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WHO BORROWED MR. BEAR?

LHS GEMS PROJECT
By Priscilla Young & Javier Arteta

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"Imagine walking into your classroom, only it has been transformed into a crime scene. Something has happened here, what it is is not exactly clear, and it is up to your students to come up with conclusions based on the evidence. Students make and test observations, then use speaking and writing skills to make inferences about what may have happened."
National Science Teachers Association NSTA.

The GEMS guide “Mystery Festival” is a science guide that engages students by introducing mystery and encouraging investigation.  This guide offers two mysteries designed for particular grade levels. The “Mr. Bear Mystery” is designed for grades 2-3 and The “Mr. Felix Mystery” is designed for grades 4-8.  The mystery that we will be focusing on targets grade levels 2-3. The “Mystery Festival” guide provides students with a variety of challenges at different learning stations set up around the classroom. The goal of this mystery is for students to be able to distinguish between evidence and inference and to successfully solve the mystery.  The mystery is divided into five sessions or activities. The first activity involves the students’ discovery of the crime scene and the students will observe and record clues. The second activity introduces suspects and the suspects’ alibis. After this information is disclosed the students will re-examine the crime scene clues and begin to make “guesses” as to what happened. The third activity requires that the students conduct tests on five pieces of evidence and evaluate suspects based on the pieces of evidence. The fourth activity students conduct test on five more pieces of evidence and again evaluate suspects based on pieces of evidence. The last activity involves collaboration between students and teacher to present options and attempt to solve the mystery.



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October 2007