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...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lesson Mystery: The Game is Afoot

For Teachers K - 8th
Students enter and experience the world of Sherlock Holmes and hard-boiled detectives in this unit on mysteries. They review and analyze the ""Whodunit Requirements" and the "Mystery Contract" that accompany this lesson. Each student...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Marvelous Mysteries

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders explore mystery stories.  In this reading and writing lesson plan, 5th graders complete a planning guide for an original mystery.  Students use the writing process to create a mystery story. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ingredients of a Mystery

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students explore the concept of mysteries.  In this mystery genre lesson, students identify the common characteristics of mystery books and use a story map to identify these characteristics in a given book.  Students also...
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...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mystery of the Maya

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students research the Mayan civilization and complete an artifact dig. In this archeology lesson, students watch an IMAX video about the Mayan civilization. Students discuss archaeology related vocabulary and then work in teams to...
Lesson Plan
ReadWriteThink

Comics in the Classroom as an Introduction to Narrative Structure

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
A picture is worth a thousand words, but a comic strip combines both images and words for the ultimate narrative effect. After reading The Three Little Pigs and deciphering the plot elements, elementary readers work through four...
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....
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Break the Pentomino Code!

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

The Sound of Calm

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students examine the relationships that exist between ocean currents, wind and climate. Using those relationships, they discuss how they affect the oceans. They create their own music to represent the sounds of the ocean and share them...