WHAT HAPPENED TO AMELIA EARHART?

1. Do you have what it takes to solve one of the most intriguing mysteries in history? Do you have the skills needed to uncover the truth behind this mystery? Well put on your thinking caps, and unpack your magnifying glasses because this mystery is up to YOU to solve! The year was 1937, and famous flight pioneer Amelia Earhart disappeared in her first attempted flight around the world. There are a lot of ideas of what happened, but no one knows for sure. You are a team of investigative reporters who have been hired by Student News Now (or SNN). They are counting on you to discover the truth about Amelia Earhart’s disappearance. Read the Task page to get started in your investigation. Introduction Task Questions Roles: Captain Crash Inspector Island World Warrior Agent Alias Process Resources Evaluation: Article/Notepad Skit Conclusion Credits WHAT HAPPENED TO AMELIA EARHART? Created By: Sara Herring for Grade 4

2. Each member of your group will be investigating one theory of Ms. Earhart’s disappearance. In order to determine which theory is best, you will need to have an understanding of who Amelia Earhart was and what she was like. To do this, you will answer some questions about her life. Please use the questions listed on the Questions page. Once you have gathered this information, you can each start to collect evidence from one of the lead theories. You will get together and use this evidence to decide which theory best explains what really happened to Amelia Earhart. You will submit your notes and an article to the SNN newspaper.The article should include a picture and a short biography of Amelia Earhart’s life (using your answers to the questions on the Questions page). You will also use the information and clues each of you has uncovered to create a short skit. This skit will demonstrate what you believe happened on Amelia Earhart’s last flight. TASK: Introduction Task Questions Roles: Captain Crash Inspector Island World Warrior Agent Alias Process Resources Evaluation: Article/Notepad Skit Conclusion Credits

3. Please answer these questions in your biographical article about Amelia Earhart: When and where was Amelia Earhart born? How would her family and friends describe her? What was she like? What did she like to do? What nickname was she known by and why? What made Amelia Earhart a famous pilot? Did she break any records or receive any awards? What made her different from other pilots in her day? What happened on her last flight before she disappeared? Introduction Task Questions Roles: Captain Crash Inspector Island World Warrior Agent Alias Process Resources Evaluation: Article/Notepad Skit Conclusion Credits Questions:

4. In order to solve this mystery, you will need to know who Amelia Earhart was and what she was like. Together you will research and answer the questions listed on the Questions page. Once you have discovered all of these answers, you will write and submit your article about Amelia Earhart’s life. The article should be at least one half of a page in length (at least ten sentences). Now each of you will choose a role that you will use to investigate: Captain Crash, Inspector Island, World Warrior, or Agent Alias. Each role will collect information about one of the leading theories used to describe Ms. Earhart’s disappearance. PROCESS: Introduction Task Questions Roles: Captain Crash Inspector Island World Warrior Agent Alias Process Resources Evaluation: Article/Notepad Skit Conclusion Credits

5. You believe that Amelia Earhart’s plane crashed into the ocean before she could reach her goal, and that no one survived the crash. Use the following links to investigate Amelia Earhart’s disappearance. Use your investigator’s notepad to record any evidence that might support or oppose your theory: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2001/08/0828_wireamelia2.html http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Luke_Field_Crash_Report/LukeFieldReport.htm http://news.discovery.com/history/us-history/sonar-may-reveal-earharts-plane-photos-130529.htm Introduction Task Questions Roles: Captain Crash Inspector Island World Warrior Agent Alias Process Resources Evaluation: Article/Notepad Skit Conclusion Credits Captain Crash

6. You believe that Amelia Earhart’s plane landed on another island, and that she survived on that island until supplies ran out. Use the following links to investigate Amelia Earhart’s disappearance. Use your investigator’s notepad to record any evidence that might support or oppose your theory: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2001/08/0828_wireamelia3.html http://news.discovery.com/history/us-history/amelia-earhart-fate-recontructed-120713.htm http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Friedell's_Report.html Introduction Task Questions Roles: Captain Crash Inspector Island World Warrior Agent Alias Process Resources Evaluation: Article/Notepad Skit Conclusion Credits Inspector Island

7. You believe that Amelia Earhart was working as an undercover spy for the United States against Japan, but was caught and taken captive. Use the following links to investigate Amelia Earhart’s disappearance. Use your investigator’s notepad to record any evidence that might support or oppose your theory: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2001/08/0828_wireamelia4.html http://www.cnmi-guide.com/history/ww2/amelia/index.html http://www.unmuseum.org/earhart.htm http://www.nytimes.com/1994/02/15/books/books-of-the-times-amelia-earhart-a-spy-author-answers-yes.html Introduction Task Questions Roles: Captain Crash Inspector Island World Warrior Agent Alias Process Resources Evaluation: Article/Notepad Skit Conclusion Credits World Warrior

8. You believe that Amelia Earhart staged her entire flight and disappearance in order to start a new life in the United States with a new identity. Use the following links to investigate Amelia Earhart’s disappearance. Use your investigator’s notepad to record any evidence that might support or oppose your theory: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2001/08/0828_wireamelia4.html http://www.history.com/news/what-happened-to-amelia-9-tantalizing-theories-about-the-earhart-disappearance http://www.irene-amelia.com/ Agent Alias Introduction Task Questions Roles: Captain Crash Inspector Island World Warrior Agent Alias Process Resources Evaluation: Article/Notepad Skit Conclusion Credits

9. Use the following links for further investigation: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2001/08/0828_wireamelia1.html http://www.ninety-nines.org/index.cfm/amelia_earhart.htm http://www.unmuseum.org/earhart.htm http://www.history.com/news/what-happened-to-amelia-9-tantalizing-theories-about-the-earhart-disappearance Introduction Task Questions Roles: Captain Crash Inspector Island World Warrior Agent Alias Process Resources Evaluation: Article/Notepad Skit Conclusion Credits RESOURCES:

10. Use this rubric when creating your article: Introduction Task Questions Roles: Captain Crash Inspector Island World Warrior Agent Alias Process Resources Evaluation: Article/Notepad Skit Conclusion Credits EVALUATION

11. Introduction Task Questions Roles: Captain Crash Inspector Island World Warrior Agent Alias Process Resources Evaluation: Article/Notepad Skit Conclusion Credits EVALUATION Use this rubric when creating your skit:

12. Congratulations! You have solved this mystery (at least for now)! You have learned a great deal about Amelia Earhart and the impact she made in aviation. You have also learned how to conduct and analyze research. You have successfully used your research to develop an original skit, which you creatively used to inform others. We may never know for sure if you were correct. What do you think would need to happen to be completely sure that you were right? What evidence would need to be found? Now that you have developed these analytical research skills, what other mysteries could you investigate? Introduction Task Questions Roles: Captain Crash Inspector Island World Warrior Agent Alias Process Resources Evaluation: Article/Notepad Skit Conclusion Credits CONCLUSION

13. The following websites provided inspiration, information, and ideas used to create this original webquest: http://webquest.sdsu.edu/taskonomy.html http://teacherweb.com/tweb/WebQuests.aspx http://www.teacherwebquest.com/CA/TemescalValleyElementary/AmeliaEarhartWebQuest/h3.stm http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/webquests/index.html http://www.slideshare.net/iteerasak/webquest-3583324 http://www.aacps.org/aacps/boe/instr/curr/comed/es/webquest/indexqu.htm http://www.nelliemuller.com/elementary_school.htm http://its.guilford.k12.nc.us/webquests/grade4.html http://www.foxnews.com/science/2013/06/27/photos-could-prove-amelia-earhart-lived-as-castaway/ CREDITS Introduction Task Questions Roles: Captain Crash Inspector Island World Warrior Agent Alias Process Resources Evaluation: Article/Notepad Skit Conclusion Credits