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Mystery Lessons
Learn about mysteries with your readers. They will investigate plot, basic elements of mystery, famous characters, and become familiar with genre vocabulary. Bring in props and mystery books to begin and then have learners create story...
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Marvelous Mysteries
Fifth graders explore mystery stories. In this reading and writing lesson, 5th graders complete a planning guide for an original mystery. Students use the writing process to create a mystery story.
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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...
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Whodunnit?
Want to create an exciting mystery activity? Investigators will identify the elements of a mystery, review mystery stories, then write their own mysteries. They engage in forensic science experiments related to mysteries and learn to ask...
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Mysteries in the Bag
Students write a story. In this creative writing instructional activity, students guess what is in various containers and open and discuss the contents. Students use one of the container contents to write a mystery story.
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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...
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Genre Lesson: What is a Mystery?
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...
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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 they...
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Picture the Process!
Learners read "Chasing Vermeer," and then study the author's writing process. They make connections between the book and the author's real life experiences. They then write an original mystery story, following the writing process.
Mary Pope Osborne, Classroom Adventures Program
The Backpack Travel Journals
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 interesting...
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Journal Writing Idea - Pets
Carve out some time for your youngsters to write in their journal. Today, they write a story about pets. They learn the value of a journal and how to keep up with it, and they enhance story development by planning their story before...
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Human Body Riddle
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...
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Think of an Ending
Good endings are hard to find. And write. This, the final instructional activity 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...
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Paws in Jobland: Mystery in Jobland I
Students appreciate and examine the roles that people play in particular situations. In this career lesson plan, students use research and information skills to perform the roles they are assigned.
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Secret Agent Stan
Learners use a worksheet imbedded in this lesson that goes along with a detective story to give them practice calculating money.
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Math Maven's Mysteries
In these story problem worksheets, students read the story problem 'Mystery of the Peculiar Zoo.' Students use the information within the story to then solve the problems. Students use their multiplication and division skills to...
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Maniac Magee Comprehension Questions
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...
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Cuentos
Students revise Spanish mystery stories. They sequence the events from a group's mystery story and suggest revisions for the setting. They revise their stories using the suggestions from classmates and describe characters in folktales....
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Suspense Writing Prompts
"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.
BBC
Writing a News Report
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:...
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"The Westing Game" Activities and Lesson Plans
You can use a novel, such as "The Westing Game", to teach reading concepts and skills in a way that keeps students interested.
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CSI Lesson Plans Can Turn Students Into Learning Detectives
Children learn to use the methods of good detection for solving a crime, and even analyzing literature.
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Deep Blue Sea
Elementary schoolers identify the ocean floor in a geological sense. They create a presentation that highlights the key features of the ocean floor. This terrific lesson plan has excellent streaming video segments embedded in it, and the...
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Mystery Island Greg Hansen
Fifth graders explain how human activities shape the earth's surface.