Mystery Skype - Guess who’s coming to class?

Level: CEFR A2 Classroom Time: 50 mins +

Aim(s):
● To practice oral fluency
● To develop questioning skills
● To develop collaboration
● To experiment Technology Enhanced Teaching (TET)

Exam task focus:

● Maintaining simple exchanges
● Responding appropriately to interaction
● Writing very short description of events and
personal experiences (Writing – task 4)

Resources:
● https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRf7_nX74PAor
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zni56lVckb0
● Handout “Guess who’s coming to class?"
● ISE Foundation Guide for Teachers
Procedure:
Mystery Skype is a 40-50 minute critical thinking challenge that your class takes part in while
skyping with another class somewhere else in the world. The concept is simple: classrooms
Skype call each other and try to guess where the other classroom is located either in Italy or in
the world. There are many great resources out there butfor the purpose of this workshop, we
have created a list for future reference.

Before the call:

1. Sign up – there are many places to sign up and some are even grade level based
1. https://education.microsoft.com/skype-in-the-classroom/mystery-skype
2. https://sway.office.com/E1NIYIVGTsN8L5Ad?ref=Link&loc=play (Guide toSkype
collaboration)

2. Decide on a date and time – don’t forget to consider time zones if the mysteryclass is not
based in Italy.

3. Prepare the kids

I. Tell students they should know facts about their own town so that they areready for any
question. Tell students to research the following questions: climate, region,
neighbouring towns, famous landmarks, geographical location.All of this gives the
students a better grip of what they might be asked.

II. Brainstorm questions to possibly ask. To make the game a little more challenging tell
students to prepare max 20 questions with yes or no answers
Guess who’s coming to class? - Handout

This will also get the students to work on their questioning skills. Questions caninclude
whether they are in Italy, whether they are South of the peninsula, whether they are
North of the Apennines, if they are in a specific region, whether they border with other
provinces, regions countries, etc.
III. Give jobs. When students have specific responsibilities during a mystery skypelesson
they work better as a team and the class becomes more engaged, it is most fun when the
kids all have jobs, so here is a list of jobs:
1. Greeters – 1 or 2 students - Say hello to the class and give some cool factsabout the
class – without giving away the location.
2. Sharers – 2 or more students - Share something special about your school,town, etc.
like a song, a dance, a souvenir but nothing that will give too much away.
3. Inquirers – 1 or 2 students ask the questions and are the voice of theclassroom.
4. Answerers – 1 or 2 students – they should know their region facts prettywell.
5. Think tanks –3 students or more sit in a group and figure out the cluesbased on
the information they know.
6. Question keepers – 1 or 2 students – they type all of the questions and answers for
the class to review later. (Sharing documents on G-Drive will be useful for this
purpose)
7. Google mappers – 2 students – they are on Google maps studying theregion and
piecing together clues.
8. Runners – 2 students - they run from group to group, relaying information.
9. Photographer – 1 student- takes pictures during the call.
10. Reporters – 2 students- these students take notes throughout the call then,
together with the photographer, they write a blog or web article to poston the school
website or classroom blog after the call is done. This way they can show off all the
great calls they take part in.
11. Problem solver – 1 student- helps students with any issues they mayencounter
during the call.
12. Closers – 2 students end the call in a nice manner after guesses have beenmade.

During the Call:

During the call to step back and trust the kids. In our experience students are incredible, both
with their enthusiasm and with their knowledge. Monitor and overseethe call to ensure it runs
smoothly. You could allow the class to start with their first question and then give them two
options on how to proceed.

Reflection:
As a class, discuss what worked well, what was a challenge, what job students would want next
time, should additional jobs be added, etc. Ask students to think about differences and
commonalities. Ask questions like ”Did anything surprise you?”; “Whathave you learned that you
didn’t know before?”, etc.
Guess who’s coming to class? - Handout

Reasons to do Mystery Skypes:

● Creates a global community of learners
● Critical Thinking
● Geography skills
● Listening and Speaking skills
● Student-Led
● Using resources to find information
● Authentic purpose for research
● Collaboration
● Communication
● Challenge-Based Learning
● Creates partners for future projects
● Gets teachers to collaborate globally
● Gets students to practise task 4 of the ISE F writing exam
Guess who’s coming to class? - Handout

Geographical Location Landmarks

Local food Famous people born there

Winter/Summer activities Patron Saint

The best time to visit theprovince/region Most important festival

Guess who’s coming to class? - Handout

Yes No
(√) (X)

Does your article have a title or headline?

Does your article start with a question?

Do you need a subtitle or subheading?

Do the opening lines catch the reader’s interest?

Is your article clearly organised into paragraphs?

Do you have an introduction, main body and

conclusion?

Have you included your own opinion?

Have you included a persuasive element to convinceyour

reader?

Is the article interesting for the reader?

Does your article contain examples and personal

experiences?

Are there examples of ISE Foundation language

functions?

Does the register fit the topic and target reader?

Is the register consistent throughout your article?

Does the conclusion sum up the main point of view thatyou

want to express?