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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

History/Mystery: Regionalism and Ethnicity in the American Detective Novel

For Teachers 9th - 12th
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...
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Study Guide
Reed Novel Studies

The Westing Game: Novel Study

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
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,...
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Unit Plan
Blake Education

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

For Students 3rd - 12th Standards
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...
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Worksheet
Novelinks

The Westing Game: Anticipation Guide

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
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...
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Unit Plan
Curated OER

Educator's Guide: Holes

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
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...
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Unit Plan
Annenberg Foundation

Gothic Undercurrents

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Art Mystery

For Teachers 6th - 12th
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.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Little Mystery and Intrigue in Writing Short Detective Stories

For Teachers 7th - 8th
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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Learning About Fiction Genres in the Elementary School Library

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Writing a Mystery Story

For Teachers 11th - 12th
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.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Calibrated Peer Review: Introduction-Why Study Geology?

For Teachers 7th - 12th
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...
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Lesson Planet Article
Curated OER

"The Westing Game" Activities and Lesson Plans

For Teachers 5th - 8th
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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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ecology Integration Using IMovie

For Teachers 5th
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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Hoot, the Movie And Classroom Activities Too

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
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.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Arsenic Contamination: Water Filtration

For Teachers 9th - 12th
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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Bon Voyage - Literature Travel Unit

For Teachers 8th
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...
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Unit Plan
Other

Fitzhenry and Whiteside: 'Dooley Takes the Fall' Teaching Guide [Pdf]

For Teachers 9th - 10th
"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...
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Lesson Plan
Orca Book Publishers

Orca Book Publishers: Cracked Teaching Guide [Pdf]

For Teachers 4th - 7th
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...
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Lesson Plan
British Library

British Library: Austen's Emma: Social Realism & the Novel

For Teachers 9th - 10th
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...
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Lesson Plan
Orca Book Publishers

Orca Book Publishers: 'Marked' Teaching Guide [Pdf]

For Teachers 4th - 7th
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...
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Lesson Plan
Orca Book Publishers

Orca Book Publishers: Bio Pirate Teaching Guide [Pdf]

For Teachers 4th - 7th
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.
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Lesson Plan
Orca Book Publishers

Orca Book Publishers: 'Battle of the Bands' Teaching Guide [Pdf]

For Teachers 9th - 10th
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,...
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Lesson Plan
Orca Book Publishers

Orca Book Publishers: 'Truth' Teaching Guide [Pdf]

For Teachers 9th - 10th
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...
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Lesson Plan
Orca Book Publishers

Orca Book Publishers: Middle Row Teaching Guide [Pdf]

For Teachers 9th - 10th
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...