Episode 49 — Dynamic Detectives

Lesson Plans

Activities & Projects

Games & Tools

 

Lesson Plans

Grades   6 – 8  |  Lesson Plan  |  Unit

Everyone Loves a Mystery: A Genre Study

Students track the elements of mystery stories through Directed Learning–Thinking Activities, story maps, and puzzles. Then they offer clues for other readers as they plan and write original mystery stories.

 

Grades   3 – 5  |  Lesson Plan  |  Standard Lesson

What's in a Mystery? Exploring and Identifying Mystery Elements

Students identify the characteristics of mystery writing, outline a mystery story using a graphic organizer, write and revise their own mystery story, edit each other's work, and share their mysteries.

 

Grades   9 – 12  |  Lesson Plan  |  Standard Lesson

Investigating Genre: The Case of the Classic Detective Story

After critiquing a list of conventions for the genre, students read, view, or listen to a classic
mystery, and then produce a mystery of their own, reflecting on the purposeful ways in which
they adhered to or altered the genre conventions.

 

back to top

 

Activities & Projects

Grades   5 – 8  |  Activity & Project

Make a Mystery Puzzle

Have children explore the different parts of mystery writing by making a puzzle about a favorite book. They can then invent and write their own mysteries using the online Mystery Cube tool.

 

back to top

 

Games & Tools

Grades   3 – 8  |  Game & Tool

Mystery Cube

The Mystery Cube asks children to separate a mystery into six distinct elements. Using it, children begin to see how a writer constructs a mystery—and can try writing their own.

 

back to top