I Heart Mystery Readers

I am always looking to authentically involve parents in my classroom and I am happy to say that this next activity fits the bill!

Mystery Readers

Have you used Mystery Readers before? The idea is not new, but the best part is that it gets parents into the classroom, involves kids and exposes everyone (even the teacher!) to new and wonderful picture books :)

I have used Mystery Readers for the last three years and can honestly say it is the highlight of our week! Each Friday, I have a parent, grandparent, older sibling, neighbor, anyone (even other teachers and the principal!) come in to share their favorite picture book. They read it aloud to the class and we all get the chance to enjoy a read aloud- don't you just love being read to? Never gets old :)

Best part? Up until the reader walks into the room, it is a total mystery to the students who will be arriving- yay!! The suspense + the big reveal + a read aloud by a guest = happy parents, students & teacher- WIN!

Mystery Reader Set-Up

1.The first week home, I send an intro letter to the parents so they know all about Mystery Readers and what it entails. This describes who can be a reader, what to read, and the importance of keeping the secret :)

2. Then, a few days later during Back to School Night, I pass around a calendar with the times I have set aside for the whole year so parents can sign up. I have this available throughout the year, so parents can add/change their time if they need to. I continue to stress the importance of keeping this a secret- that's the best part!

 3. A week before a reader's scheduled time, I send home a reminder letter (in an envelope or email) of their date and time and I ask them for two things: the name of the picture book they will be reading (for my own knowledge, just so everyone doesn't read The Giving Tree all year!) and five clues about themselves.

4. These clues are very important and will be read before the Mystery Reader is introduced, building suspense and making the big reveal so so so much fun :)

I recommend the parents use clues like:

• where they were born
• their favorite sports
• their favorite book when they were in 3rd grade
• a fun fact 
• not who their child is in class :)

These clues are then put into an envelope that is labeled and hung in the front of our class.

5. I read the clues aloud as our class door is closed with our Mystery Reader waiting outside. The kiddo usually always knows it's their parent by the end and it's so so cute :) I then open the door for the big reveal and have the child introduce their parent (or sibling, grandparent, whomever). If it's the principal or another staff member, I have a volunteer introduce them to the group (it's nice to practice that skill!).

They sit at our Author's Chair and share their book. It's awesome :)

When they are done, we will borrow the book for a week (or I will pull my copy) and we will display it in our class for later reading (during Read with Someone or DEAR time)

6. Later in the day, we write thank you notes to our reader and I send them home with their student. They are short and sweet, but a nice way to thank them for coming in to share with our class.

All of these pieces and parts are available now in my TpT Store.

Enjoy this meaningful and high-interest activity with your students and families this year!