Today we did a new kind of Mystery Skype where we were only allowed to ask Yes and No questions to the other class to figure out their state.  We matched up with some lovely ladies from the Lincoln School, an all girls Quaker school in Providence, Rhode Island.  We did a few practice sessions before hand to get ready and set up some students doing research during the real thing.

Emily, Emmet and Hannah were online looking up population lists and time zone areas in the United States, while Nathan,Tyler and Helena browsed the maps as we gathered more clues.

Our first few questions were:  Are you located in Tornado Alley?  Is your population over 10 million?  Are you land locked?  Every time we got a “Yes” answer, we were able to ask another question.  When we got a “No” answer, it was Lincoln’s turn.  The students in our class lined up to take turns asking and answering location questions.

Our United States floor rug came in handy too!  We narrowed it down to a state that bordered the Atlantic Ocean and was located in the northern section of our country.  The answer was right under our nose, I mean, our feet!!

They asked us if we were one of the 13 Colonies and when we said yes, their next question was, “Are you the Keystone State?” How lucky was that! It took us a while to zero in on their location but we finally got it right.  The students learned how important it was to listen and pay attention to their answers.  We had a fun time while practicing our map skills and learning to think quickly.  We’d like to try this again sometime.  Thanks Lincoln School!