Curated OER
English Skills Worksheet (6.203)
In this multiple English activities activity, students complete a variety of assignments: write three onomatopoeia sentences, add ten endings to ten words, give the root words to eight words, play two rounds of word chess, find the...
Curated OER
Marvelous Mysteries
Fifth graders explore mystery stories. In this reading and writing lesson plan, 5th graders complete a planning guide for an original mystery. Students use the writing process to create a mystery story.
Curated OER
Elements of a Mystery
Learners write mystery stories. In this writing lesson, students review the definition and components of a mystery. They look at a photo and write a mystery to explain the picture.
Curated OER
Book Report--Mystery
Use this mystery novel worksheet to have learners answer several specific questions about details in the book, the atmosphere of the book, and the main characters in the book. This impressive, four-page worksheet will serve as an...
Curated OER
Exploring the Mystery Genre
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...
Curated OER
Think of an Ending
Good endings are hard to find. And write. This, the final lesson plan in a six-part series devoted to study of the ingredients of a good story, focuses on crafting endings. Class members draft ideas about what should happen to each of...
Curated OER
Mystery Writing Lesson Plans
Introduce your class to the genre of mystery. Included is a vocabulary list, a rubric, and a sample mystery story called "Lethal Lesson." There are very limited directions on what to do with these resources, so you will need to plan some...
Curated OER
Computer Mysteries
Who has been messing with my trampoline? Young writers choose local events as the basis for their own “Who Did It?” mystery. They then devise a plot, problem, and cast of characters and write an introduction explaining the problem and...
Curated OER
Write It, Read It, Solve It
Writers create an original mystery and have a chance to put it into movie format. The classic elements of a mystery must be present: the crime, the suspects, the motive, the solution and clues. Use iPhoto and Quicktime Movie to integrate...
ReadWriteThink
Comics in the Classroom as an Introduction to Narrative Structure
A picture is worth a thousand words, but a comic strip combines both images and words for the ultimate narrative effect. After reading The Three Little Pigs and deciphering the plot elements, elementary readers work through four...
Curated OER
Web Quest on "How to Write a Mystery."
Students complete a Web Quest on How to Write a Mystery. They listen to or read a short mystery story and discuss its elements. They write an outline of a mystery story using all of the elements.
Orlando Shakes
The Hound of the Baskervilles: Study Guide
Sherlock Holmes may have been the greatest detective in literary history. A study guide for The Hound of the Baskervilles introduces a story featuring the famous detective before sharing activities related to the text. Readers...
Curated OER
Take the Mystery Out of Building Suspense in a Narrative
Good thing, bad thing; a fun technique for building suspense in a narrative.
Wordpress
The Inn of Lost Time
Test understanding of "The Inn of Lost Time" by Lensey Namoika with an assessment that includes true/false, multiple choice, vocabulary, short answer, and essay questions. The test is not entirely traditional since, for the first 10...
Curated OER
Writing About Talking
The story of King Arthur is a fascinating one, and this retold excerpt offers an excellent example of narrative word choice in a dialogue. Learners read the text and examine the way the author uses synonyms for said. They write down...
Curated OER
A Little Mystery and Intrigue in Writing Short Detective Stories
Pupils read and analyze the twelve short stories in the novel "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes." They create their own detective that has to solve a new kind of crime, and write and edit a short story with their original detective as...
Scouts
The Deadly Picnic: A Lab on Deductive Reasoning
Whodunnit? Find out who killed Mr. Brooks through a logical examination of evidence. Class members fill out a couple of data tables to help them pin down the suspect. After they've figured out just who the culprit is, pupils compose...
Curated OER
A Nero Wolfe Mystery
Discuss a Nero Wolfe mystery on brining criminals to justice. Secondary students will read the book A Nero Wolfe Mystery: The Doorbell Rang. They then will watch the movie depicting this story and answer discussion questions. There are...
Curated OER
The Notorious Hope Diamond: What Makes an American Legend?
Students view and discuss a video on the legend of the Hope Diamond then compare and contrast other tales such as Paul Bunyan, Pecos Bill and Johnny Appleseed. They analyze basic characteristics of these legends then use descriptive...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Poems that Tell a Story: Narrative and Persona in the Poetry of Robert Frost
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...
American Museum of Natural History
Planetary Mysteries
A website all about planetary mysteries—it's a one-stop-shop for all things, stars, planets, and space travel. Scholars read an astronomy overview to discover the page's big ideas, then choose from the plethora of resources, including...
Curated OER
Planting Clues in Short Stories
Students examine short stories to determine how clues are planted in story stories of the mystery genre. They look at how Edgar Allan Poe planted clues in "The Purloined Letter." They write an original short story in which they plant...
Curated OER
Poems that Tell a Story: Narrative and Persona in the Poetry of Robert Frost
Young scholars 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.
Curated OER
The Game is Afoot - A Study of Sherlock Holmes
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...