Curated OER
House and Holmes: A Guide to Deductive and Inductive Reasoning
Test your pupils' reasoning skills with several activities and a quick mystery to solve. Learners watch and analyze a few video clips that demonstrate reasoning in action, practice deduction with an interactive and collaborative...
Curated OER
Classic Short Stories - Locked Room Settings
Students read "The Problem of Cell 13" by Jacques Futrelle and explore the mystery genre. In this mystery genre lesson, students read the short story and discuss the author's inclusion of locked room settings. Students then write their...
Curated OER
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.
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 2, Unit 3, Lesson 1
"True-crime stories, murder mysteries, up-to-the-minute online news reports, and (as always) rumor and innuendo grab our attention faster than any call for justice, human rights, or ceasefires." Or so says Walter Mosley in his Newsweek...
Purdue University
The Case of the Pilfered Pin: A Measurement Inquiry Activity
Who pilfered the pin? Scholars practice measurement skills as they solve the mystery of a stolen pin. They measure length, temperature, and mass and determine which of select suspects committed the crime. During the STEM hands-on...
Curated OER
Mad About Mysteries Book Report
In this literature worksheet, students follow the directions to write a review of a mystery. They note the title, author, illustrator, and publisher before examining the characters and clues. They point out passage that show suspense,...
Curated OER
Picture the Process
Learners read Chasing Vermeer and relate the book to the author . In this writing process instructional activity, students view Blue's Photo Album and see how the author writes and revises her work. Learners discuss the process that all...
Curated OER
Descriptive Writing Lessons
Descriptive writing lessons can lead students on an exploration of how adjectives enhance any written work.
Curated OER
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....
Curated OER
A Study Guide for The Phantom of the Opera
Immerse yourself in the beautiful, twisted world of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera. A detailed lesson plan provides important details about the writing, stagecraft, music, and literary elements of the famous musical, as...
Curated OER
Nate the Great: Write Your Own Mystery
In this Nate the Great writing activity instructional activity, students fill in the 26 blanks in "The Case of the Missing Book" with noun, adjective, and adverbs to create their own mystery.
Curated OER
Mystery Book Report Form Worksheet
In this mystery book report form worksheet, students complete a book report which includes the title and author. They write the names and descriptions of the characters, before the heart of the story, clues to solve of the mystery, and...
Curated OER
Pizzazz!...Chain Stories
Students compose a short story working with partners. They create a beginning, middle, and an ending. Students brainstorm with their partners and create a creative short story.
Curated OER
A Little Mystery and Intrigue in Writing Short Detective Stories
Students 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...
Curated OER
The Notorious Hope Diamond: What Makes an American Legend?
Learners 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...
Curated OER
You Can’t Judge a Book by Its Cover… But Can You Judge a Book by Its First Line?
In this literary prediction worksheet, learners predict the topic, genre, setting, characters, and interest level of a book based on its first line. They research the title and author of the book using the line. They write a short story...
Curated OER
Breaking News English: California Abduction
In this Jacee Lee Dugard worksheet, learners read the article, answer true and false questions, complete synonym matching, complete phrase matching, complete a gap fill, answer short answer questions, answer discussion questions, write,...
McGraw Hill
Study Guide for Bridge to Terabithia
Bridge to Terabithia is a story about friendship that brings magic into ordinary life. Study guides may not be magical, but the guided questions, graphic organizers, extension activities, vocabulary, and discussion questions help...
Curated OER
A Map Mystery
Second graders solve a map mystery. In this technology lesson plan, 2nd graders develop an awareness of maps and the symbols associated with maps as they the "Neighborhood Map Machine."
Curated OER
Text Structures in Science Writing
Students recognize that science writing is organized in identifiable patterns called text structures. Understanding and using these different text structures help refine students' abilities to read and write in science.
Curated OER
Language Arts: Creative Reading, Predicting and Writing
For this predictions worksheet, 4th graders guess what the book Black and White will be about based on the first line. Students answer questions related to the book's genre and story line. Students write and illustrate their own short...
Curated OER
Language Arts: Creative Reading, Predicting and Writing
In this predictions worksheet, 5th graders guess what Jumanji and will be about after reading only the first line. Students write and illustrate their own short story based on the first line of Jumanji .
Curated OER
Main Idea
What could you pack for a trip if you don't know the destination? After writing a list of items they would want to bring, fourth graders learn that the "trip" is to the South Pole - revealing the need to understand all available...
Curated OER
Classic Short Stories- Locked Room Settings
Students read the short story "The Problem of Cell 13" and examine the plot devices that build suspense. In this instructional activity students create their own short story using the same locked room setting.