Mystery is an exciting genre for young readers to investigate. The plots are so intriguing! Here is a series of lessons featuring Sherlock Holmes stories that invite learners to enter the world of the mystery genre.  Based on what...

Fifth graders explore mystery stories.  In this reading and writing instructional activity, 5th graders complete a planning guide for an original mystery.  Students use the writing process to create a mystery story. 

Examine the elements in a mystery with The Westing Game. Learners unscramble words as if they had to put clues together. Additionally, they discuss terms used in mysteries. They practice the word using the context of the story, as well...

Dig in deeper with Robert Frost's, "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening." Learners will read and discuss poems by Robert Frost and learn the meaning of terms such as narrative and personal. They journal, collaborate, and present poetry...

Immerse yourself in the beautiful, twisted world of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera. A detailed lesson plan provides important details about the writing, stagecraft, music, and literary elements of the famous musical,...

Students determine the story elements of typical mystery stories including characters and plot structure. They look at vocabulary that is common to mystery stories before reading and responding to mystery chapter books. Working in guided...

Capture the engagement of young readers with this collection of activities based on Jane Yolen's book, Owl Moon. Following a shared reading of this children's story, the class explores the geography of the American Northeast,...

This abstract for an instructional unit using three-minute mysteries, stories by Sir Arthur Canon Doyle, and Edgar Allan Poe includes a short history of detective fiction, sample plans, and suggestions for exercises and activities...

Students investigate and explore the poems of Robert Frost. They read and discuss poems by Frost, define narrative and personal, write narratives in a journal, and present a dramatic reading of a poem to the class.

The human body can be a mystery, or at least a riddle. Fifth graders pair up and use Photostory to create a riddle relating to a human body part and how it functions in the body system. They will compose a riddle, use a story board, take...

Young journalists try their hand at writing a news report. They go through the process of developing ideas, and collecting and organizing their information. The headline everyone works with is, "Mystery Disappearance of English Teacher:...

As an introduction to literary criticism, class members recreate I.A. Richards' close reading experiment. Individuals select a poem, paraphrase the story, focus on the imagery used, consider what the imagery adds to the tale, and...

Strap on those backpacks, it's time to travel through history with this literature unit based on the first four books of The Magic Tree House series. While reading through these fun stories, children create story maps, record...

Extend the exhilarating learning experience of Dr. Seuss with five activities designed to reinforce literacy skills—site word reading, dialogue writing, story mapping, and more! Featured stories include The Lorax,...

"Ode to la Tortilla" and "Ode to Joy"? Sure! Use Gary Soto's poem to introduce learners to the ode format. After examining the descriptive words Soto uses, class members study a poster of Ludwig van Beethoven, suggest words that describe...

Explore ocean habitats with a lesson plan that showcases the home of manatees and loggerhead turtles in Belize. Here, pupils compare and contrast the homes of ocean animals to those of humans, listen to an original short story...

"I don't know what to write about!" How often have you heard that lament? Here's a list of 10 prompts that provide a starting place for suspense stories.

Supplement your Maniac Magee lesson plans with a packet of student materials. Included here is a variety of questions about the text. Pupils complete multiple choice and short-answer questions and choose from a variety of extension...

This discussion guide accompanies the fiction book Midnight Magic written by Avi, enforces story elements, inferences, and theme/plot. Have the class work on it over time, it will engage even your reluctant readers. 

Second graders solve a map mystery. In this technology lesson plan, 2nd graders develop an awareness of maps and the symbols associated with maps as they the "Neighborhood Map Machine."

Students role play the position of a scientist to gather information on Meriwether Lewis' death. They discover what he did after the famous expedition and how centuries affect the study of a body. They share their information with the...