This lesson was developed to help introduce Unit 2 of the 6th grade Houghton Mifflin Reading Text book.  The theme for this Unit is "What Really Happened?"  The students will explore some historical controversies on the Internet to discover for themselves what they personally feel "really happened."

 This lesson can actually be directed towards any age level student.  The articles the students read will probably be geared toward more mature readers, however.

Students should have a background on how to write a newspaper article before beginning this lesson.  They should also have knowledge of citing sources MLA-style before beginning this lesson.

6-8. LA. S1. B4:  Apply critical, analytical thinking and evaluative thinking skills to what is read to formulate conclusions, opinions, and personal responses.

6-8. LA. S6.B1:  Play a variety of roles in group discussions.

6-8. LA. S7. B1-3:
    B1:  Ask questions to seek elaboration and clarification of ideas.

    B2:  Determine the appropriateness of an information source to develop a particular topic.

    B3:  Create a bibliography/works cited page citing all sources, using an appropriate reference manual.

After you receive your mystery to research, divide your research party into different roles.  First, you will need a HEAD RESEARCHER.  This person will be responsible for finding good websites to use in the research process.
Next, you will need a RECORDER.  This person will record all of your sources in MLA format.  He or she will also take notes as the group discusses.
Finally, each group will need 1-2 CREATIVE COORDINATORS.  These folks will be the brains behind how you present your Press Release to the world.

As soon as you've divided the tasks, begin by searching out, and reading various articles.  (Remember to record the sources in correct MLA format)

Once you've decided on "what really happened," type a brief, 1-page press release that tells the world the answer to the mystery.  (12-size font, double spaced)

Finally, glue your article to a piece of large paper and decorate it appropriately to aide visually to your presentation of this mystery, and the solving of it.

This lesson will take at least four 45-minute blocks of time to complete.  The majority of the time in class will be used to research the assigned topics.  Students will possibly need to spend some time outside of class completing this assignment.

Each student will be graded based upon the group's performance.  However, if there is any student who is not putting in his or her fair share of the work, that student will be dealt with on an individual basis.

See Rubric for precise grading information:

This can be a completely worthwhile lesson to team teach with all of the subjects.  For example, all of the topics listed above have Historical connections.  You could also do science topics, or even Math topics to research.  Students will enjoy learning the different sides of these controversial topics and hopefully take pride in their work.