Scholastic
Scholastic: Play: The Mystery of the Missing Munchies
Short play about the holiday season that students can perform. Click the teacher page for discussion and extension activities.
University of North Carolina
Unc: Edgar Allan Poe, 1809 1849 Tales
Download Edgar Allan Poe's "Tales," which was published in 1845, four years prior to his death. Read popular short stories such as, "The Black Hat," "The Fall of the House of Usher," and "The Purloined Letter." Also, read biographical...
Read Works
Read Works: The Disappearing Room
[Free Registration/Login Required] This literary text passage shares a short mystery. This passage is a stand-alone curricular piece that reinforces essential reading skills and strategies and establishes scaffolding for vocabulary...
Blackdog Media
Classic Reader: The Golden Slipper by Anna Katharine Green
This is the full text of the book The Golden Slipper by Anna Katharine Green, a collection of mystery stories featuring Violet Strange. "A daring debutante solves the crimes of upper-crust Manhattan in this groundbreaking story...
Other
Mystery Net Kids Mysteries: Mysteries by Kids Winners
This site offers links to the winning stories from MysteryNet's mini-mystery writing contest for kids. They provide good reading practice and/or models for story writing activities.
Blackdog Media
Classic Reader: "The Master of Mystery" by Jack London
Text of the short story "The Master of Mystery" by Jack London. (Free site registration offers some additional features, e.g., the ability to insert annotations.)
Blackdog Media
Classic Reader: "A Mystery Explained" by t.s. Arthur
Text of the short story "A Mystery Explained" by American author T.S. Arthur. (Free site registration offers some additional features, e.g., the ability to insert annotations.)
Blackdog Media
Classic Reader: "The Mystery of Joseph Laquedem" by Arthur Quiller Couch
Text of the short story "The Mystery of Joseph Laquedem" by British author Arthur Quiller-Couch. (Free site registration offers some additional features, e.g., the ability to insert annotations.)
Blackdog Media
Classic Reader: "The Mystery of Sasassa Valley" by Arthur Conan Doyle
Text of the short story "The Mystery of Sasassa Valley" by Arthur Conan Doyle. (Free site registration offers some additional features, e.g., the ability to insert annotations.)
Blackdog Media
Classic Reader: "The Blind Spot" by H. H. Munro
This is the text of the short story "The Blind Spot" by H. H. Munro, a murder mystery.
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: American Passages: Gothic Undercurrents: Edgar Allan Poe
This biography features Edgar Allan Poe who introduced the genre of horror and mystery to literature in the nineteenth century with stories such as "The Raven."
National Endowment for the Humanities
Neh: Edsit Ement: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
"In this unit, students explore the artistry that helped make Irving our nation's first literary master and ponder the mystery that now haunts every Halloween -- What happened to Ichabod Crane?"
Blackdog Media
Classic Reader: "American Horses" by Melville Davisson Post
This is the text of the short story "American Horses" by Melville Davisson Post, a mystery.
Blackdog Media
Classic Reader: "The Wolves of Cernogratz" by h.h Munro
H.H. Munro is well known for his stories of magic and mystery. In "The Wolves of Cernogratz" the Cernogratz family has to sell off their castle when they fall on hard times. Read the full text of the short story on this site.
Blackdog Media
Classic Reader: "The Wrong Sign" by Melville Davisson Post
Melville Davisson Post was known for writing mysteries. Read one of his short stories "The Wrong Sign" on this site.
Blackdog Media
Classic Reader: "Will It Pay" by Mary Roberts Rinehart
Mary Roberts Rinehart was a prolific mystery writer. "Will it Pay" is a tale of greed that you can read on this site.
TES Global
Tes: Year 9, Set 5: Lamb to the Slaughter
[Free Registration/Login Required] During this lesson, students will work to collect clues to solve a murder mystery. Students will use a Power Point first and then apply the skills to a short text.
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: A Directed Listening Thinking Activity
Lesson which requires middle schoolers to listen to The Tell-Tale Heart read aloud, answer prediction questions during the reading, and write written responses after. Excellent for beginning a mystery unit.
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: American Passages: Southern Renaissance: Flannery O'connor
Flannery O'Connor is featured in this biography for her contributions to literature through many short stories, in most of which she created rural southern characters. See "Flannery O'Connor Activities" for related materials.
Orca Book Publishers
Orca Book Publishers: Bio Pirate Teaching Guide [Pdf]
Bio-Pirate, a novel by Michele Martin Bossley, is a science mystery about medical research materials that go missing. This teacher's guide includes a book summary, extensive teaching ideas and a short profile of the author.
Love To Know Media
Your Dictionary: How to Solve Cryptograms
This article provides detailed tips on how to solve cryptograms such as looking for repeated words, solving the short words first, and looking for digraphs and common letters.
Other
Mostly fiction.com: Laura Esquivel
A review of "The Law of Love" from MostlyFiction.com and a short biography of the author, Laura Esquivel.
Blackdog Media
Classic Reader: Death at the Excelsior by p.g. Wodehouse
Classic Reader provides numerous classic works from famous authors. First published in 1914, one short story is Death at the Excelsior. This work was the written by the British author, P.G. Wodehouse.
Varsity Tutors
Varsity Tutors: Web English Teacher: Lois Duncan
What do you know about the life and work of Lois Duncan? This site features links to several of her books that contain lesson plans, teaching guides and more.