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World’s Greatest
Unsolved Mysteries
Everyone loves a good mystery. Mysteries keep us in suspense. They make us want to
know more, find out more information and even search for clues. The best mysteries are the
ones that keep you on your toes, make you analyze every last detail, and then surprise you at
the very end. What about the mysteries that never get solved? Why hasn't anyone found the
answers?
Your task will be to select a topic on an unsolved mystery. Using inquiry research steps
based on the Big6 Research Model, you will conduct research, find answers to your research
questions, and create a presentation documenting your research findings.
Due Dates
Step 1: 24 October Step 2: 24 October Step 3: 27 October Step 4: 28 October Step 5: Block Day on either 29 or 30 October Step 6: Block Day on either 29 or 30 October Presentations: 31 October and 3 November
Final Slide Presentation Requirements
Minimum Requirements:
Slide 1: Title slide containing the "unsolved mystery", student name, and date.
Slides 2-3: Introductory slide: The mystery must be introduced with an explanation of why it is a mystery.
Slides 4-6: Supporting theories, details about mystery, etc
Slides 7-8: Evidence (photos, news reports, witnesses, interviews)
Slides 9-10: Any opposing theory or explanation that has been provided to "solve the mystery"
Slides 11-12: Conclusion - including the student's belief based on the researched information
Images: A minimum of 3-5 relevant images
Required Handouts
Step One: Task Definition Planning Sheets
Credits /Works Cited Handout or Works Cited Page (A Minimum of 3 Sources Should Be Used)
Minimum of One Digital Note-Taking Card (To Show Evidence of Planning, Summarizing, etc.)
Research Self-Reflection Handout
Step One: Select Your Topic
Which mystery will you research? What information do you know or think you know about the topic? What questions remain? What aspect of the unsolved mystery do you find the most intriguing?
Pre-Search Directions
Before beginning research, you must first select one research topic on an unsolved mystery to
explore. Examine the following unsolved mysteries. Read the descriptions under each mystery
in order to select a research topic that you find interesting.
Topics
Research Topic One: Bigfoot Bigfoot (also known as Sasquatch) is the name given to a mythological simian, ape, or hairy, ape-like creature. Bigfoot is said to inhabit forests, mainly the Pacific Northwest.
Research Topic Five: Mary Celeste
Mary Celeste was an American merchant vessel found adrift and deserted in the Atlantic Ocean.
None of those who'd been on board, the captain and his wife, their two-year-old daughter, and the crew of seven, were ever seen or heard from again. What happened to them all?
Research Topic Six: The Bermuda Triangle
The Bermuda Triangle (also known as the Devil's Triangle) is a loosely defined region in the western part of the North Atlantic Ocean where a number of aircraft and ships are said to have disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Creepy!
Research Topic Seven: Easter Island
The 887 giant moai statues on Easter Island have turned one of the most isolated islands in the world into one of the most well-known.
With each year, more theories arise concerning the island, the statues, and the Rapa Nui people who once lived there arise. Will we ever find out the truth?
Research Topic Eight: Stonehenge
Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument in Wiltshire, England, two miles west of Amesbury. It consists of a ring of standing stones, with each standing stone around 13 feet high, seven feet wide and weighing around 25 tons. It's also one of the most mysterious structures; the prehistoric concentric rings garner plenty of speculation as to why and how they were constructed. So many questions!
Pre-Search Process
Once you have selected a topic, you will need to complete a handout to help you throughout the research process. In order to access the handouts online and copy them into your Google Drive, first open a new browser window and log into your Google Account.
Once you are logged in, return to this webpage and access the handout and the link below.
You will be prompted tomake a copy of the handout into your own Drive for viewing and editing:
Pre-Selection Inquiry Handout and Planning Sheet
Directions for Pre-Search Handout and Examples
First, complete the two columns on the Pre-Search Inquiry Handout.
■ On the handout,What You Know could be basic information; for example, an unsolved mystery involves unexplained disappearances. ■ In the second column, be sure to note what information you will need to find out. What details do you need to know about the unsolved mystery before forming your own conclusion? ■ These can be written in the form of questions or as statements.
See the following examples below based on the unsolved mysteries Bermuda Triangle and Mary Celeste:
Bermuda Triangle
What I Know: This is an area that some believe to be cursed due to a high number of unexplained disappearances of planes and ships that traveled in this location.
Research Question Example: Has anyone offered an explanation as to why this area seems to be dangerous?
Using Effective Keywords While Searching
One research strategy to help researchers locate additional information is to try different keywords or combinations of key phrases when using a search engine. In order to identify key vocabulary associated with your topic, you may also want to note any alternative names or terms associated with your unsolved mystery.
Identifying alternative names or key terms while searching will yield you different results and may also help you locate more relevant information when you use Google.
Though research links will be provided for each topic, you may choose to locate an online site through a search of your own. In order to access information effectively, it will be beneficial for you to attempt different searches with varying key terms.
One example is searching for information on Bigfoot.
There are various terms used to describe this creature. One is Yeti. Searching for Yeti, however, will mainly provide you with information about the popular Yeti products (mugs, coolers, ice chests).
Using both words - Bigfoot Yeti - in a Google Search box will provide different websites than just using the search term Bigfoot alone.
*Besides the common name of your topic, you may also want to search with alternative terms. Some examples relating to the unsolved mystery topics are included below. Can you locate any vocabulary, key terms, or alternative titles for your topic that could be possible keyword searches?
Planning Your Search Strategy
Open a new browser window and log into your Google account and then return to this page in order to access the keyword planning sheet and copy the resource into your own Drive for editing:
Search Engine Keyword Handout
Use the keyword planning sheet in order to generate a list of other search terms and to up your information seeking strategies and skills! An example is included!
Step 3: Location and Access
During Step 4: Use of Information, you will access the websites listed under each topic in order to learn additional information. You may also search for your own sources and websites.
Do not forget to take notes on a resource presenting an opposing viewpoint or stating that the mystery has been solved and providing an explanation or alternative evidence.
Student Handouts
Remember to document your sources using MLA Citation when you take notes. Use the
following handouts:
How to Cite Websites and MLA Source Citation Sheets
Digital Note-Taking Chart
How to Cite Sources in Google Docs
Citation Quick Tip
Several online sites will instantly generate MLA website citations for you without the user having to register for an account.
Simply copy the website address and access a citation site such as BibMe.
You can generate a citation by pasting the URL address in thewebsite box.
The first four links will provide a description, background information and history, evidence, testimonies, etc.
There's also either an interactive website or video available to increase your understanding or knowledge of your topic.
The sixth website offers an opposing viewpoint or alternative explanations of the mystery.
Unsolved Mystery Topics with Suggested Research Links
Big Foot/Yeti
For more than 400 years people have reported finding footprints of an astonishingly large human in the western United States and throughout the world. Real or hoax? You decide.
Suggested Links:
Forensics Expert Says Bigfoot Is Real
BFRO and Bigfoot
Top 10 Most Credible Sightings of Bigfoot
North American Wood Ape Conservancy
Bigfoot DNA Test Proves Hairy Creature Exists, Genetic Researcher Says
Video: Bigfoot Yeti: Meet Science (4 minutes)
Opposing Viewpoint:
Was it a Yeti? Hair DNA Reveal Monsters' True Identities
Loch Ness Monster
This alleged sea animal, identified neither as to a family or species, purportedly inhabits Scotland's Loch Ness. Is there such a sea monster in existence?
Suggested Links:
Mystery of the Loch Ness Monster
Legend of Nessie
Loch Ness Folklore
The Legend of the Loch Ness
Interactive Site: The Best of Loch Ness: Experiment with Sonar
Video: The Legendary Loch Ness Tale Revealed (2 minutes)
Opposing Viewpoint:
Proof LochNess Does Not Exist
Bermuda Triangle
In the Atlantic Ocean, bounded by the island of Bermuda; Miami, Florida; and San Juan, Puerto Rico, is an area where planes and ships have been known to disappear without warning. The U. S. military insists it's all coincidence. But what do YOU think?
Suggested Links:
The History Channel Bermuda Triangle
Gale's Encyclopedia of the Unusual and Unexplained
The Mystery of the Bermuda Triangle
Was the Bermuda Triangle Dangerous?
Video: The Bermuda Triangle (3 Minutes)
Opposing Viewpoint:
Norwegian Scientists Claim They Have Cracked the Bermuda Triangle Mystery
Easter Island
In the middle of the Pacific Ocean sits a collection of huge stone carvings. The Easter Island Moai have been the subject of speculation for centuries. How did the native people move and carve all that stone? And why?
Suggested Links:
Easter Island: Face of Mystery
Ancient Origins: Easter Island
Secrets of Easter Island
Easter Island Mysteries
Interactive Site: Explore the Island Interactive Map
Opposing Viewpoint:
Easter Island: Mystery Solved?
Atlantis
In about 360 B.C. the Greek philosopher Plato wrote about the city of Atlantis and its destruction. People thought it was just a nice story until the 1800s, when a scholar announced that the city might actually have existed. People have been trying to find it ever since. Was Atlantis real or not?
Suggested Links:
Lost City of Atlantis Found in Spain
The Lost Continent Atlantis
Does a New Theory Pinpoint the Lost City of Atlantis?
The Lost City of Atlantis: Fact and Fable
Video: Atlantis Found (12 min)
Opposing Viewpoint:
The Top Six Theories About Atlantis
Stonehenge
Stonehenge, in many peoples' minds, is the most mysterious place in the world. This set of stones laid out in concentric rings and horseshoe shapes on the empty Salisbury Plain, is, at the age of 4,000 years, one of the oldest and best preserved structures on Earth.
We know almost nothing about who built Stonehenge and why. Will you be the one to finally solve this mystery?
Suggested Links
Stonehenge: Mystery on the Salisbury Plain
Stonehenge Facts and Theories
Debunked: Photos that Reveal When Stonehenge Was Built
Why Was Stonehenge Built?
Video: Studying the Mysteries of Stonehenge (5 min)
Opposing Viewpoint:
We Have Cracked the Mystery of Stonehenge
Step 5: Synthesis
Organize Information From Multiple Sources Use the Synthesis Checklist Handout or the Checklist Below:
■ Paraphrase and Summarize Using Bullet Points or Summarize Research Details. ■ Do Not Forget to Save 3-5 Relevant Pictures. ■ Include Information From a Website Presenting an Opposing Viewpoint. ■ Reference Your Teacher's Project Requirements Regarding the Number of Required Sources, Whether a Database is Required, Print Source, Your Own Website, etc. ■ Organize Your Notes in a Logical Order - Background Info, Photos, Evidence, Testimony, Opposing View, etc. ■ Form Your Own Opinion or Hypothesis About the Unsolved Mystery Based on Your Research.
Final Slide Presentation Requirements
Once you have completed your research, it's time to create a Google Slide or Power Point presentation.
Minimum Requirements:
Slide 1: Title slide containing the "unsolved mystery", student name, and date.
Slides 2-3: Introductory slide: The mystery must be introduced with an explanation of why it is a mystery.
Slides 4-6: Supporting theories, details about mystery, etc
Slides 7-8: Evidence (photos, news reports, witnesses, interviews)
Slides 9-10: Any opposing theory or explanation that has been provided to "solve the mystery"
Slides 11-12: Conclusion - including the student's belief based on the researched information
Images: A minimum of 3-5 relevant images
