What is a mystery?

1. Log onto What Is a Mystery to find out what a mystery is. Use clues to solve the mysteries as you play Carmen Sandiego Jr. Detective CD and Midnight Rescue CD. Identify the mystery in each. How did the clues in each game lead you to solve each mystery?

2. Read and predict the solutions for these mysteries: "The Piano Key Mystery."

3. Read "The Case of the Ruined Roses" with your teacher. Answer the questions on your Mystery Worksheet with a partner. Share your answers with the class and your teacher. Read a mystery with a twist, "House Call" by Elsin Ann Perry. Form a literacy circle. Discuss what the twist in the story is. How else might the story have ended?

4. Choose one of the Mystery Net's Kids Mysteries to read with your group. Choose from one of these roles in your group: readers, recorders, reporters. Work with your group to answer the questions on the Mystery Worksheet. Share your information with the class.

5. Use the Venn Diagram to compare and contrast "The Case of the Ruined Roses" with the story your group read. Explain the common elements to the class.

6. Use the common elements of the two stories to record the elements of a mystery on the graphic organizer.

Write a mystery

1. Read "The Magic Mystery" story starter. Write an ending to the mystery.

2. Read Mystery Writing Tips and Essential Ingredients of a mystery. Plan out your mystery events by completing the mystery planner, story map and clue organizer. Fill in the details of your story. Find out how to make your characters more dynamic. Flesh out your characters (detectives and suspects). Describe each character's physical appearance. Fill in the character trait organizer. Identify events that will demonstrate each character's traits. The character trait list will be helpful in planning your characters. Include these ingredients in planning your mystery. Spice up your writing by using descriptive words and figures of speech to make your writing more interesting. Write your group's mystery. Include lots of action, suspense, description, dialogue, details, and a twist. Use the writing checklist, the peer writing checklist, and the mystery checklist, to be sure you have included all of the necessary elements of a well written mystery story. Use the mystery word wall to help you spell words you might choose to include in your story.

3. Enter the text of your onto Microsoft Word or AppleWorks. Write a title page that contains the title, authors, city and date of publication. Proofread and revise your story to standard setting. The word processing checklist will help you in entering the text correctly. Conference with your teacher at a group meeting.

4. Illustrate five events in your story and a book jacket using Kidpix or Superprint.

5. After your teacher has laminated the pages of your mystery, punch holes and bind your mystery into book form using rings.

6. Present your book to the class.

8. Have a "Mystery Party." Choose a character from your group's book. Act out the group's mystery and have your class predict the solution to your mystery.

Keep The Mystery Going

With These Optional Activities

1. Create a board game based on your mystery. Play one of the board games created by the other cooperative groups in your class.

2. Read the books from the following mystery series:

Cam Jansen, by David A. Adler

Encyclopedia Brown, by Donald J. Sobol

Nate The Great, by Marjorie Sharmat

Nancy Drew, by Carolyn Keene

The Hardy Boys, by Franklin W. Dixon

3. Solve mysteries with a twist at the Mystery Spot.

4. Play the Milton Bradley Clue board game.

5. Play Disguise the Undercover Agent: