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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mystery Lessons

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
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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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Marvelous Mysteries

For Teachers 5th
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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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Exploring the Mystery Genre

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
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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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Whodunnit?

For Teachers K - 5th
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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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mysteries in the Bag

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
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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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Computer Mysteries

For Teachers 5th - 12th
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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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Genre Lesson: What is a Mystery?

For Teachers 5th - 6th
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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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Game is Afoot - A Study of Sherlock Holmes

For Teachers 5th
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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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Picture the Process!

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
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.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Journal Writing Idea - Pets

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
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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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Human Body Riddle

For Teachers 5th
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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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Think of an Ending

For Teachers 4th - 7th Standards
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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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Paws in Jobland: Mystery in Jobland I

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
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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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Secret Agent Stan

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
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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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Cuentos

For Teachers 5th - 7th
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....
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Lesson Plan
BBC

Writing a News Report

For Teachers 4th - 6th
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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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Deep Blue Sea

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
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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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mystery Island Greg Hansen

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders explain how human activities shape the earth's surface.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Cemetery Restoration Project

For Teachers K - 8th
Who is buried in this tomb? Trek to a local cemetery, take pictures of markers, explore records, and conduct interviews to bring to life the stories behind the stones. Use Olympus and Tool Factory to coordinate and gather information...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Coordinate Geometry

For Teachers 4th - 7th Standards
Grab your class and get them graphing polygons on a coordinate plane! They investigate the four quadrants, discover the x and y axis, and correctly plot ordered pairs. To show their comprehension, each child creates a coordinate picture...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lesson plan: History Underfoot

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students study Native Americans of Virginia. In this Virginia history instructional activity, students take on the role of archaeologists as they analyze a site and its artifacts. Students use the information to draw conclusions about...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Paws in Jobland

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students appreciate and understand 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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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Break the Pentomino Code!

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Students read and analyze the book, Chasing Vermeer. They discuss the main story elements, analyze how pentominoes are important to the story, use a pentomino code to decipher a message, and create a secret code of their own.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

ReQuest and Motor Imaging with My Side of the Mountain

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders read "My Side of the Mountain." They create a pantomime using vocabulary words from the story. Students create three questions about the reading. They discuss the passage they read and act out words to help them better...