5 Minute Mystery Lesson Plans

Five Minute Mystery lesson plans are designed as a supplement to a traditional reading program. A teacher may choose to complete one mystery a week or spread them out throughout the year.

Each of the mysteries will cover a few of the objectives found below. Teachers may follow the "Suggested Ways to Read a Mystery" as a guide to reading the stories. At the end of each story, teachers can ask the students a series of questions to test the level of comprehension. Teachers can also use the graphic organizers as a way to test a student's comprehension of the story. Additionally, teachers may then complete the suggested activity and/or the writing activity.

Using Leagues at Your School

Leagues are a great way to maintain healthy competition between classes, schools, and even districts! Student, teachers, and administrators can join leagues and be part of mystery teams.

How about forming a Mystery Club for your school today?

Learning Objectives

Add a dose of mystery to your mix of genre in your instruction.

With 5 Minute Mystery lesson plans, teachers will find new and innovative ways to support reading comprehension and the 5 elements of writing. The mysteries are short, fun and engaging for the students. They will enjoy a variety of short mysteries that expose them to plots with twists and turns that are easy to follow yet support good solid reading strategies.

The teacher's lesson plans, along with the graphic organizers, spiral reading comprehension skills and creative writing techniques throughout the lessons and provides the student with a great variety of different activities. The lessons are engaging, entertaining, and support the teacher's daily reading instruction. Five Minute Mystery lesson plans work as a supplement to your classroom reading program.

Solve the Mystery:

Is this the right tool for your classrooms?

Clues:

Below is a list of some of the lesson objective, processes and extended actives included in the lesson plans.

Teaching Objectives:

• The learner will apply comprehension skill of text that is read or listened to.
• The learner will interact with text before, during, after reading or listening.
• The learner will set a purpose for reading or listening.
• The learner will apply and or use prior knowledge.
• The learner will make predictions and find solutions to problems.
• The learner will formulate questions.
• The learner will locate relevant information and complete a close read of the text.
• The learner will apply strategies and skills to present information, discuss, interview, solve problems and make decisions.
• The learner will identify the elements of mystery.
• The learner will use the six traits of writing in creating descriptive, narrative, persuasive and expository writing.
• The learner will learn how to write by applying a specific written structure.
• The learner will revise reflecting on word choice, sequence of events and ideas, transitional words and sentence patterns.
• The learner will produce work that follows the convention of the mystery genre.
• The learner will explore technology as a tool to create a written product as well as to gather, to organize and to present information.
• The learner will use technology to enhance or publish a product.

Suggested Ways to Read the Mystery:

For the first mystery, walk students through the reading process so that they understand how to try to look for the specific sentences where clues are found and to be able to identify the solution. Students may reread the mystery individually or in groups.

For other mysteries you may continue to read to the students and/or have them read them individually or in small groups.