Strategy Overview
Doctors, researchers, scientists, lawyers, and detectives—these and so
many other professions are driven by a common goal: to solve mysteries.
Take any one of these professions and think about how much of the work
involved revolves around gathering, organizing, and making sense of
data in order to formulate solutions to puzzling questions. However,
solving mysteries is not unique to the professional world. In fact, today’s
state tests with their emphasis on interpreting data, extracting evidence
from multiple sources, and building sound cases or explanations require
students to think like “mystery solvers” more than ever before.
Mystery lessons begin with a provocative question or riddle such as
“Why did the Neanderthals disappear while Homo sapiens went on to
cover the entire globe?” The teacher then provides students with a set of
clues or texts that will help them solve the mystery. In working to formulate
a solution, students naturally build their skills in collecting evidence,
organizing and interpreting information, and developing logical
hypotheses and explanations. In addition, because the Mystery strategy
capitalizes on the human affinity for the intriguing and perplexing, it
arouses student curiosity and increases motivation in any classroom.