Interactive MYSTERY Unit

It was time to move my growing readers into another genre; one that few them had spent much time with: mysteries! As I was planning this genre study, it became clear that the skills they would be using complimented the reading skills of making inferences and drawing conclusions. While planning a unit, I not only think about the objectives, but also think about ways to make it interesting for the students. I want to create  high-interest, interactive  activities that will captivate them and create a desire to learn more. While shampooing my hair (yes, many of my best ideas come while rubbing my scalp) I thought about a creating a suspect list, case files, character profiles, listing of clues and logic puzzles.  Like a great mystery, all the pieces were adding up to a wonderful solution!

My Super Sleuthy Interactive Mystery Folder is an engaging way to connect the reader to their mystery book. While reading, the children complete different parts of their Mystery Folder. It is easily adaptable for all levels of readers. I used this resource with my guided reading groups. Although each group is reading a different mystery based upon their reading level, they each had a Mystery Folder. Here are some photos of them assembling the pieces and adding new information from that day’s reading.

My students are so excited to be thinking and acting like super sleuths through our discussions and writings inside their Interactive Mystery Folder.

Some pieces we added to the folder right away. Students added their written responses each time we met for our small group.

We also worked on logic skills and problem solving. Activities include Crack the Code, logic matrix, and categorizing.

I also created mystery vocabulary posters to display in the classroom. I referred to them when we discussed our mystery story.

So I decided to share this unit with others. Click on the cover to turn your classroom into an Investigation Headquarters.

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