One of our groups chose to study Mystery as their theme. Katie and I weren't sure how that was a theme until they argued that one of their members wanted to research and study crime scene investigation, another was interested in police work (becoming a detective), another wanted to research the literary concepts of mystery stories, and still another student thought it would be interesting to look into the world’s greatest unsolved mysteries. We approved their argument and are waiting to see what essential question they will come up with to guide their group discussions. Our model then gives students the independence and choice (they were allowed to pick an area of interest to pursue and Katie and I grouped them into like groups) to work on their own interests yet provides them with the critical element of collaboration. They collaborate on processes, resources, and final group presentations which ties their individual research into the overall theme of the unit.
We will encourage the students to not only research but try to become active participants in their pursuits. We want them to interview authors, detectives, scientists, etc. perhaps visit locations, or skype authors for conversations about writing, etc... We will keep you posted on our progress!
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