Winston-Salem Forsyth County Schools
Objective: You are an archaeologist who has been called upon to investigate a box
containing an unknown object. You are allowed to interview a fellow scientist who is
bound by a confidentiality clause not to reveal the identity of the object. However, the
scientist has found a loophole in the clause: she can answer yes/no questions about the
object. You and your fellow archaeologists must determine the identity of the object and
publicize its presence around the world.
Task:
1. Listen carefully to the information provided by the scientist before asking any questions.
2. Frame questions to ask the scientist that will help you infer the identity of the object. You
must ask questions according to the following formats:
a. Noun questions (types of things or categories): Does it have _____? Is it a _____?
b. Verb questions (action words): Does it _____? Can it _____?
c. Adjective questions (descriptive words): Is it _____?
3. When prompted by the scientist, record your inferred guesses on the line provided. Your
inference may be an actual guess about the identity of the object or it may be a general
area you think the object fits.
a. Inference #1: ______________________________________________________
b. Inference #2: ______________________________________________________
c. Inference #3: ______________________________________________________
d. Inference #4: ______________________________________________________
e. Inference #5: ______________________________________________________
4. After the object has been revealed/identified, write a description of the object using the
question words recorded from the questions. Write about how the object looks as well as
what it does.
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
Adapted from Straits, William. “Mystery Box Writing.” Science & Children 43:3 (Nov/Dec 2005): 33-7. EBSCOhost
database. 29 October 2007.