Ever since I was a kid, I loved mysteries. I devoured as many as I could get my hands on- Boxcar Children, Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, Babysitters’ Club mysteries, and more. I still love reading mysteries as an adult.
This past school year, I decided I finally needed to do what I’d been dreaming of- the ultimate mystery unit, brought to life in my classroom. Each of my fourth grade ELA sections is hetereogenous, with students of varying levels. My goal was to be able to differentiate with novels, but be able to assess my students on the same skills. The great thing about mysteries is that they cover so many standards- plot structure, character traits, inferences, etc.
So what did we actually do? First, I needed to set the stage to engage! I wanted to see what my students knew about mysteries and let them start to take on the role of being detectives. Time for a Detective Book Mission!
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The goals of this mission: read two picture book mysteries- one to model identifying parts of a mystery and one to have students work in groups to identify parts of a mystery, all while getting students excited to read our next novel.
While reading, we discussed different mystery terms as we came across examples like detective, clues, suspect, and red herring. The book became our model for mysteries.
After we finished reading, I showed my students a mysterious package that had been delivered to our room. We had a book mission envelope and an envelope written to fourth grade detectives. I, of course, had no idea where these came from. The best thing about the book mission is that my students had to take over. They were given an introductory letter, magnifying glasses (which I picked up from Amazon)
This simple envelope filled with materials created instant engagement.
These papers gave the directions to each group, which they were responsible for following.
The magnifying glasses were in an envelope also. I wrapped up the books as well. Everything was hidden, perfect for the detectives!
For the next 45 minutes, my students were completely, 100% engaged in reading and finding the clues to solve who stole Grandpa’s teeth. (The ending of the book is hilarious, by the way.) After we were finished, my kiddos were not only hooked on being detectives, but they also showed me through their exit tickets and Detective Notebook Paper that they were starting to really understand mysteries. Plus, they liked the term “red herring” as much as I do!
Red herring is what will lead me to our next activity…and how I introduced a little bit of my childhood to my students! To read all about it…click here.
Want to try this mission with your students?
Includes the full lesson plan, Detective Notebook Paper, exit tickets, & more! Check it out in my TpT store here.
What do you do to start off a mystery genre unit? Share in the comments below!
The first FIVE days of lesson plans for the beginning of the year.