Tips

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. This makes it more authentic.

Examples

• The Aztec Adventure WebQuest, for example, begins with a mysterious package being delivered to your door. At the end of a sequence of information-seeking activities, your task is to explain the significance of the package and how it portrays the essence of Aztec civilization.
• Another example is King Tutankhamun: Was It Murder? in which learners examine the same evidence that scholars are debating about.