Bringing Mystery to the March is Reading Month Experience
​By:  Courtney Doctor

Project at a Glance :

Students were tasked with creating a mystery themed March is Reading Month for the Sheldon Woods students and staff.  The goal was to increase student engagement in reading.

​Driving Question:

How can we make March is Reading Month mysterious?         

Standards:

• SL 1, 2, & 5
• W 5 & 6

Team / Culture Building:

• Students got to know their teammates using the protocol Connections. ​

Entry Event:

• ​Lock Boxes - students began the project with 3 puzzles to solve in order to get combinations to 3 locks on the lock box! Inside the lock box were items associated with mysteries and the Driving Question!

Stakeholders:

Empathy Building:

• We used the 4Cs protocol to dissect the driving question and build empathy for the stakeholders. 

Inquiry / Need to Knows:

• Research - In the center of each poster board, there is an idea that another school used as a part of a March is Reading month focused on mysteries. The students read about it and added ideas, thoughts, likes, and dislikes.

Incubation:

• After getting some ideas from other schools, students generated some of their own using the protocol Idea Quota.​

• Rule of Thirds protocol - students shared their ideas and sorted them into 3 categories: Ordinary, Crazy, and Breakthrough.

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Solution Building:

• After sorting ideas, students narrowed the choices down using a Dot Voting protocol.​
  

• After all of the students voted, we put the top choices into the $100 Test and students got to spend their money on their favorite ideas for a mysterious March is Reading Month. 
• Students created a promo video of their top solution ideas.

Authentic Audience:

• SAIL Classmates
  

​Final Presentation:

• ​​Students presented solution ideas.

Reading Logs

Activity Calendars

Weekly Prizes

Click here for teacher's full plan.

​Reflection and Feedback:

• Additional Solution Ideas included:

Hosting Mystery Readers

Scavenger Hunt

Escape Room

Click here for the teacher's Journey through PBL on Padlet . . .

Meet the Educator:

Courtney Doctor teaches Kindergarten - 4th grade Core Support and 3rd - 5th grade SAIL (Students Accelerating in Learning) at Sheldon Woods Elementary, West Ottawa Public Schools.

     "The students were engaged in the whole process from the opening Lock Box activity to the final Escape Room that they planned, prepared, and assisted with.  They enjoyed planning a new experience for the whole student body.  This PBL Project gave the students an authentic audience and they enjoyed watching their peers participate."