Mystery

Definition of a Mystery Task
"Everyone loves a mystery. Sometimes a good way to lure your students into a topic is to wrap it in a puzzle or detective story. This works well at the elementary school level, but can also be extended all the way up to adult learners." [1]

Tips about Mystery Tasks
"A well designed mystery task requires synthesis of information from a variety of sources. Create a puzzle that cannot be solved simply by finding the answer on a particular page. Instead, design a mystery that requires one to:
 * absorb information from multiple sources;
 * put information together by making inferences or generalizations across several information sources;
 * eliminate false trails that might seem to be likely answers at first but which fall apart under closer examination.

"Mystery tasks can seem somewhat inauthentic because of the fictionalizing they require, though the tradeoff in increased learner interest can make it worthwhile.

"If there are careers related to your topic which involve genuine puzzle-solving (as in what historians, scholars, archaeologists and other scientists do) then wrap the mystery around such people and the bogosity will be minimized." [1]

Reference [1] http://webquest.sdsu.edu/taskonomy.html

Examples of a WebQuest In Which Participants Take on a Role to Solve a Mystery
1. [|Mystery Bug Webquest] This WebQuest gives students a mystery bug that has been found in the rain forest, and asks students to research the bug. They have to find out what the physical characteristics are; research the bug's habitat, diet, and life style; and determine if they are harmful or helpful for humans. (It's a pretty good WebQuest except that it repeats what the students have to find three times just within the process.)

2. [|Disappearing Frogs] This WebQuest lets students evaluate why frogs are disappearing in North America. The WebQuest allows students to take on different roles in order to research this topic and come up with a good explanation.

3. [|Bones and the Badge WebQuest] Students are given the role of a forensic investigator and must analyze the evidence from a crime scene to solve the crime. Students must present their information and findings to other experts in their field and explain what actually happened at the scene based on the evidence given. The site also gives extra resources for those who are interested in the criminal justice field.

4. [|The Case of the Ruined Mystery Stories] Students are given the role of a detective sent undercover to write a mystery story because all of the mystery stories were destroyed by an evil-doer. The WebQuest allows students to explore writing the mystery genre.

5. [|It's a Mystery To Me] This WebQuest allows students to read about and write their own mystery texts. The Detection Agency has hired the students to add their books to the Mystery Book Library because the original library has burned down.

6. [|DNA's Role in Solving Mysteries] In this WebQuest students will have to use what they know about genetics and DNA in order to determine which kidnapped infant belongs to which parent.

7. [|WhoDunit?] This is a WebQuest designed for a 6th grade Language Arts class. Students are given clues, and must try to solve the case and write a persuasive arguement based on research to prove your solution to other detectives.

8. [|A Plant WebQuest] This Webquest requires students to solve the mystery of the missing plants, but first they must research some of the plants. The students will take on roles as the plant biologist, the architect, the plant keeper and work in group to solve this mystery. This WebQuest is designed for the fifth grade.