Hands-On Investigation!

Grades: 3-6

Subject: Language Arts/Science/History/Technology/Math

Estimated Time of Completion: four to five 30-minute class sessions

Summary

This lesson encourages students to determine details and then to use them as they write their own mystery.

Every core subject during a student's day utilizes detective skills. Developing the ability to problem solve will empower a student. Have students check the History Detective Codebreaker for investigative steps: analyze, then investigate, next understand, and finally test. In math, you read and look at a problem, search for the method of solving it, question until you come to understand it, and finally test your solution. In science, you begin with a problem, form a hypothesis, work toward understanding, and eventually test your ideas. When you read, you analyze the text, question to investigate, restate to understand, and finally test your understanding through summary or writing. You act as a historian in your history class, searching and discovering information, finding and piecing together scenarios, examining clues, and arriving at a conclusion you can prove. Knowing the details is essential to a arriving at a solution, so you have to analyze each clue carefully. The more you practice organizing, gathering and analyzing your clues the better you'll become at solving problems. Detective work is a hands-on investigation.

Objectives

• Students will analyze text for details.
• Students will identify and recognize fact from opinion.
• Students will distinguish between important clues and red herrings.
• Students will identify details and learn how to write details using the five W's (who, what, where, when, and why).
• Students will practice and improve problem-solving skills.
• Students will write to acquire knowledge, clarify thinking, synthesize information, improve study skills, gain confidence, and enhance lifelong communication.

Materials Needed

• History Detectives site, Codebreaker, and print-outs of the History Detective notebook
• Five clothespins per student, marked with "Who, What, Where, When, and Why"
• Computer with Internet access with a presentation device or available computers for showing before large groups of students
• Sleuth Summarizer sheets from the detective notebook, notebook paper, scissors, crayons or markers, and pencil
• Activity Sheets (Download PDFs): Dot-to-Dot sheet (876kb), Detail Question Activity Sheet (36kb), and Answer Sheet (48kb)

Procedure

1. (Class 1) The teacher will use the History Detective Kids site and its Codebreaker to introduce mysteries, details, problem-solving, and sleuthing.
2. The teacher will introduce students to the History Detective Kids site and demonstrate the rules of sleuthing in the Codebreaker. Vocabulary words with meanings from the Codebreaker will encourage students to become acquainted with and use "detective words".
3. After the student is familiar with the "detective words," the teacher can refer to a student as a gumshoe, working toward becoming a PI (Private Investigator).
4. Before providing students with the dot-to-dot sheet, explain to students about red herrings. Explain that red herrings mislead, distract, or provide irrelevant information. Ask students if they can identify the red herring (distracting or unnecessary clue) in this math problem: Five children that are each ten years old met at school. Three are girls. How many are boys? Encourage students to come up with other examples of red herrings.
5. Give each student the clue sheet and the dot-to-dot sheet. Explain that now students will test their new knowledge. Have students use the numbers under their correct answers of the "Clue Sheet" to connect the dots.
6. The teacher should explain to students that predictions and conclusions are subject to change. Sometimes, red herrings steer us to make wrong predictions. There will be some numbers on the dot-to-dot sheet that aren't needed. Remind students not to be tempted to guess or use incorrect answers. In the light of new evidence, a good detective often has to form a new prediction. Encourage students to not share their predictions until everyone has finished. This will allow others to form or change their opinions as they work.
7. Discuss with students the characteristics of a good investigator (curious, good listener, attentive to detail, follows up on leads, records and organizes information, draws conclusions, and tests conclusions). Remind the students of how important it is to be organized and keep good notes.
8. Have students complete the dot-to-dot sheet (this should produce an owl).
9. (Class 2) Discuss the meaning of a mystery. Discuss mysteries that students have seen on television or read. Discuss the word "suspense" and what makes a setting suspenseful.
10. Explain that students will write a mystery story that will utilize mystery vocabulary. They will use their detective notebook to write their mysteries. Remind students that mysterious vocabulary will make their story better. Provide students some examples: dark and gloomy, crept up the creaky stairs, peered cautiously around the corner, etc. Explain that students will need to include clues so that others can solve the mystery.
11. Each student will receive five clothespins. Each clothespin will be labeled with one of the detail words: who, what, where, when, and why. Have students trace their hand on plain paper. Students will place one clothespin on each finger of their drawing.
12. Students will then write three clue words on each finger of their organizer that corresponds to the question word on the clothespin.
13. Students will use these words to write a detective story. Explain that students will all be working from this statement (the story title): It was missing!
14. Students will record thoughts in their detective notebook and will then use the details and notes to write their own mystery. They will use "who" to name the main character and culprit. They will use their "what" as what was missing. They will use their "when" and "where" as the setting. "Why" should help them solve the mystery. Inform students that they may have to use phrases to explain why. You may want to have the students record "how" phrases on the palms of their hand organizers and place phrases that would explain how the culprit was caught.
15. Students should use their imagination and begin to complete their detective notebook as if they were recording information about a real mystery.
16. Explain that students will imagine their main character will solve the mystery. The main character could be a detective, a student, or a neighbor, etc.
17. Explain that students will place his/her character in a setting from the "where" finger. The students will continue to write and remove a clothespin each time that they have used something from that finger. Have students continue until all clothespins are removed and their story details are finished.
18. (Class 3) Have students write and share their completed mysteries with the class.

Classroom Rubric for Project Assessment

Extensions and Adaptations

Have students write a written description of someone in the class without revealing the identity of the student. Have students guess the identity of the classmate using the written description only.

Have the students do "sole" rubbings. Have them put paper on their soles and rub over them with charcoal pencils. Mix up one shoe from each student in the middle of a circle and their drawings. Have students match the shoes to their sole prints.

Have students listen to a mystery and use their handy organizer to record the details as they hear them being read aloud.

Standards

From McREL

Language Arts

• Demonstrates competence in the general skills and strategies of the writing process
• Demonstrates competence in the general skills and strategies of the reading process
• Demonstrates competence in the general skills and strategies for reading a variety of informational texts

Math

• Uses a variety of strategies in the problem-solving process Understands the general nature and uses of mathematics

History

• Understands and knows how to analyze chronological relationships and patterns