It's A Mystery!

Mysteries are a great way for students to use critical thinking skills. This lesson has them analyze both written and visual texts.

Students will read and work through solutions to several mysteries from the book "Crime and Puzzlement" by Lawrence Treat and Leslie Cabarga. Each mystery features a short passage that includes key details. A picture of the crime scene accompanies the passage. The reader then answers a series of questions using information contained in the written text and clues found in the picture. The answers to these questions lead the reader towards a solution.

After solving the mysteries, the class will discuss how the mysteries are put together. They will examine the writers' use of clues, use of previously studied mystery elements/vocabulary (red herring, witness, culprit, etc.), and overall structure of the works.

Students will then be assigned to work in pairs or small groups to plan, write, and produce a mystery of their own. This process will include:
--Creating a crime
--Writing a passage that contains clues and particular elements of mystery (to be determined either by teacher or
students)
--Planning the crime scene and deciding what visual clues it needs to contain
--Developing questions that will help lead reader towards the solution

After students have their planning done, they will stage the crime scene and take a picture of it. They will then edit their work and prepare to publish.

Students will display their written and visual mysteries in the classroom so that others can attempt to solve them.