Young Historians Crack the Case

Who doesn't love a good mystery? The story about what happened to the colonists of Roanoke during the late 1500s is one of our country's oldest and greatest mysteries, and it wasn't lost on these inquisitive fifth graders. 

To date, historians have only been able to come up with likely hypotheses about what happened in Roanoke during the years of 1587-1590, but the question still remains: What caused the colonists of Roanoke to disappear?  Students took on the role of detectives who were assigned to research evidence and evaluate primary sources as well as existing theories about the disappearance of the Roanoke colonists. Based on each group's analysis, students then developed their own viable theories based on sufficient evidence. These theories were evaluated by small student focus groups to receive the Editor-in-Chief's approval for a once-in-a-lifetime chance to appear in the "spotlight". These young historians were given the opportunity to publish "award-winning", headline stories, proclaiming their theories to the world. 

Just another day in the life of a fifth-grade journalist. #ReadAllAboutIt