Core Curriculum Objective(s):
Read, identify, recognize, and demonstrate comprehension of a variety of genres, determine the type of literature and compare the present selection to previous selections: Fiction, Science Fiction, Folk Tale, Mystery, Realistic Fiction, Non-Fiction, Fable. (5-AL-2)
Participate in reading and writing conferences with teacher and peers
(5-SK-2)
Write and publish various types of compositions (journals, letters, essays, reports, poetry, stories, plays, scripts) (5-WA-4)
Overview:
Students will read and solve print and Internet mystery stories. They will complete a Planning Guide for an original mystery. After planning the mystery, they will use the writing process to create the story. Students will work with partners to revise and edit their stories before having a conference with the teacher. Final stories will be shared with the class and a "Mystery Writer of the Year" will be selected.
Focus/Essential Question(s): What makes a story a mystery?
Time Frame: Five one-hour class periods (This lesson involves the use of the Writing Process and the time frame depends on how much of the process is completed each day.)
Resources/Materials:
Overhead/chalkboard
Overhead pens/chalk
Paper
Pencil
Pen (red or blue)
Computer with Internet access
Five-Minute Whodunits by Stan Smith (any collection of short mystery stories would be appropriate)
http://tqjunior.thinkquest.org/4590
http://library.thinkquest.org/J002344
http://www.ihes.com/Sresource/Theme/398/intro.html
http://tqjunior.thinkquest.org/5109/
http://www.mysterynet.com
Culminating Assessment:
Students will write an original mystery story. The story will be scored using the following rubric:
| POINTS |
CRITERIA |
| 4 |
Punctuation and spelling are correct. Sentences are clear and have complete thoughts. Paragraphs are indented and organized with topic sentences or by dialogue. Descriptive words and details are used in sentences and paragraphs. Contains all the elements of a mystery story. (Characters, setting, suspenseful events, clues, plot, conflict, and solution). Story is neatly presented, showing personal pride. |
| 3 |
There are very few punctuation and spelling errors. Most sentences are clear and have complete thoughts. Most paragraphs are indented and have good organization using topic sentences or dialogue. Descriptive words and details are generally used in sentences and paragraphs. Contains most of the elements of a mystery story. Story is neatly presented. |
| 2 |
There are occasional punctuation and spelling errors. Most sentences have complete thoughts. Some paragraphs are not organized or indented. Descriptive words and details are used in some sentences. Contains some elements of a mystery story. Story is presentable. |
| 1 |
Most punctuation is incorrect or missing and there are many spelling errors. Many sentences are fragments, run-ons, or unclear. Paragraphs are not organized or indented. Sentences have little detail or description. Contains few elements of a mystery story. Story is not neatly presented. |
| 0 |
Final story not turned in |
Instructional Activities:
Activity One:
Read a short mystery from Five-Minute Whodunits by Stan Smith. Before sharing the solution, brainstorm with the class what makes a story a mystery. (Encyclopedia Brown, Nancy Drew, etc.) Write their ideas on the overhead or board. Call on students to share any favorite mystery stories read. Call on students to share their thoughts about the mystery story read. Read and discuss the solution.
Show the class the web site http://library.thinkquest.org/J002344. This web site contains information about mysteries, including tips from students who have written mysteries. There is a section of the web site called "You Be the Author" which is designed to help students create mystery stories. Also, there is a section called "Mystery Scavenger Hunt" which uses the internet to discover a secret message. The teacher can go over the web site with the class and show them the different parts so that individuals or partners may further explore the site and then work on the scavenger hunt during any free time.
Another source on the Internet is http://www.ihes.com/Sresource/Theme/398/intro.html. This site is called "The Red Herring-A Mystery Maze." Again, the teacher can show the class how the web site works so that students may explore it at a later time. (Note to teacher: There are three other Internet sites listed as a Resource which can also be explored. The teacher may choose to preview all the sites and pick two which best suit the class.)
Activity Two:
Separate students into cooperative groups. Place the word mystery in the center of the overhead or board. Remind students of the elements of a good story -setting, characters, plot, conflict or problem, and solution or resolution. Cooperative groups will work together to complete a Planning Guide for a mystery story. (Each member of the group should have a copy of the Planning Guide to use in Activity Three.) The guide may look something like the following:
| STORY ELEMENTS |
PLANNING GUIDE |
| Characters |
|
| Setting |
|
| Suspenseful events |
|
| Clues |
|
| Conflict |
|
| Plot |
|
| Solution |
|
After all groups have completed the planning guide, call on groups to share the information in their Planning Guide. Students will then complete an informal assessment about their Planning Guide and the Planning Guides shared by the other groups. Display the questions on the board or overhead and allow students time to copy and complete them. The questions to be displayed are the following:
* The most valuable member of my group was_________________ because ...
* I helped my group by...
* I wished my group had...
* The plan I liked best was written by __________________________. I liked it because...
Activity Three:
(Note to teacher: This activity involves the Writing Process and may take several class periods to finish. Teachers may choose to have students write the rough drafts at home and meet with a partner to revise and edit them.)
Review the writing process with the students and remind them that they have completed the first step by finishing the Planning Guide. The teacher will need to show and discuss with the students the rubric which will be used to score the stories. Individual students will begin to write a rough draft based on the plans completed in Activity One.
As students finish their rough drafts, pair them up with a partner to read through the rough drafts and make revisions as necessary. Partners will then edit the rough drafts. (Both the revisions and the editing should be done in a different color ink, such as blue or red so that the corrections can easily be seen.) Students who have completed their revisions and editing should schedule a conference with the teacher to review the story.
After meeting with the teacher, individual students are now ready to write the final mystery story. (Stories will be scored using the rubric discussed in the Culminating Assessment.) When finished with the final story, students may be sent to the computer to explore the Internet sites presented in Activity One.
After all stories have been finished, the teacher will tell the class that they will be selected one student as the "Mystery Writer of the Year". Students will read their stories orally to their classmates. The teacher will display the following statements and students will copy and complete them.
* The best part of my story was...because....
* If I were to rewrite my story, I would change...because....
* If I had to score my story using the rubric, I would give it a score of ___ because....
* The "Mystery Writer of the Year" award should go to _______________ because....
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