Curated OER
Celebrate The Four Seasons
Students investigate cause and effect and compare and contrast how recurring cycles are evident in multiple aspects of their education. They answer questions in the chosen field. Students model each aspect by interpreting, perceiving and...
Curated OER
Ode on a Grecian Urn
In this reading comprehension instructional activity, students respond to 5 short answer and essay questions based on the poem "Ode on a Grecian Urn."
Curated OER
The Big Blue
Third graders create paper mache globes with balloons. They label the 4 oceans on their balloons with reference to large wall map, classroom globe, and Encarta Virtual Globe CD-ROM projected on large screen TV with Tvator or other...
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...
Curated OER
Voices at Whisper Bend
Students examine life in Pennsylvania during and after World War II. Using primary source documents, they compare the unity of the United States during World War II and the Iraq War. They also discover how citizens adapt to the war at home.
Curated OER
O, Do You Know?
Students identify the short /o/ sound in this lesson. They discover that the "o" is shaped like a magnifying glass, and are "detectives" looking for the /o/ sound in words. They listen to "No, David!" and identify the short /o/ sound...
Curated OER
Strange Encounters
Third graders examine a variety of Robert Harris' paintings. Using the characters in the art, they develop a conversation between them in a musical verse. In groups, they identify safety procedures to be used by those traveling in the...
Curated OER
The Hantavirus Haunting: Solving the Case
Students engage in research about the hantavirus. They use a variety of resources to obtain information. Students distinguish the differences between hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, hantavirus transmission, and hantavirus prevention.
Crayola
Crayola: Mystery Flip Flap (Lesson Plan)
A great activity where students write their own mysteries-with a creative twist. Provides a list of resources, and adaptations. (To access this lesson plan, you must register with Crayola.com. Registration is free and takes only a few...
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: Everyone Loves a Mystery a Genre Study
Contains plans for lessons that teach about the mystery story genre, including its story elements and vocabulary. In addition to objectives and standards, this instructional plan contains links to sites used in the lessons as well as...
Alabama Learning Exchange
Alex: Taking the Mystery Out of Writing a Mystery
This mystery-writing lesson focuses on the structure of a short story and the elements of a mystery in particular. Learners complete the entire writing process: prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing. Students...
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: Expository Escapade: Detective's Handbook
Working on higher-level thinking skills with your readers is made easier with this lesson. You will have your students connect with and analyze a mystery story at their grade-appropriate level. Lesson plan, printable worksheets, and...
Scholastic
Scholastic: Teacher: Mystery Writing With Joan Lowery Nixon
Have you ever wanted to know how to write a mystery novel? Use this site to learn more about how a professional author goes about writing mysteries. With tips from prolific mystery writer Joan Lowery Nixon.
Harold D. Underdown
Writing Mysteries for Children's Magazines
An excellent resource for anyone looking to write in the literary genre of mystery, especially for children. Includes helpful information and tips for writers on topics such as publishing and content.
Other
Fiction teachers.com: How to Write a Mini Mystery
Use the ideas on this page to help your students create mini-mysteries.
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: Becoming History Detectives Using Shakespeare's Secret
Is the case closed on the authorship of Shakespeare's plays? Student history detectives explore the evidence for and against one of the possible alternatives, Edward deVere, using the novel Shakespeare's Secret plus a variety of online...
Other
Mystery Net Kids Mysteries: Mysteries by Kids Winners
This site offers links to the winning stories from MysteryNet's mini-mystery writing contest for kids. They provide good reading practice and/or models for story writing activities.
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: A Directed Listening Thinking Activity
Lesson which requires learners to listen to The Tell-Tale Heart read aloud, answer prediction questions during the reading, and write written responses after. Excellent for beginning a mystery unit.
Alabama Learning Exchange
Alex: Writing Activity: Harris Burdick Stories
After reading The Mysteries of Harris Burdick, by Chris Van Allsburg, students create their own stories about the pictures. By navigating the Internet, students learn more about the writing process to help them create their stories.
Other
Mystery Net: Edgar Allan Poe
Biography and analysis of the writing of Edgar Allan Poe. Examines Poe's contribution to the mystery genre. Also provides the text of several of Poe's writings.
Blackdog Media
Classic Reader: "The Master of Mystery" by Jack London
Text of the short story "The Master of Mystery" by Jack London. (Free site registration offers some additional features, e.g., the ability to insert annotations.)
Georgetown University
Georgetown University: Edgar Allan Poe (1809 1849)
This site is a professor's guide for students. This guide features information on how to distinguish between Poe and his narrators in his stories.
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: American Passages: Gothic Undercurrents: Edgar Allan Poe
This biography features Edgar Allan Poe who introduced the genre of horror and mystery to literature in the nineteenth century with stories such as "The Raven."
National Endowment for the Humanities
Neh: Edsit Ement: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
"In this unit, students explore the artistry that helped make Irving our nation's first literary master and ponder the mystery that now haunts every Halloween -- What happened to Ichabod Crane?"