Curated OER
History/Mystery: Regionalism and Ethnicity in the American Detective Novel
Learners use mystery novels to focus on the history and ethnicity of different regions of the United States. As a class, they are introduced to the elements of a mystery and compare them to the other types of novels they have read. In...
Reed Novel Studies
The Westing Game: Novel Study
A legacy lives on. Even though Samuel Will Westing, a character in the The Westing Game, has passed away, his love for games lives on through the unusual selection in his will. Scholars read of the mystery, learn 10 new vocabulary words,...
Blake Education
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
The motto for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry warns that one should never tickle a sleeping dragon, but learners will definitely be tickled by the activities in a packet of materials designed to accompany a reading of the...
Novelinks
The Westing Game: Anticipation Guide
Are all criminals bad people? Pupils answer this and other compelling questions in an anticipation guide for The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin. Designed for learners to complete before reading the text, the...
Curated OER
Educator's Guide: Holes
You'll be a star at your next grade level meeting with an educational unit on Louis Sachar's Holes. Based on both the novel and film, the lessons include applications to language arts with character studies and movie reviews; social...
Annenberg Foundation
Gothic Undercurrents
Terror, mystery, excitement. American writers of the 19th century, including Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, and Emily Dickinson, used these elements to create morally ambiguous tales that challenged the prevailing belief in...
Curated OER
Art Mystery
Students explore famous artists in order to write mystery stories incorporating their life and works. They write their own based on their research of a particular artist.
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
Learning About Fiction Genres in the Elementary School Library
Teaching about fiction genres can be challenging. The lesson here, designed for library media specialists, offers a fun way to do it. In the lesson, learners visit the library and learn about the different types of fiction through book...
Curated OER
Writing a Mystery Story
Students examine the elements of mystery stories and read Rage in Harlem. In reciprocal teaching groups, they discuss the author's development of the story, and complete dialectical journals.
Curated OER
Calibrated Peer Review: Introduction-Why Study Geology?
Pupils read an article written by Sarah Andrews, a geologist who has written mystery novels featuring a geologist who solves crimes. After reading the article, students write an essay based on a Writing Prompt and begin peer review once...
Curated OER
"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.
Curated OER
Ecology Integration Using IMovie
Amazing! Any 5th grader would be more than willing to participate in this project. Students are broken into groups, each group reads one book from a list of five. They use their book as the basis for choosing an animal and environment to...
Curated OER
Hoot, the Movie And Classroom Activities Too
Students complete various activities for the book and movie "Hoot." They read and analyze the novel, observe wildlife in their neighborhood, and compare/contrast Henry David Thoreau with a main character in the book.
Curated OER
Arsenic Contamination: Water Filtration
Students work in groups to design a filtration process that will separate clean water from polluted water. They organize data in tables or graphs and present their findings to the class. Students identify further safety protocols that...
Curated OER
Bon Voyage - Literature Travel Unit
Eighth graders locate and interpret information about the culture of another country using multi-media tools. Students read and interpret literature about characters and cultures from a foreign country. Students create a travel guide...
Other
Fitzhenry and Whiteside: 'Dooley Takes the Fall' Teaching Guide [Pdf]
"Dooley Takes the Fall", a mystery novel by Canadian author Norah McClintock for grade nine and up, is about a boy who has made some mistakes in the past. He becomes a suspect after he witnesses a boy jumping off a bridge and has to...
Orca Book Publishers
Orca Book Publishers: Cracked Teaching Guide [Pdf]
Cracked by Canadian author Michele Martin Bossley is a mystery novel for ages 9-12. The story centers on the bobsled competition at the World Cup. This teacher's guide includes a book summary and ideas for discussions and learning...
British Library
British Library: Austen's Emma: Social Realism & the Novel
In the course of the novel's development, Jane Austen was a significant contributor to the emergence of the modern novel as we know it today. The review of Emma in the Quarterly Review (October 1815) makes clear to a modern audience how...
Orca Book Publishers
Orca Book Publishers: 'Marked' Teaching Guide [Pdf]
In 'Marked' by Canadian author Norah McClintock, Colin has a job cleaning up graffiti in a well-to-do neighborhood. He becomes a suspect in a rash of robberies and must solve the mystery himself. This teacher's guide includes a book...
Orca Book Publishers
Orca Book Publishers: Bio Pirate Teaching Guide [Pdf]
Bio-Pirate, a novel by Michele Martin Bossley, is a science mystery about medical research materials that go missing. This teacher's guide includes a book summary, extensive teaching ideas and a short profile of the author.
Orca Book Publishers
Orca Book Publishers: 'Battle of the Bands' Teaching Guide [Pdf]
In Battle of the Bands by K. L. Denman, one band is preparing to battle another in a music competition. But then a guitar is destroyed and suspicions against a lead band member mount. This teacher's guide includes a book summary,...
Orca Book Publishers
Orca Book Publishers: 'Truth' Teaching Guide [Pdf]
Ian's parents go on vacation and leave him on his own, which he sees as an opportunity to have a large party. But a friend of the parents comes to check on him and is murdered. No one will talk and two school newspaper reporters put...
Orca Book Publishers
Orca Book Publishers: Middle Row Teaching Guide [Pdf]
When their friend Dune goes missing, Raedawn and Vince launch a search for him, eventually finding him at a mountain grow-op. The novel Middle Row by Sylvia Olsen also deals with racial barriers at school. This teacher's guide includes a...