Children are natural detectives. From the time of birth they are constantly seeking the answers to the who, what, and why of life. Any teacher or parent can verify that much of the young child's life is spent seeking for the answers to the mysteries of life. They are curious about everything around them.
As the young child grows and becomes more aware of his/her surroundings they begin to verbalize their quest for the answers by asking why, how come, what's that, etc. If the child is not satisfied with the responses given by the adult they'll circle back around and begin the barrage of questioning all over again. Any adult who has survived such an encounter with a quizzical child can vouch for the fact that it feels very much like they've been through a series of interrogative sessions with some of the world's toughest interrogators. Why not take the child's natural ability to seek for answers and use it as the springboard for the introduction of detective fiction and the solving of a real mystery which has been custom made for their very own classroom? This is the goal of this unit.