Students are asked to write a list of possible causes of the environmental problem. This could be set for homework - this forces each student to give the problem some thought. The next day the students are divided up into small groups. Each group discusses each others ideas. Students could also be asked to prepare illustrations for the story.
Students go to the library or search the internet to find information to help solve the mystery.
These are listed on the board. Following a general class discussion, the class votes on the best answer. The most popular answer is the one to be e-mailed as the class response to that part of the competition. The message should not be too long. A typical response could follow the format below.