Mystery Reader

Last year I began a Mystery Reader program in my classroom.  It was a success so I continued it this year. 

Parents signed up at Open House at the beginning of the year.

I keep all the clues hidden in this envelope.

 

Basically, Mystery Readers are people who have a connection with our class and come into our classroom each Friday to read aloud for 15 minutes.  Here's the information sheet I gave to the parents this year, which tells all about the program:  Mystery Reader Information Sheet

 

I email the Mystery Reader a week before they are to arrive just as a friendly reminder and also to secure the clues about their identity.  I give the class one clue each day and display them in the room.  Here's the display sheet I used last year: LIST OF CLUES.  For whatever reason, Google Docs has slightly distorted the sheet, but you get the idea. 

 

Finally, here is a sample SIGN UP SHEET.

 

This year, our Mystery Reader visits took place during snack time, which is why you see all the lunchboxes in the photos:

Most of the readers are moms, but I did have a dad sign up:

He also wrote a letter to each child about the importance of reading.  Everyone thought that was neat!

Our last Mystery Reader read two books that I now want for my classroom:  Punctuation Takes a Vacation by Robin Pulver and What's Smaller than a Pygmy Shrew? by Robert E. Wells.