology Integration Specialist Debby Fromen. Our students had no idea which Spanish speaking country the other class was in and the other class did not know which state we were in. Both classes had to solve the mystery in ten yes or no questions or less! Prior to the call students were assigned to various jobs such mappers, questioners, speakers, recorders, photographers, etc. The students were so excited to connect with this mystery class. The call began with our students asking in Spanish if the other class was located in South America. When the answer was no, they tried Mexico, then Europe, and then Spain. Finally they asked if the other class was in Madrid and the answer was a resounding "SÍ"! Working together, our class had solved the mystery in only five questions. Everyone cheered loudly. The Spanish class asked their questions in English and figured out we were in Massachusetts shortly after we discovered they were in Madrid. Because the students were so successful we had time to ask some questions in Spanish to discover more about a Spanish student's daily life. We wished the call were longer because there was such enthusiasm about asking the questions. Our students were surprised to hear that the Spanish students attend school from 9-5 with a break in the middle of the day for lunch and play. They were thrilled to learn that they currently share the same favorite song, "Despacito" by Justin Bieber. They also noted differences in time and temperature. It was a blazing 97 degrees in Madrid that day! The students talked about favorite sports and sports teams and also noted the other class was in uniform. It was such a thrilling and worthwhile experience for our students to connect with native speakers. The overwhelming feedback was to do it again next year!
