The Missing

Four witnesses. Four stories. Only the evidence tells the truth.

The Missing puts your sixth graders on an investigative team reopening a cold case. Over ten days they read witness after witness, weigh what each account actually proves, and discover that the most confident voice is not always the most reliable. It is close reading where the conclusion has to be earned.

See what your students get, and why it lands.

No mockups. Every page below is real, pulled straight from the files you download. Tap any one to see it full size.

A worksheet was never going to teach this.

Your sixth graders are not answering comprehension questions. They are an investigative team, reading four witnesses across ten days to reconstruct what happened. Witness by witness the story shifts, and the documents do not always match the testimony. The teams who read for what a source establishes, not for what they already believe, get closer to the truth. That is evidence-based reading with a real case riding on it.

Tap to read a witness file

They are graded on their reasoning, not on solving it.

Here is what surprises teachers. A team that names the right answer is not graded higher than a team that does not. Solving the case is not the point. Students are assessed on the quality of their reasoning, traced through their own daily journal. A team that reached the wrong conclusion but weighed the evidence honestly scores higher than a team that guessed correctly. That is how a sixth grader learns that how you reason matters more than whether you guessed right.

Tap to read the grading note

Let the workbook hold the evidence.

The Missing comes with a workbook that tracks every witness, every claim, and what each one actually supports. The team logs what they read, and the record builds across the ten days. Their attention stays on the hard part, deciding which testimony holds up, instead of on keeping the threads straight.

Tap to see the evidence tracker

Every day is already scripted. You just run the room.

You do not need a background in investigation or bias to teach this. The guide scripts every day, names what students will likely say, and gives you exactly how to respond. The witnesses, the documents, and the final reckoning are all written for you. You bring the facilitation. The simulation brings everything else.

Tap to read the teacher guide

The lesson plan is already written.

Every simulation comes with a fully editable, admin-ready lesson plan. Standards alignment, daily pacing, learning objectives, differentiation, and an assessment plan are already done, so you can hand it to an administrator or adapt it to your district template in minutes.

Tap to preview the lesson plan

Everything you need to run it.