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...
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

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

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

Mysteries in the Bag

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Young scholars write a story. In this creative writing activity, students guess what is in various containers and open and discuss the contents. Young scholars use one of the container contents to write a mystery story.
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...
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...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Think of an Ending

For Teachers 4th - 7th Standards
Good endings are hard to find. And write. This, the final lesson plan 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 each of...
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:...
Unit Plan
Mary Pope Osborne, Classroom Adventures Program

The Backpack Travel Journals

For Teachers 2nd - 5th Standards
Strap on those backpacks, it's time to travel through history with this literature unit based on the first four books of The Magic Tree House series. While reading through these fun stories, children create story maps, record...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Picture the Process!

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Students 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.
Printables
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Suspense Writing Prompts

For Teachers 2nd - 8th
"I don't know what to write about!" How often have you heard that lament? Here's a list of 10 prompts that provide a starting place for suspense stories.
Activity
Curated OER

Maniac Magee Comprehension Questions

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Supplement your Maniac Magee lesson plans with a packet of student materials. Included here is a variety of questions about the text. Pupils complete multiple choice and short-answer questions and choose from a variety of extension...
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.
Lesson Planet Article
Curated OER

CSI Lesson Plans Can Turn Students Into Learning Detectives

For Teachers 2nd - 5th
Children learn to use the methods of good detection for solving a crime, and even analyzing literature.
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...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Paws in Jobland: Mystery in Jobland I

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Learners appreciate and examine the roles that people play in particular situations. For this career lesson plan, students use research and information skills to perform the roles they are assigned.
Worksheet
Curated OER

Math Maven's Mysteries

For Students 4th - 5th
In these story problem worksheets, students read the story problem 'Mystery of the Peculiar Zoo.' Students use the information within the story to then solve the problems. Students use their multiplication and division skills to...
Worksheet
North Clackamas School District

Context Clues: Synonyms

For Students 4th - 6th Standards
What do you do when you find a word that's not familiar to you? Help readers use context clues when encountering unfamiliar words with a grammar activity. They note the parts of the sentences that show the meaning of the word,...
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

Writing a News Report

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Students explore journalism by analyzing current events. In this news report lesson, students identify important questions to ask during an interview and discuss a fictitious news story about a missing teacher. Students read published...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lesson plan: History Underfoot

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students study Native Americans of Virginia. In this Virginia history lesson plan, students take on the role of archaeologists as they analyze a site and its artifacts. Students use the information to draw conclusions about the natives...
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...
Worksheet
PB Works

George Washington’s Socks: Short-Answer Questions Chapters 1-9

For Students 3rd - 6th Standards
Build a literature unit around the book George Washington's Socks with this series of short answer questions. Broken up in two- and three-chapter increments, these reading comprehension questions allow young readers to demonstrate...