Using the Web site with your class
Below are some suggestions for introducing the Web site to your class.

• View a clip of the History Detectives television series found on the Web site. Ask your students if anyone has ever seen the television series. If so, ask the student to tell the class about it.
• Create a poster of the Golden Super Sleuthing Rules or display them on the board for your class. Ask your students if anyone knows what they are. Discuss what they mean. Ask your students if they think of history as being a mystery to solve. Give examples and ask the class for examples.
• Visit the Web site as a class. You will need the ability to display the computer screen to the class, such as an LCD projector. On the home page, fill out the Super Sleuth Pass for the class. For example: Mrs. Smith’s Class.
• Create an assignment for students to explore the Web site individually or in small groups. This assignment could be a scavenger hunt. Create a list of things for students to find the locations of on the Web site. For example: a magnifying glass, a house, a tape measure, a map. Remind students that some items may be found in more than one place and they should find all locations. You also may wish to make up a list of questions for the students to answer or things to find out. For example: What items are in the detective kit? What is the Codebreaker? Which history detective is interested in art and old buildings?

If you have limited access to computers, consider the following options:

• If there are several computers available, have your students work in groups. Emphasize the importance of the investigators working as a team.
• If there are only one or two computers available, have your students work in groups. Design an investigation lesson with several stations. One or two of the stations would be at a computer. The groups must visit each station in order to complete the investigation.
• If you have access to a computer and display device, visit and use the Web site as a class.
• You may not have computers in your classroom, but may have to go to a computer lab or computer room to use computers. You can follow up in the classroom with worksheets, transparencies, notebooks, and posters.