Fifth Graders at Autumn Creek Become Detectives to Start the 2nd Quarter

Oh no!  Someone is trying to scare Kathleen “Kat” O’Leary and keep her away from school.  Who could be doing this?  Why would anyone want to keep Kat out of school?  These are some of the questions that fifth graders at Autumn Creek tried to answer as they worked on the interactive mystery, Who’s a Fraidy Kat?

As the second quarter begins, the fifth graders around the district begin to explore the theme of Perception.  The teachers at Autumn Creek decided that an exciting way to introduce this theme would be through an interactive mystery.  “Everyone wanted to make this something special, something that would really grab the student’s imagination.” explained Ken Joslin. 

Students were introduced to the case by their teachers with video statements from the victim and each of the suspects.  These videos were directed and produced by Miss Reece.  They then explored two different crime scenes constructed by Miss Saner, taking careful notes about the various clues they found there in their detective notebooks.  Next students began to analyze all the information they collected.  They had to use their analytical and critical thinking skills to figure out: Who had a motive?  Who had an alibi and couldn’t have done it?  and What evidence supports their final accusation?

Here were some of the reactions to the mystery:

“I feel like my class learned a lot through this whole experience - especially about not always believing what you hear.” – Miss Saner

“I liked the part where we got to go on the stage and look for clues.  We got to feel like a real detective.” – Litia S.

“I liked how the smallest details from a crime scene or case file could help a lot.” – Andrea L.

“I liked it a lot.  The part that I liked the most was the crime scenes because it was put together very well.” – Van A.

“It felt like we were really detectives and we really solved a case.” – Alexa G.

“I liked the mystery because it was hard, it was fun and it was suspenseful.” – Daxon S.

“I liked the Fraidy Cat Mystery.  I like the videos for the suspects.” – Mike D.

“I felt like I was a real detective.  I liked the clues, they got your brain to work.”- Anthony R.

With this as their starting point, the 5th grade teachers at Autumn Creek hope to have and exciting second quarter.  “We are always trying to find engaging ways to challenge our students.”  Said 5th grade teacher Ken Joslin.  So far, the evidence of their success is elementary.